Sustainable fashion initiative provides repurposed prom dresses to Nashville high school students
With prom season on the horizon, Belmont Honors students are making sure that highschoolers across Nashville have access to formal attire for one of their most meaningful school traditions.
Students in the Honors art seminar Global Fashion teamed up over the course of the semester to plan and launch “Dance Again: Grow Shine Collective” — an initiative that recycled used prom dresses and formal wear to be distributed among high school students in the Metro Nashville Public School community.
This thoughtful service-learning experience allowed students to apply concepts of sustainability, ethical responsibility and community engagement in a real-world setting. Course professor Dr. Pricillia Gitimu of the fashion studies department instructed the class, guiding and mentoring them in what it means to serve the local community through sustainability and fashion.
“Dance Again is more than a dress giveaway — it’s about restoring confidence, promoting sustainability and ensuring every student has access to moments that matter,” said Gitimu.
A Student-Led Vision
Through team meetings and brainstorming sessions, students discovered a need that the Nashville community hadn’t addressed yet: access to formal wear. Students used the successful outcomes of similar initiatives in other cities as inspiration for Nashville’s own prom dress drive, created specifically to support Metro Nashville students.
Once the vision took off, students in the class organized themselves around their individual strengths, stepping into roles that supported the initiative’s success. Teams led marketing efforts, coordinated communication with schools, recruited volunteers and managed logistics, allowing the project to operate as a fully student-driven effort from concept to execution.
Avery Edelbrock, a junior global leadership studies major, found that her strengths within the project stemmed from the connections she has built at Belmont.
“As one of the older students in the class, it was helpful to draw on the relationships I’ve developed over the past few years at Belmont to help promote the event,” Edelbrock said. “I learned a lot about the power and importance of connections, as well as how to tell a compelling story about our event to reach those individuals.”
Through the student’s promotional and logistical efforts, 63 dresses were collected, steamed and thoughtfully prepared, each one ready to be worn and cherished by a high-school student.
Prom Dresses ‘Dance Again’
Dance Again transformed its vision into a tangible and meaningful experience for local students at the Green Hills YMCA last month ahead of prom season. High schoolers browsed the selection of donated prom dresses and prom shoes and took home an outfit that made them feel confident and beautiful.
For many high school attendees, the event provided more than just access to formal wear, it offered a sense of excitement and inclusion during a milestone high school moment.
“This event was special due to the real-world impact we were able to have,” shared Edelbrock. “The vast majority of my classes operate on an intellectual and theoretical level, so to be able to tangibly serve students was a refreshing experience.”
Extending Impact
While Dance Again directly served high school students in the Nashville community, its impact extended beyond the event itself, encouraging a broader culture of service among Belmont students and the surrounding community.
“We learned very quickly in our class that so much energy and water go into making garments,” shared Gitimu. “Being able to encourage sustainability within our Belmont students while also making a community impact was important.”
Students invited peers, faculty and staff to participate in the initiative by contributing their used formal wear to be repurposed, emphasizing the value of reusing over wasteful habits.
By giving dresses a second life, participants in the dress drive became active contributors to a more environmentally conscious approach to fashion, reducing waste while supporting their community.
“We got to reach a wide variety of people in this project,” said Gitimu. “Students with inequal access to prom attire got the chance to shine, contributors got the opportunity to promote textile and environmental sustainability and meaningful partnerships between Belmont and Metro Nashville Public Schools were built.”
Dance Again – And Again
Looking ahead, future students in the Global Fashion course will build upon the foundation of “Dance Again: Grow Shine Collective,” continuing its mission while expanding outreach and deepening impact within the community.
Plans and hopes are already underway to establish a year-round donation space on campus, where students, faculty and staff can contribute gently used garments to the collection. These items would then be made accessible to local high school students or distributed through prom coordinators across the Nashville area, extending the initiative’s reach beyond a single event.
“My hope is that Dance Again becomes a lasting tradition at Belmont,” said Gitimu. “One that continues to connect sustainability, service and student leadership for years to come.”