As a Catholic school survivor the very word “uniform” conjures images of scratchy plaid and starched button downs, so I’m glad to see that the New York based duo of Sheena Matheiken and Eliza Starbuck are reclaiming it for The Uniform Project. Their exercise in “fashion philanthropy,” which includes ad agency creative director Matheiken wearing one of seven identical dresses that fashion consultant Starbuck stitched up for her for daily wear for a full year, solicits donations for the India-based Akanksha Foundation to educate children living in slums.

The UP partners (Starbuck at left) both attended Parsons School of Design but met randomly on a subway platform after they’d graduated. Matheiken was seeking a creative outlet beyond her job, and in looking for a project that would give her a sense of purpose she turned to her closet full of vintage clothes. Starbuck was feeling turned off by the consumption-oriented fashion industry when she approached Matheiken about her creative sense of style.

“I liked her idea for something that wasn’t just a look-at me-project but would give back to brilliant kids,” Starbuck said. “It was a way to combine a sense of self expression, creativity, style, a greater purpose, and being inspirational through example.”

She said that Matheiken and her creative wardrobe challenge—which includes creating a new ensemble of tights, layers, and jewelry for public and donator visual consumption on a daily basis—were perfect muses for her at the time. After wondering if she could even still sew, she purchased cotton from the designer overstock fabric store Mood and spent the next four months sewing the black dresses that have earned the project more than $30,000 in contributions and 5,000 Twitter followers.

While mass producing the dress was never Starbuck’s original intent, she’s been approached by people saying they’d want to take on the project for themselves to benefit causes as diverse as Ugandan youth and the March of Times. “I like the idea of spreading charitable work one person at a time,” said Starbuck, who said one of her motivations for helping spearhead the project is to encourage women to buy and repurpose one dress, not five (especially if it’s one that can be worn 365 different ways). When asked if she’d create an item for men interested in the idea, she laughed and said “most guys already have a uniform—but I’m thinking about it.”

The recent Opportunity Green conference got me thinking about the importance of considering where our clothing is sourced from, and one of Starbuck’s insights has stuck with me: “We often don’t need anything new, and when we do, it really is important to think about where it comes from.” A thrift store aficionado, she describes the Uniform Project to strangers as “wearing one dress for a year to show what fashion sustainability can look like as an art project that benefits children in India.”

The program, which will feature Matheiken in uniform until next May 1, is being supported by eBay’s Green Team, which will be matching every dollar it raises for Akanksha (the team is the same one that supports Ecofabulous’ furniture refabing efforts). Now, for finding a partner that will underwrite the production of sustainably created uniforms for the Foundation’s school children…

Correction, 12.2: The charity that one of the Uniform Project followers wanted to take the project on for is the March of Dimes, apologies for the typo. EBay will be matching donations to the project during the month of December and the first half of January.

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