Harper College will be closed Monday, September 1, in observance of Labor Day.
Harper Challenge is a yearly competition for local high school students. Students are challenged to create an original garment using a pattern provided by the Harper College Fashion Studies Department. Students who successfully complete their garments will have the opportunity to show them on the runway at our annual student-run Fashion Show. Awards are offered to the top 3 students in both the Creativity and Construction categories.
The goal of the Harper Challenge is to reach out to high school students and give them an opportunity to see what it would be like to be a student in the Fashion Department at Harper College. Fashion shows are the most fundamental element of the fashion industry and we invite industry experts to jury and participate in the one at Harper College every year. The fashion show gives Harper students professional industry experiences they can put on their resumes and portfolios and prepares them to enter the fashion job market. Harper Challenge gives that opportunity to motivated high school students as well.
The theme of the 2025 Fashion Show is “Reimagined: Old Hollywood” which pays homage to the glamour, elegance, and cinematic drama of the Golden Age of Hollywood, while infusing it with modern sensibilities and innovation. The inspiration for this year’s Harper Challenge 2026 pattern is the iconic Little Black Dress that Hubert de Givenchy designed for Audrey Hepburn for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s released in 1961. De Givenchy collaborated with costume designer Edith Head and designed many of the dresses Hepburn wore.
Fashion Show: Thursday, May 14th, 2026 at 7:00 pm.
Garment drop-off:
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 from 3-5pm in Building H, Room H255
OR
Thursday, April 30, 2026 from 10am-noon in Building H, Room H270
More detailed information will follow in February 2026.
More Info:
High School students can register and pay for the Harper Challenge here.
For more details check out the Harper Challenge Flyer.
See photos of past Harper Challenge students and models on the runway.
Past Fashion Shows.