In the spring of 2024, we created a dumpling workshop to teach English learners and their teens to make Chinese dumplings for charity. Our interns conducted this session in Spanish.
It was a success. So much so, the attending students from El Club de Sabor at Metuchen High School gifted us their class money to create another event. Which got us thinking about a bilingual fashion show featuring Oscar de la Renta and centered on the 1973 Battle of Versailles. Over 50 years ago, this seminal fashion competition broke the barrier for models of color. de la Renta was one of the designers representing the American side.
Serendipitously, lunch with Maurice from the Montclair Public Library revealed that he was also contemplating a program on the Battle of Versailles. We decided to join forces. First, Dumpling Diplomacy reached out to the Essex County Schools of Technology. Which led to:
The library added:
Hipolito Pollantis, Dominican American fashion designer and Norma Jean Daren, one of the original models from 1973.
"Versailles '73,"
the documentary
We raised them:
Dominican American MC Wendy Tiburcio, musicians, and yucca fritters
On April 28, 2025, everything culminated in: "Oscar de la Renta: A Dominican American in Versailles."
RELAXING BEFORE THE SHOW
Photo by Armando Diaz, Courtesey of Hipolito Pollantis.
And that is the story of how a dumpling workshop led to a fashion show.
Small acts can lead to a universe of possibilities. Developing creative programming with lasting outcomes is our specialty. Interested in starting a chain reaction?
