Teslin Doud, Carmen Gama and Lucy Jones – each graduates of Parsons School of Design – are the recipients of the first Eileen Fisher Social Innovator Award, a partnership between Eileen Fisher Inc. and the CFDA. As part of the 12-month residency, which kicked off on Aug. 31, Doud, Gama and Jones will be able to work alongside the Eileen Fisher designers, merchandisers and social consciousness teams and come up with a design solution for Fisher’s recycled garments—all with the aim to support the brand’s Vision2020 sustainability goals.

Doud, Gama and Jones will be documenting their experience and sharing it with CFDA.com.

Teslin Doud, Carmen Gama and Lucy Jones:

“Our first week of Eileen Fisher (EF) was a whirlwind. We were welcomed by many smiling faces and the first thing we noticed was how unique this environment is. Everyone is so willing to help and share their duties/ideas/resources at Eileen Fisher and with other companies. We were introduced to our challenging project, which will be in collaboration with Green Eileen and will result in finding a scalable, profitable and responsible solution for all the unsellable and damaged products that have been returned by Eileen Fisher customers.

Before we begin our design project in January, we will spend the rest of the year absorbing the roles of the different departments so that we have a rounded overview of how Eileen Fisher operates. In doing so, we have had the chance to witness the ways in which the collaborative atmosphere of the company is a nurturing environment for a social innovator. There is an appreciation for open-mindedness and ability to think outside the box. EF employees are transdisciplinary which allows for innovation and an organic dialogue across departments. We’re really excited for the rest of our residency at EF, we’re already feeling very at home here!”