Manneken Pis representing Montgomery International School for a day!
In collaboration with the city of Brussels, the iconic Manneken Pis was dressed with an outfit designed by Maja Cieślik, one of our talented MYP4 students. Seeing one of Brussels' most famous landmark represent our school for a day was a real treat.
From: Maja Cieślik
Name of costume: HIPPIE
The Manneken Pis hippie design was created with the aim of transposing hippie fashion from the 60s and 70s into a suit. It uses a popular material from that era, polyester, and has many eye-catching colors associated with hippies. The shirt is inspired by the tie-dye pattern characteristic of this community. The jeans cut was also very fashionable at the time. I chose to make this costume because hippies were all about peace and love, which is a very important message in today's world given all the recent events. I decided to show this message through a hippie because it's something that is recognized by most and people tend to have strong opinions about hippies or their ideology, which makes my costume stand out more.
I decided to show this message through a hippie because it's something that resonates to most and people tend to have strong opinions about hippies or their ideology, which makes my costume stand out even more. The hippie costume also has links to the ideas promoted by Montgomery International School and the IB program. Hippies strongly represented some of the IB's learner profiles, such as open-mindedness, risk-taking and reflection. I think my hippie costume has strong links to my school, but also to important ideas in today's world.
Materials used:
- Jacket: polyester
- Shirt (crop top t-shirt): polyester
- Pants: denim
- Hat (headband): polyester
- Belt: polyester
- Glasses: plastic
Other outfits submitted by our students
From: Quentin & Jan
Name of Costume: SAY NO TO ANIMAL SKIN
We decided to opt for a noble cause, something useful, something that would represent our school's values. We thought of protecting the sea (like the plastic odyssey) or global warming, since our school is very environmentally friendly. Finally, we decided to choose animal protection: we hear on the news every day about animals abandoned because of the covid situation (many people have taken animals during confinement and abandoned them afterwards). We also heard that animal protection services couldn't cope with the rising costs (a consequence of the war in Ukraine, but also because there are so many animals). Animal protection as a whole seemed the best choice since we could use animal skins with the aim of campaigning for animal rights (Hair, feathers, skins, furs). The aim is to shock the public: "Have animals been used?" they may ask themselves, before getting the message when they hear the name of the costume. The goal is, of course, to represent all types of animals to be saved. The ultimate idea when people see our costumes is respect for animal rights. Avoiding the slaughter of animals for the pleasure and interest of humans.
Materials used:
- Pants: faux fur for the pants (leopard).
- Top: faux reptile skin.
- Hat: faux feathers and faux rabbit ears
- Shoes: faux crocodile
- Bag: small bag in the shape of a reptile hand
- Scarf: faux silver fox
From Ruthie & Léa
Name of Costume: GENDER EQUALITY
We wanted to express Women's Day through the color of the Manneken Pis clothes. Montgomery International School is very involved in Women's Day and organizes an activity every year to celebrate it. Our school embraces the values of respect, equality, non-discrimination and justice.
Everything will be purple, as it's the color that represents International Women's Day (March 8). The pants will have a set in the front for private parts to pass through, they'll be threaded with velcro connecting to the back. The shirt and jacket will have the same concept, with Velcro to wrap around either side of her arms. The leather boots will be slightly different, with no soles on the shoes and wrapped just above his ankles. Photos used for inspiration are shown to give an idea of the final result
Materials used:
- Boots: faux leather
- Pants: faux leather
- Jacket: faux leather
- T-shirt: cotton
EIM Community
At Montgomery International School, most of our students come from abroad, speak two or three languages and add much to the character of the school. We also attract Belgian families and long term expats who are looking for international openness and quality teaching and learning.