How is your FIDM Fashion Club moving forward this upcoming school year?
We have been making plans to do more fundraising. During COVID we stopped, but we still kept pushing and decided to take a different route educating other people on different cultures of fashion. This upcoming school year we plan on doing more fundraising and donating clothes to shelters for the homeless. I think this year will be the best year, especially for our Fashion Club.
Is your FIDM Fashion Club involved on your school campus?
Every year for Black History Month, we collaborate with the BSU community for their assembly. We create slides to educate others on African American fashion, inspiration, and things that they have brought into the fashion industry. We’ve also helped them plan the African American fashion show that they have.
What are your personal aspirations for the year ahead?
Something that I am really looking forward to is graduating and leaving a legacy at my school, especially when it comes to Fashion Club. My school never had a Fashion Club, so it was my idea after doing a lot of research into FIDM. I would probably say for myself, personally, something I really want to do is have my own business; that is part of my main goal.
Is this the first time that you have been in a leadership role?
Yes, this is my first time leading my own club. It took some getting used to, but me and my club Co-President planned every meeting to make sure that everyone kept coming back. I would say to make sure that what you’re doing in your club is helping others. Make sure each meeting has a purpose, and find new ways of getting people to come back by doing things that you love and having fun.
How do you create engaging activities for your FIDM Fashion Club?
We look at Vogue and Twitter, especially since Twitter has been so big right now. Vogue is [also] really good at keeping up with daily events. Say the Met Gala had just happened, our next meeting would be talking about every outfit, like who wore it, who designed it, and if we liked it.
Which fashion trends do you think are going forward this year?
The monochromatic look is starting to really heavily influence everyone’s trends now. I would say that that is one of the biggest trends that are really influencing everyone right now.
How would you describe your style? Do you have a favorite fashion icon?
My style is kind of street, but also a bit of prep. I have three fashion icons. One of them would have to be Rihanna. I tend to look at her style and get a lot of influence from her. I would also say Kanye West when it comes to my streetwear style. He really pulls that off, and I look at his clothes for influence. The next person is ASAP Rocky. His style is very unique, and he is a really big trendsetter when it comes to streetwear.
Do you think that you will be reinventing your style moving forward this year?
Yes, I’ve actually been doing that since I started on summer break. It’s something that I really love to do, especially for Instagram. I like to create mood boards on Pinterest for different styles, and look at different trends to change up my style. I [also] like to be one of a kind and keep it unique, so I’ll follow someone’s trends but make it my own.
We loved seeing the Lost & Found Oakland School for the Arts Runway Show. Can you talk about how that idea came about?
We saw the FIDM DEBUT Runway Show from 2020 last year and we got a lot of inspiration for how we could do our [own] show. We talked to our school and got it approved, [and then] created our theme and made sure that everybody understood how we were going to do it.
What advice can you share about that experience?
Because of COVID, we weren’t all together and everything was done at home. We didn’t always have that guidance like we would when we were in person. I would say to always trust yourself when you are doing things like that, and just know that what you are doing is right. I really was happy that we were able to pull it off, and I learned to trust the process.
How did you promote this event?
We decided to create little small skits for TikTok to get everyone’s attention. We had another student who created our flyers, and we had people putting up the flyers outside and around different cities, especially Oakland, our home city.
How are you using your background interests as FIDM Fashion Club President?
I’ve always been doing theatre; it’s been a big part of my life ever since I was younger. When we did the runway show it really helped me as the MC, because I already knew how to memorize lines and what cameras to look at.
Is there any advice you have for FIDM Fashion Clubs that are just starting?
The main thing is to trust the process. I encourage people to talk about different things, like science in fashion, and collaborate with other clubs to get other people’s opinions and branch out to a different demographic that you wouldn’t generally look for.
