Bella Eng and Brandon Schwartz are FIDM Fashion Club Co-Presidents at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. They share how they’re both staying inspired during the coronavirus pandemic.
How are you personally staying inspired right now?
Bella: Personally, I am spending a ton of time on Pinterest creating new pin boards that give me inspiration when it comes to trends and designing. Another thing that I am super inspired by, due to my love of vintage designs and art, is period books and TV shows. The most recent show I watched was The Queen’s Gambit. It takes place in 1960s America and is so inspirational!
Brandon: I like to keep myself inspired by updating my knowledge of fashion through social media. I love going through Instagram and Pinterest especially, following accounts whose style I admire as well as screenshotting and pinning outfits I am interested in recreating. Expanding my knowledge of fashion and how to style myself keeps me inspired to expand my wardrobe for the better.
Are there specific brands or personalities you admire who are showing leadership during this health crisis?
Bella: I really appreciate how many brands are creating their own reusable and fashionable masks because I think the market for demand in the mask arena is a great way to bring in business. Because of the amount of economic difficulty many businesses are having, I have been trying to support more small businesses because in the end they are more likely to die out in this pandemic compared to corporate businesses.
Brandon: I admire all of the small businesses on platforms such as Depop and Etsy who run social media accounts and show how they package orders with extreme safety precautions. They are putting the time and effort into their business, and by practicing safe packaging using gloves, sanitizer, and masks, they are creating a good example for customers and showing other brands how to run a business in the safest way possible during a health crisis.
Do you have any tips for staying connected with fellow members during this challenging time?
Bella: Though it does take a lot of effort and work from all of our club’s officers, by consistently putting out digital media on our socials, we have been able to keep our student body updated and engaged! The officers also make sure to communicate frequently so that we can have our Zoom meetings run as smoothly as possible.
Brandon: Social media! Creating platforms for your club is one thing, but being active changes everything. From story takeovers to outfit-of-the-day posts, staying active on social media will keep your members interested. Not only that, involving your members will allow you to keep connected with everyone while not during a scheduled meeting. You can post their fashion tips or the projects they have done to show your appreciation for their dedication.
Have you held any virtual FIDM Fashion Club meetings?
We have our meetings on Zoom every other week after school hours. Monday through Friday, we post digital flyers, activities, or DIYs on our club Instagram as a way to keep the club running on its days off. So far we have had great meetings; we post advertisements of each meeting days before; the majority of our members consistently attend; and the activities we have done have been successful.
Tune in to our Instagram Stories @fidmfashionclub to see takeovers from FIDM Fashion Club Presidents.
Follow Saugus HS FIDM Fashion Club on Instagram @shs_fidm_fashion_club.
