As the pages of this issue unfold, I invite you to journey with me through a celebration of color, eras, and the boldness of boundaries in fashion. For Coulture: Époque, our 10th anniversary issue, the focus on color is not just a visual choice but a deliberate homage to what fashion can mean: both a living, breathing canvas and a cultural conversation.
Growing up in Paris, the cradle of art and fashion, I was immersed in a world where creativity and innovation met at every turn. The city has served as my biggest inspiration in life, and it is here that I first encountered the magic of bold design and the limitless potential of fashion as an art form.
The heart of this issue beats through
the vibrant hues and distinct shapes that Marimekko has gifted us, a legacy that has been ever-present in my own life. Growing up with its striking patterns and playful palette, I have always found a kinship in the way their designs dance with color.
Finnish design house Marimekko, founded in 1951 by Armi Ratia, was a pioneer in creating wearable art—a legacy that reverberates through time. The brand’s commitment to joyful, unabashed color contrasts with the more muted palettes that often dominate the fashion scene, reminding us that fashion can, and should, be a canvas for expression. With Marimekko Aetheria, we bring that influence to life in a seven model shoot, each embodying a different color from the 1960s, paired with expressive makeup and styling—a throwback that feels utterly modern. In this shoot, as in much of this issue, I wanted to challenge the norms and create something that felt both nostalgic and progressive, something timeless in its ability to provoke thought and spark conversation.
Color in Époque is not always loud. In our shoot In the Shadows, we explore its inverse. Rendered entirely in black and white, the shoot plays with light and absence—an elegant meditation on contrast, silhouette, and emotion. In stripping away hue, we are reminded of color’s power: how it defines mood not just through saturation but through its loss. It is a conversation between brightness and void, between seen and unseen—proof that even in monochrome, fashion can speak volumes. If Marimekko Aetheria is the crescendo, In the Shadows is the hush that lets the music linger.
On a global scale, the power of fashion to transcend borders has never been more apparent. Fashion is a universal language, capable of speaking across cultures and eras. It connects us in ways
that go beyond trends or seasons. Fashion allows us to draw from the past, reinterpret it, and make it our own. Just as Paris has shaped my artistic vision, so too does fashion have the power to shape our global conversation. This issue isn’t just about what we wear; it’s about why we wear it and how fashion, like art, has the power to change the world. Fashion’s evolution reflects cultural shifts, and it’s this cyclical nature—of looking to the past while simultaneously pushing forward—that shapes the industry. Vintage, upcycling, and sustainability are not simply trends but are integral to this ongoing evolution. Fashion, like art, has a role to play in addressing the issues of our time: challenging norms, questioning tradition, and pushing us to think more deeply about the world around us.
Fashion, at its best, serves as both a mirror and a message. The industry is increasingly aware of its potential to influence, to inspire, and even to make a statement beyond the runway. This issue isn’t just about the beauty of a garment or the allure of color, it’s about how fashion, like all art, is a catalyst for change.
This issue, to me, represents not only the culmination of Coulture’s decade-long journey but also my own personal journey as an artist and creator. It is a reflection of where I’ve been—shaped by the streets of Paris, inspired by the colors of Marimekko—and where I hope to take fashion in the future. I am proud to share it with you.
Here’s to the next chapter of Coulture—to making art, wearing it, and living it.
Avec tout mon amour,
Sophia Katz Editor-in-Chief
Photographed by Michelle Han
Designed by Niha Kanumuri
José Revueltas, a Mexican writer and political activist, once said “todo acto de creación, es un acto de amor”. This issue is an exact interpretation of that. It’s a reflection of how creation, in all its forms, is rooted in care, passion, and a deep desire to share something meaningful. For me, this magazine is more than ink on paper—it’s a love letter. From storytelling, to design, to the community that breathes life into every page.
Every editorial spread, every photoshoot under the bright sky or between the aisles at a grocery store, every moment spent arranging layouts and reworking captions—these are all acts of love. Love for beauty, love for culture, and love for all the people who make this publication what it is.
When I joined Coulture as a production design team member last year, I never imagined I’d be writing this letter as Editor-in-Chief. Back then, I was immersed in creating props, costumes, and transforming sets into immersive worlds. What was once Coker Arboretum became Marrakesh. Through that work, I discovered how powerful the behind-thescenes process could be—how each detail builds toward something bigger, something that tells a story without needing words. It made me realize how much I loved the quiet work of making an idea real—watching it unfold piece by piece until it lived on the page. But stepping into this role came with challenges I couldn’t have anticipated. With my incredible co-editor studying abroad during the first semester, I was navigating unfamiliar territory—making big decisions, building timelines, learning how to lead while still learning myself. There were moments of doubt, moments when I questioned if I was doing it “right.” But I’ve come to realize that there is no perfect path, only a passionate one. And I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. I’ve grown as a designer, as a collaborator, and as a storyteller.
What’s remained constant through it all is the heart each person pours into this publication. It’s not just about putting together a magazine—it’s about the long nights in the design lab, the group chats full of inspiration and chaos, the last-minute shoots that some-
how become our best work. It’s about the vulnerability of sharing your ideas and the magic that happens when someone else says, “yes, let’s run with it.”
This year, I also found myself leaning into my roots more deeply than I ever have before. Hispanic culture has always celebrated color—vibrant, expressive, fearless color—and that spirit was a major influence in shaping this issue. From bold fashion choices to radiant backdrops, I wanted to honor that cultural connection and let it shine through the visual language of these pages. It’s a tribute to the joy, creativity, and resilience I’ve seen all my life, and a reminder that representation can be both powerful and beautiful.
But it wasn’t just the colors that inspired me—it was also the sense of community that runs so deeply through my culture. The way we gather, uplift, and create space for one another is something I carried with me throughout this process. In many ways, building this issue felt like building a family.
I’ve learned that creativity doesn’t come from perfection—it comes from community. From trusting your team, from asking for help, from showing up again and again because you believe in what you’re building together. That’s what has carried me through this year, and what continues to fuel Coulture at its core.
This anniversary issue is more than a look back—it’s a vibrant showcase of everything we’ve become and everything we continue to grow toward. It holds the energy of every risk we took and every idea that started as a maybe and turned into something bold and beautiful. It’s a celebration of not just of the past ten years, but of the people and passion that keep moving us forward. I’m especially greatful to Monique and Joey for taking a chance on me before I even knew what I was capable of, and to all of my editors who suppported and encouraged me. You made this role feel a little less overwhelming and a lot more like home.
So, to every reader, contributor, model, and dreamer who has touched these pages— whether you’ve been here since the beginning or just picked up your first issue—thank you. Thank you for believing in what we do, for sharing your stories, your time, your talents, and your trust. You’re the reason this magazine has heart. You’ve helped shape its voice, push its boundaries, and fill it with meaning far beyond what’s printed on the page.
Coulture isn’t just a publication—it’s a community, built by people who create with intention and pour themselves into every detail. And because of you, it keeps evolving, growing, and reaching for something greater. You are Coulture. Always.
Con cariño,
Alexandra Sanchez Maldonado Editor-in-Chief
EAU TY
Written By Keira Braithwaite
Designed By Nora Lyons & Shirley Meunier
DNO-MAKEUP MAKEUP: Embracing Natural Looks 1
o you want to wake up feeling effortlessly beautiful every day? Too bad! Your youth is fading, and you can’t let anyone know. Here’s a simple “clean girl” makeup tutorial to make sure you don’t stand out too much while still being effortlessly flawless.
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Concealer comes next, and we need to brighten those faces up. Remember, the less dimension your face has, the better. The goal is to look like all your favorite Disney princesses post-happy ending.
Contour next! You don’t want to be completely shapeless! Give yourself
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First, apply your moisturizer. Every girl needs a good, thick schmear to ensure she’s as shiny as the day she entered this world. We recommend only using moisturizers priced $99 and up.
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Don’t you feel naturally pretty? Don’t you feel clean? Don’t you fit in?”
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Be careful with your eyebrows. It’s not 2016 anymore. Now, you need to carefully draw in each individual hair for that natural feathery look. Stick them down
Here’s where we have to be really careful — the eyes. Your plain old eyes just won’t cut it. Nobody can know you’re wearing eyeliner, so keep it very close to your lashline.
Next, foundation. We’re keeping it natural, so make sure your shade match is right before smothering your face! Pores are not clean girl, so you really want to get every nook and cranny and achieve that seamless look–Like real skin, but better!
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Clean girls are always glowing, so highlighter is your best friend. Grease up your face with some natural-toned cream highlighter. Every high point of your face should be visible from a mile away. Dewy!
Now it’s time to set. Get your favorite setting powder and use it sparingly! The cleanest girls look like they’re fresh out of the shower, so we don’t want to be too matte. Keep the dewiness on max. Who cares if you need to reapply 10 times a day, it’s not like you have anything better to do.
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And lastly, mascara. We recommend skipping it! As long as you aren’t wearing mascara, nobody will know you have any makeup on at all. If you have stubby ugly eyelashes, go for a natural brown shade.
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Photo Credits: FashionMash Editorial Modeled by Nicole Lesanek
And done! You should be looking your best, now. If not, then nothing can save you. Get dressed up in some Lululemon athleisure, a messy bun (see our 1-hour effortlessly messy bun updo tutorial), and have a clean girl girls’ night with all your friends who look exactly like you!
TYLE
PLAY DRESS UP FOR YOUR
Written
by Joelle Adeleke | Designed by Arushi Rathod & Sofia Nyiri
Iwas browsing the shelves in Light Years Jewelry when I saw them: a pair of magenta earrings designed to look like butterfly wings. They reminded me so much of “Barbie Mariposa and Her Butterfly Fairy Friends” that I could not help myself. I bought them. With the popularity of Y2K aesthetics, manga-inspired shoujo core and Roblox’s Dress to Impress, I think it is safe to say that nostalgia plays a huge role in fashion today. But how do UNC-Chapel Hill students feel about the relationship between fashion and nostalgia?
“JUST WEAR WHAT YOU WANT, AND IT’S ABOUT HOW YOU WEAR THE CLOTHES.”
Sophomore Anushka Saroha grew up loving the fashion of Bratz dolls in general, but she especially admired “Bratz: The Series.” She loved the diverse cast and distinct styles of each character. Even socalled ugly outfits will look good if you wear them with confidence, she said. “It’s never that serious,” Saroha said. “Just wear what you want, and it’s about how you wear the clothes.”
By revisiting childhood shows, Saroha is able to recreate the carefree attitude she carried as a kid, and she appreciates the confidence it instills in her.
Senior MK Ware believes nostalgia is going to continue to be a big part of fashion. Ware sports
merchandise from a variety of media including “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and “Twilight.” In her preteen years, the shows Ware watched heavily influ enced her fashion choices. She said she was able to show her love for a piece of media to other people. “When I was really, really into ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ I had a lot of fan mem orabilia from that,” Ware said. While specific trends will continue to cycle in and out, nostalgia will continue to be a factor in the fashion space, especially with the influ ence of TikTok, she said.
Amie Cooke, a master’s student in teaching, said her biggest style inspirations as a kid were “Hannah Montana” and “Kim Possible.” She is a fan of flowy tops, inspired by Gabriella from “High School Musical.” Cooke said nostalgic fashion is not about the
“Now I’m a student teacher at elementary school, and I’m wondering, what’s going to be nostalgic for these kids, and is the same thing going to happen?” Cooke said.
“IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOUR BODY LOOKS LIKE, EVERYBODY CAN LOOK GOOD IN NOSTALGIC FASHION.”
clothes, but reconnecting with the positive feelings associated with a particular time.
Senior Izzy Richie said the pink-clad Sharpay Evans from “High School Musical” influenced her sense of style as a kid. The sense of nostalgia stems from how expressively children dress, she said. As an adult, her fashion choices are more subdued in comparison. As an advertising and PR student, Richie understands that nostalgia sells well, but it is also something people genuinely enjoy. “I think the best advice I could give is: it does not matter what your body looks like, everybody can look good in nostalgic fashion,” Richie said.
A Sandy Sneak Peek
A Sandy Sneak Peek
Written & Designed by Savannah Matthews
It was my last day in New York, and I was on my final stroll downtown when I came across a crowd of eager photographers hovering around a building. The camera flashes started and I quickly whipped out my camera to nearly faint in delight: the Sandy Liang Spring Summer 2025 collection show was about to start. What began to happen before me can only be described as a pre-runway runway. All the event attendees arrived to the show in their very best Sandy Liang-approved outfits with all the bells and whistles: puffy baubles, pastels, nostalgic Polly Pocket-esque looks, ruffles, ballet pumps and, of course, bows. I felt like I was in her world through the outfits of those invited to it. This runway of sorts allowed the viewers and photographers in the audience to get a taste of Liang’s collection and see it reflected in her target consumers. Sandy Liang captures the attention of girls everywhere through her lighthearted, playful designs that invoke feelings of nostalgia and childhood. Her collections have a slight hint of professionalism, creating a world where professionalism and play can coexist.
The audience for the show was predominantly female, which seems true to the nature of Liang. With her typically fem inine and playful womenswear designs comes the attention of fashion girls everywhere: fashion girls who want to embrace fun and fashion as one. There were a few more “serious” looks that arrived: the majority of the outfits outside of the show consisted of miniskirts, pleats and bright accessories, reflecting the almost schoolgirl energy that comes with Liang’s collections combined with the joys of dress up. Her designs adorned nearly every person in the audience and made it seem like I truly was at a runway. The models, unlike the catwalk, were everyday people, implementing the designs into their everyday attire, inspiring the audience to make everyday life a runway.
THE PRE-RUNWAY RUNWAY
a personal favorite of mine, Orion Carloto, arrived at the show wearing a matching Sandy Liang baby blue drop waist mini dress, Sandy Liang satin ballet pumps, a vintage brooch and a bow-adorned mini purse.
“I never know what to do or how to pose at these things,” Carloto commented before casting a dreamy look to the sky, perfectly reflecting the whimsy and authenticity seen in Sandy Liang’s designs.
Liang has been a key proponent in the comeback of ballet flats and has reflected the evolution of the trend in her designs as time has passed: the classic flat is evolving into sporty shoes and slingback pumps. Carloto and many other attendees of the show ar-
“Fashion is a visual newspaper of what is going on in history, social movements and culture.”
The attendees slowly arrived at the event, gracefully walking down the line of photographers. These high-end looks seen on the chic girls strutting to the building entrance let non-attendees and passersby into the fashion world, showing those not in attendance what the spring/summer 2025 collection might look like. Fashion influencer and
rived in Liang pumps in all shades of pastels, welcoming spring with open arms. Adrienne Reau arrived dripping in Liang style, sporting a 1970s hair bump and pigtails, a cropped cream peacoat, a brown Sandy Liang mini skirt, butter yellow Sandy Liang heels, a starshaped Sandy Liang necklace and the small Sandy Liang regalo bag. Pastel colors contrasted with dark blacks and blues as a key theme of many attendees, visualizing the girl world that has taken over the minds of many women on social media. Furs, though potentially a product of the snow-bearing weather in the city, were adorned by many women attending the show. Rich furs contrasted with the heavy pastel looks worn, bringing weight and sophistication to an otherwise light outfit. The rising trend of traditional, prairie-esque was also visible in the attendees, specifically the empire waist blouse on Ella Emhoff’s outfit, paired with jeans and a bandana. Emerging trends and the continued relevance of others were reflected by the show attendees, displaying how tapped in the viewers were to the current fashion scene.
The girls arriving at the show were a true reflection of the heart of Sandy Liang’s collection: femininity, nostalgia and girlhood. Girls showed up in patterns, textures and colors of varying kinds, bringing memories of the idealized girlhood many wish to return to, no matter if it accurately reflects our own.
“Fashion is a visual newspaper of what is going on in history, social movements and culture,” Emmy winner Catrina Henderson, known online as @catrinathecreative, said.
Even in the small bubble of the Sandy Liang show, fashion history was present. Sandy Liang’s designs and the attendees of the show are testaments to the cultural fashion moment that we exist in: mod, feminine and nostalgic looks are back in a big way. Designers have embraced more playful and girlhood-like designs in the fashion sphere that will likely continue. The attendees fully embraced Liang’s collections and paired them with their unique touches, giving each outfit a distinct personality. Not one girl was wearing the same outfit, which is refreshing in the digital age when fashion often feels copied and pasted. There was one aspect that continued through all the looks: girlhood. Sandy Liang’s collections argue that we never really grow out of being girls, we just morph into more powerful versions of ourselves.
Photo Credits: Savannah Matthews & Sofia Nyiri
Givenchy and Sarah Burton
Written by Elizabeth Nam
Designed by Carolyn Farag
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” — has anyone not heard of this film? If you haven’t, you have definitely seen the iconic Givenchy dress. Thanks to the film’s success, a black dress with cutouts, layered with a Givenchy pearl necklace, became the fashion staple in the cinematic industry.
The necklace was made by Givenchy jewelry designer Roger Scemama, and the dress was designed by Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy himself. Before opening his own house, de Givenchy developed his own style under Jacques Fath, Robert Piguet, Lucien Lelong and Elsa Schiaparelli.
“GIVENCHY’S RISE IN POPULARITY IS WIDELY ATTRIBUTED TO ITS NAMESAKE’S FRIENDSHIP WITH AUDREY HEPBURN, THE HOUSE’S MUSE.”
Though his designs do speak for themselves, Givenchy’s rise in popularity is widely attributed to its namesake’s friendship with Audrey Hepburn, the house’s muse. “His are the only clothes in which I am myself. He is far more than a couturier, he is a creator of personality,” Hepburn said in a Vogue UK interview.
In 1988, the brand was acquired by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennesy or LVMH, but de Givenchy remained as the creative director until his retirement seven years later. Among his accomplishments, his creation of the “sack silhouette” — a relaxed, unstructured shaping of the clothing — and “Bettina blouse” — a wide, flowy blouse with a decorated high
neck and cuffed loose sleeves named after Bettina Graziani, a muse — were regarded as some of the greatest influences in high fashion.
When de Givenchy left his maison in 1995, John Galliano took over as lead designer. Galliano brought romantic silhouettes and quality fabrics to high fashion. His short tenure built up Givenchy’s reputation for creating haute couture garments. A year later, Alexander McQueen stepped into the role with a strong taste for dark romanticism and avant-garde. His “Highland Rape” and “VOSS” collections went beyond the traditional fashion norms and became pivotal moments in fashion history. McQueen refined his presence in the fashion world through intricate tailoring and ingenious craftsmanship techniques: Savile Row pad stitching and corset-style bodices, for example.
Following suit, Julien MacDonald led Givenchy from 2001 to 2005. Transitioning from McQueen’s radical style, MacDonald leaned towards a sexy and alluring aesthetic, after the peak of celebrity culture in the early 2000s. With bold cutouts, his designs championed femininity and were showcased by Beyoncé, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Dita Von Teese.
Riccardo Tisci, creative director from 2005 to 2017, curated the perfect balance of modernization and tradition for Givenchy by fusing streetwear and high fashion. In addition, he began to promote diversity and inclusion on the runway with models of various ethnicities and body types. By maintaining a tight relationship with Beyoncé and Rihanna, Tisci placed Givenchy into the limelight of pop culture.
In 2017, Clare Waight Keller became the first female lead designer of Givenchy. Her notable accomplishment was crafting Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, with a minimalist cutout and boat neckline. Her designs were clean and modern.
Following in Tisci’s footsteps, Matthew Williams saw Givenchy bring streetwear into the luxury fashion space yet again. His take on the aesthetic, however, was focused on sustainability, using efficient materials and manufacturing operations. Each designer has consistently formed the brand’s mission to appeal to new consumers.
Despite the achievements of each creative director, Givenchy has yet to find the “perfect” one. The balance between traditional and modern has yet to be found,
and the image of Givenchy has constantly changed over the years.
The public is curious to know what Givenchy’s true intentions are with Sarah Burton, the brand’s newest creative director as of 2024. Could it be for pure creativity, traditional haute couture or to raise profit? Regardless, there has been an outpour of positive comments about Burton’s appointment.
“Sarah Burton is an exceptional creative talent whose work I have passionately followed for many years,” Sidney Toledano, the chairman of the Givenchy board, said. “I am very glad that she is joining Givenchy today. Her unique vision and approach to fashion will be invaluable to this iconic Maison, known for its audacity and haute couture.”
“COULD IT BE FOR PURE CREATIVITY, TRADITIONAL HAUTE COUTURE OR TO RAISE PROFIT? REGARDLESS, THERE HAS BEEN AN OUTPOUR OF
COMMENTS
In addition, Vogue has highly spoken about Burton’s collections: “Vogue’s Sarah Mower called it ‘a visceral act of female symbolism — a collection fiercely true to herself and to all the values, skills, and beauty she’s upheld for 26 years.’”
Burton debuted her first collection for Givenchy at Paris Fashion Week in March. No one knows exactly what to expect, but people have been referencing her past collections for Alexander McQueen. After his tragic death, Burton stepped up to honor his legacy and work. McQueen was her mentor; she completed a placement year at the fashion house and continued to work under him after graduation. De -
spite not following McQueen’s edgy style, the softness in her designs was noticed by the fashion industry. Not to mention, Burton’s design of the Princess of Wales’s wedding dress led her to receive an Order of the British Empire for her contributions to British fashion. After 26 years with the house, Burton departed in 2023. Her final collection for McQueen was a highly emotional closure between the two, gaining a standing ovation from Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue.
“HER UNIQUE VISION AND APPROACH TO FASHION WILL BE INVALUABLE TO THIS ICONIC MAISON, KNOWN FOR ITS AUDACITY AND HAUTE COUTURE.”
Being the fifth woman to act as a creative director for an LVMH house, Burton has big shoes to fill during her highly anticipated tenure. Perhaps, this is what Givenchy needs — Burton’s fusion of boldness and elegance that mirrors de Givenchy’s designs. However, this could also be an opportunity for Burton to experiment and challenge the traditional Parisian style from her time with McQueen. Givenchy’s non-linear journey has created a free-for-all playground for designers.
Givenchy has nurtured a vast orchard of style and aesthetics, inviting people to wonder which direction Burton will take the brand. The house is a renowned name, but the staple aesthetic of Givenchy has yet to be found. The constant search for balance has people on their toes — asking what Sarah Burton will plant for the future of Givenchy.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
JUERG TEL
EN L’ EM
Directed by Alexandra Sanchez Maldonado, Juliette Dias, Savannah Matthews, Sophia Katz
Photographed by Elizah Van Lokeren, Joshua Tu Styled by Marguerite Stanley, Henry Thomas
Modeled by Amanda Abreu, Jessica Williamson, Keira Braithwaite
DRAG TRENDS
Written by Henry Thomas | Designed by Tatum Coleman
Drag is everywhere. In a media landscape that is constantly diversifying and platforming queer creators, the previously stigmatized and spectacled art of drag is impacting pop culture in new ways.
The late 2010s and 2020s are an era popularly referred to by RuPaul Charles — inarguably one of the largest contributors to the drag zeitgeist — as the “Golden Age of Drag,” bringing gender performance and drag as we know it before the eyes of millions.
Over the past decade, RuPaul’s eponymous television franchise, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” has become a household name. Racking up nearly 17 years on television, 30 Primetime Emmys and franchises in just under 20 different countries, RuPaul’s empire and people’s craving for more is clearly going nowhere.
However, the increased popularity of drag has also been met with negative perceptions of the art.
Girl Defined, an online Christian miniseries and self-labeled “online ‘sisterhood,’” says in the 91st episode of their podcast that drag is “men [dressed] up as oversexualized, dramatized women.” Grace Barnes for The Guardian refers to drag as a “grotesque caricature.”
Other public figures have gone so far as to publicly defame drag figures in the public sphere. Namely, English actor Laurence Fox was faced with a libel lawsuit after falsely accusing Canada-born drag queen Crystal of being a pedophile on Twitter.
Drag currently balances between two opinionated extremes: caricatured versus extravagant, offensive versus embracing, gaudy versus glamorous.
With all of the conflama surrounding drag in news and pop culture, some may scoff at the idea that drag can be tied to something like casual dress, streetwear or popular fashion. However, drag’s history in fashion may have more of an impact on the direction streetwear is taking than people realize. After all, like RuPaul always says, “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag.”
RuPaul was one of the first to break into mainstream media by releasing his billboard hit, “Supermodel (You Better Work),” which peaked at 45. RuPaul also had his first television show, a talk show called the “RuPaul Show,” on VH1 where he interviewed celebrities, such as Diana Ross, Olivia-Newton John and the Backstreet Boys, among others.
He was also one of the first drag queens to be dressed by top designers like Bob Mackie, even wearing the designer’s iconic “flame dress” also worn by Cher, Tina Turner and Beyoncé.
Predating the success of RuPaul’s multiple television shows, one of the most widespread cross-cultural exchanges between drag queens and the general public was on the runway. The 1980s experienced an explosion of LGBTQ+ culture, and famous labels everywhere caught the drag bug. Like RuPaul, many drag artists were recognized and made into muses by titans of high fashion and couture.
“DRAG IS THE ANTITHESIS OF THE MATRIX”
Artists like Lypsinka and Billy Beyond graced the runways of major ‘90s labels in drag, such as Mugler and Todd Oldham. Both labels were inspired by the high camp of drag and other underground performance cultures that flourished in the ‘80s, like the gender-defying ballroom scene.
Former androgynous New York night life fixture and RuPaul’s personal designer, Zaldy, was another artist who gained recog nition with the boom of drag culture. Zaldy appeared on runways for Mugler, Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier, often in drag. Zaldy was even featured in drag in a Levi’s video ad, although it was eventually banned in the United States.
Now drag queens like Violet Chachki, Aquaria and Symone have made special ap pearances at the Met Gala and routinely grace the runways of fashion labels, such as Rich ard Quinn, the Blonds and Moschino.
Other fash ion design
ers are making careers dressing drag performers or creating avant-garde drag-inspired pieces. Drag costume designer Marco Marco has worked with music artists like Camila Cabello, Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Lopez. Best Picture winner at the 2023 Academy Awards, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” featured lavish drag-like costuming by Brad Callahan, also known as BCALLA.
Callahan has previously made countless costumes for drag queens, such as the crowning look for All Stars season 6 winner, Kylie Sonique Love. You may also recognize Callahan’s sparkly one-legged catsuit and eyeball bra worn by Miley Cyrus during her 2015 VMAs performance. Cyrus was also joined by multiple drag queens onstage during the performance.
Pop artist Chappell Roan has also been vocal of her support of drag and has highlighted drag as a source of inspiration for the fashions they adorn on and off stage. Roan said on the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” that she and her stylist pull inspirations for her looks from drag queens. During the same interview, Roan credited Sasha Colby with inspiring her line, ‘I’m your favorite artist’s favorite artist’ — a nod to Sasha Colby’s ‘I’m your favorite drag queen’s favorite drag queen,’ which she said during her “Drag Race
the Dior Fall 2000 collection.
Though the concept of taking inspiration from pop culture isn’t new, the integration of camp aesthetics into popular fashion is both on-the-nose and full of character similar to the art of drag. It’s no coincidence that the year Anna Wintour dedicated a Met Gala theme to camp that she would have three drag queens on the guest list.
judge on Drag Race, curates Zendaya’s looks to match the themes of the films in which she stars. For “Challengers” Roach prepared looks with tennis motifs, for “Dune,” futuristic and avant-gar-
The Barbie movie’s film campaign was matched with an impressive intentionality behind Margot Robbie’s red carpet wardrobe. Many of the looks took direct inspirations from some of Barbie’s famed looks, toe-
The trend of character dressing has also accompanied the commercial success of “Drag Race.” “Drag Race” recently reached 3.2 million viewers for its season 17 premiere that was guest judged by Katy Perry – the highest the show had ever seen. The show has welcomed many other A-list celebrities, such as Lady Gaga, Jeff Goldblum and United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes.
The drag community also mimics aspects of the fashion industry by developing trends. Drag queens instinctually take inspiration from other drag queens — their community. The sharing of drag techniques within drag “houses” or from drag mentee to mentor, the popularization of distinct drag styles and the endless access to makeup tutorials on YouTube; it’s all part of the fabric that makes up drag.
“I’M YOUR DRAG QUEEN’S FAVORITE DRAG QUEEN”
In turn, the trend toward more imaginative looks has also had an impact on popular fashion and streetwear.
According to Lyst.com’s Year in Fashion 2022, “Barbiecore” became a defining trend of the year, with searches for pink skyrocketing after seeing Margot on-set for “Barbie” in head to toe pink.
Part of this duality between concept and high fashion is foundational to drag. On the season 13 finale of “Drag Race, “trans drag race star Gottmik wore a Hellraiser-inspired Pinhead look which later inspired a costume of the same character done by Megan Thee Stallion. Season 3 winner, Raja, created an iconic rococo look reminiscent of John Galliano’s Marie Antoinette look in
Within the community, drag artists have a tendency to take inspiration from each other, in large part due to the “families” of drag that mimic the “house” dynamics created amongst visual and vogue performers in the ‘80s ballroom scene. The mentor-mentee relationship of experienced versus new performers customarily takes a matriarchal structure.
While the term “drag mother” typically refers to a seasoned drag queen who puts a sprouting performer in drag for the first time, a “house mother” usually fulfills other roles like providing accommodations and guidance.
Both house and drag mothers can offer beauty tips and hand-me-down drag in order to birth their “children” into the ballroom or drag scenes. Therefore, it’s not unusual that drag lineages have family resemblance. In fact, this idea of shared traits was a tense subplot for “Drag Race” season 14 contestant Daya Betty, who, much to her disapproval, was constantly being compared to her drag predecessor, Crystal Methyd, because of the resemblance in drag makeup alleged by the panel of judges.
Seasoned “RuPaul’s Drag Race” historians are also privy to other trends that have
evolved with the show: the gradual phasing out of padding to create a curvy silhouette, straight human hair to evoke a sense of “realness,” or the emulation of a woman not in drag or even textiles such as liquid organza and latex.
Other more alternative drag styles also have a tendency to leave a lasting impres sion on other sprouting queens’ faces, such as “Drag Race” winner and makeup mogul Trixie Mattel’s dramatic wing and huge white under-eye paint or Methyd’s upturned clownish lip.
Social media has also allowed drag to per meate the mainstream like never before. You may have seen Chachki’s famous black-to-tar tan outfit reveal, gracing dozens of Twitter memes jesting about the mood switch from Halloween to Nov. 1. Trixie has amassed almost 2.3 million subscribers on YouTube. Kim Chi has seen viral success on TikTok for the quality of her makeup setting powder.
In spite of the resurgence of drag in the past decade, RuPaul denies that drag will ever reach the mainstream. “Drag is the antithesis of the matrix,” he said in an inter view with ABC News. Though aesthetics associated with the extravagance and gender subversion of drag may come into vogue, RuPaul denies that society as a whole is ready to embrace the message of drag: “Iden tity is a joke.”
PHOTO CREDITS: SHUTTERSTOCK
an analysis of the trend that doesn’t seem to be going away
Bows began to make a rebirth in 2021 when they graced the spring/summer 2022 runways through Moschino, Giambattista Valli and Commes de Garçons in subtle, yet elegant ways. The collections featured simple bow belts, bow collars and accessories that highlighted the piece more than the bow itself.
This trend took a sharp turn in late 2022 when Sandy Liang dropped her fall 2022 Ready-To-Wear collection that embraced the iconic long hair clip bow that has transcended that singular collection. She continues to use the design in current collections and it has been adopted — or had been stolen — by countless companies searching to get a profit on the up-andcoming bow trend.
Bows started moving from X (formerly known as Twitter) onto shelves at Urban Outfitters in 2023, indicating that the trend is widespread and underway in the media continuum. Though the trend officially took root three years ago, it still has a firm grip on the culture. The bow aesthetic has been meshed with the coquette aesthetic trend
and influenced the popularity of the latter,extending the longevity of the two. In a world otherwise swirling with thousands of microtrends that span over extremely short periods of time, coquette seems like it is here to stay.
The coquette aesthetic is defined by an appeal to a certain “girlish charm,” which could be for the better or for the worse, depending on its application. After all, fashion is political and a visual representation of culture. The coquette aesthetic is often associated with Lana Del Rey, Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, “Lolita,” the “I’m just a girl” phenomenon and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet tour.
The “I’m just a girl” online trend started out innocently enough, embodying the idea that women are held to an incredibly high degree in society. It then quickly transformed into discourse of how women shouldn’t have jobs and should go back to being housewives. There is often an infantilization of women associated with the aesthetic, as seen in the heavy influence of “Lolita.”
The controversial 1962 movie adaptation follows the story of a teenager preyed upon by her stepfather; she was hypersexualized in her child body and seen as a “sexy baby.” Lolita, the stepdaughter, is remembered as a teen wearing a white crop top, red lipstick and bright red heart-shaped sunglasses.
The most iconic scene from the 1962 movie was when Lolita was sucking on a lollipop, looking at the camera, further fueling the “sexy baby” label smacked on the movie. Lolita, however, was not the problem. The mimicking of the Lolita aesthetic is damaging to women because it affirms that infantilization is okay when, in reality, it is degrading and anti-feminist.
While not accurate because she is an adult woman, the same term has been used to describe Sabrina Carpenter because of her
Written & Designed by Savannah Matthews
lingerie-esque outfits on her most recent tour. Her outfits consisted of heart-shaped cutouts on the chest, short and frilly skirts, lace, baby doll dresses and glittery go-go boots, making many in the X community believe that she was cosplaying as a child.
The issue with this is that Carpenter is an adult who actively chooses to dress this way and Lolita was portrayed a certain way because she was groomed. Carpenter embracing the girlhood aesthetic in a way that reclaims typically associated things, like bows, frills, pink and sparkles, takes the aesthetic in a more progressive direction. On the other hand, claiming the Lolita version is more of a feminism pushback that serves as a detriment to women instead of an empowerment.
The coquette trend is one example of many in how social politics play into how fashion is perceived and implemented in general society. The coquette aesthetic can be implemented in a way reclaiming girlhood, or in a detrimental way that damages feminist progress in society through purposeful infantilization.
“FASHION IS POLITICAL.”
Putting it best is the proclaimed queen of coquette herself, Sandy Liang. In an interview with fashion mogul Viv Chen, Sandy Liang states, “I honestly don’t know much about what the word coquette means. It’s not a word that I find inspiring.”
Girlhood, and specifically the coquette aesthetic associated, seems to have deeply sunk its teeth into culture and, as a result, the fashion sphere. The trend of “girlhood” inspired clothing started popping back up in Gen Z fashion nearly five years ago, yet the grip it had then seems to prevail. In a digital age hyper-focused on trends, microtrends seem to pop up and dissolve within weeks, making the stain this trend has had on the timeline seem like it has existed for millennia.
photo credit: savannah matthews
Inspiring or not, the bow trend and, quickly behind, the coquette aesthetic, continue and are evident in spring/summer 2025 and fall/ winter 2025 runway looks. With the continuing emphasis on bows and girliness in fashion in influential fashion houses, it begs the question: is the girlhood trend here to stay?
In “The Devil Wears Prada,” Miranda Priestly got it exactly right: everything we wear is because of the decisions of creative directors in high fashion houses. It’s all methodical and trends are decided months in advance, then slowly trickle down after fashion month from the designers into poorly made duplicates in fast fashion companies. All trends are conceived during fashion month.
After the fall/winter 2022 Sandy Liang and Collina Strada collections, the trend began to show up in all sorts of brands. This past year, where this analysis of the trend takes place, bows and the girlhood aesthetic continue to dominate.
The SS25 and FW25 fashion months highlighted a plethora of designers embodying the girlhood aesthetic. Most notably, Simone Rocha, Valentino, Collina Strada, Yuhan Wang and Sandy Liang. Interestingly, all mentioned fashion houses but Valentino have female creative directors, a few belonging to the late Millennial generation.
The young age of the designers could likely be the reason for so much inspiration in the Gen Z crowd. The fashion industry has essen-
tially given the OK that women can dress up like little girls again, reclaiming their youth. The houses put forth collections sprinkled with bows, satin, sparkles and pink, hinting at a future of girlhood aesthetics to come.
Founded in New York in 2014, Parsons graduate Sandy Liang is known for her nostalgic feel in her collections. In her SS25 collection, she focused more on bow details and accents than her previous collections. This includes bows on sleeve cuffs, bow charms on tiny purses and ribbon sashes. The collection primarily consists of pastels and mini silhouettes: mini trench coats, miniskirts, mini shorts and mini dresses. Sparkles or shiny satins were seen in nearly every piece, whether it be in the strappy sandal, luminescent lip or puffed sleeve.
“Reclaiming girlhood.”
The collection seems to give a grownup girl vibe with a somewhat businesslike feel in the buttoned silhouettes. Even still, the classy blazers were paired with a dainty choker, a little purse, and strappy shoes. While the collection imbues elegance, there is still a high emphasis on girlhood nostalgia and whimsy paired with it.
desires to evoke a nostalgic feeling in the consumer as well, which is evident in her work. For her SS25 collection, the London-based designer formulated a pastel collection with visions of pajama sets, ballet outfits, lacey ruffles, bows and, most out of place, sportswear.
Her collection holds a primarily hyper feminine aesthetic, but her nod to sports seems to show the duality of stereotypical children’s aesthetics: tomboy and girly girl. Boxing gloves and footballers’ shoulder pads are present throughout the collection, though, of course, decorated thoroughly with white lace, silky or satin ribbons, and ruffled elbow-length gloves. Yuhan Wang perfectly captures the playfulness of girlhood and plays with silhouettes to make the collection seem like a mixture of tea party dressup and recess. The bows stuck to each look were placed with care, giving a dainty accent instead of the bold pony ribbon featured in Sandy Liang’s FW25 collection, though tasteful the same.
Ten years after her graduation, it appears that Liang has had her collection evolve as she did. Sandy Liang’s FW25 collection seems like Polly Pocket clothes were turned into real-life wearable items. Once again, she has the classic strappy sandal and pearl choker, but the ribbons are showcased at a much more extreme level. Many of the designs feature a large satin pony ribbon, one even the centerpiece of a bodice with a functioning heartshaped mirror. There is a heavy emphasis on patterns, like stripes and polka dots, that push the girlhood nostalgia narrative further.
Yuhan Wang started her brand in 2018, two years post-graduation, similar to the timeline of Sandy Liang. Wang
Vogue describes Irish designer Simone Rocha as a mix of “the coquettish and the melancholy,” accurately summarizing the beautiful pieces she has released since her line began in 2010. Rocha has a firm grip on coquette fashion and girlhood nostalgia: bows, flowers, ruffles and overall puffiness are seen everywhere, especially the outfits built around bulbous tutus seen in her SS25 collection.
“Collections sprinkled with bows, satin, sparkles, and pink, hinting at a future of girlhood aesthetics to come.”
Rocha focuses on a subcategory of coquettish fashion in this collection: ballet core. This subset envelops images of ballet class from childhood and the playfulness of the outfits, seen in the sequined looks with high socks in ballet flats and tulle. The floral emphasis in the collection is less of a reminder of springtime and more so resembles floral pajama sets from sleepovers and daisy chains made at recess.
“The girlhood nostalgia trend is a mere reflection of society’s focus on women.”
Similar to Sandy Liang’s FW25 collection, Rocha’s SS25 collection combines the playfulness of youth with corporate core using blazers. The whimsy and fun of the collection, however, largely overwhelm the seriousness of it. Rocha’s collection seems to scream that girlhood never really goes away, but evolves with time. In the FW25 collection, Rocha leans even more into the bow aesthetic. The overall theme is much darker in mood and color, but there are a large handful of looks made up entirely of satiny pink and blue bows streaming. Two of the bow-covered blue pieces were accompanied by large rabbit stuffed animals, concreting the idea that the trend was inspired by girlhood.
The only male creative director from the
list, Alessandro Michele, created a bow and ruffle-filled collection to fit right into the girlhood aesthetic so prominent the past few seasons. His SS25 collection has a distinct 1960s mod influence that clicks right into the girlhood aesthetic dominating the rest of the runways that season. Kitten heels, bow accents, heavily layered ruffles and glittery glam are heavily present in the collection. The colors leaned into more jewel tones and thick patterns while maintaining the dainty accents often seen in the trend. Look 30 in particular was evidence of the pervasive trend, displaying lace tights paired with tiny heels, a ruffled pink babydoll dress, and lace gloves. Once again, dress-up comes to life.
The FW25 collection strays more from the girlhood, bow-filled aesthetic, but continues along the path of mod fashion with lace accents. Though not as evident, it certainly has not gone away. Michele’s collections lean more toward the Lana del Rey side of the aesthetic with its heavy influence on the ‘60s style.
If the trend continues to show up time and time again throughout history, is it even fair to declare femininity in clothing a trend? Or is it merely a form of expression for designers? After all, not all designers are women who make the fun, frilly, ruffled, girly outfits that appear in history museums and on runway shows. A celebration across the population might be happening for the coquette style in fashion.
Though slapping the coquette label on four entirely different brands with varying creative visions and goals may seem restrictive, the girlhood nostalgia trend is a mere reflection of society’s focus on women and female representation. The grip that the trend and aesthetic have on the culture shows the power that women have over fashion politics and how it can
be used for either female empowerment or degrade women through infantilization. The reclamation of clothes from girlhood brings back memories of youth taken away from the reality of the patriarchy and the playfulness that girlhood holds. With the prevailing dominance that the trend has had in the media and fashion designs, it appears as though it will be present for many seasons to come, especially surrounding the mentioned designers above.
Having fun with fashion and using it for empowerment is an incredible tool in a society where clothes mean so much to so many people. Because fashion is such an intense staple in culture, it only makes sense that the culture is leaning toward nostalgia when the current state of the world seems so bleak.
This continuation of the coquette culture cult will continue to have relevance and influence fashion for future generations. Whether you find the aesthetic and resulting trend to be inspiring or not, hopefully it brings back happy memories and reminds you that sometimes it’s okay to have fun.
Blanc LE DINER EN Blanc LE DINER EN
by Sophia
Directed by Sophia Katz, Alexandra Sanchez Maldonado, Juliette Dias, Savannah Matthews
Photographed by Uredo Agada, Michelle Hand, Sofia Nyiri, Sophia Katz, Juliette Dias
Designed by Niha Kanumuri , Arushi Rathod
Designed by Niha Kanumuri , Arushi Rathod
Modeled by Anaisa Acharya, Ashley Allen, Alivia Weum, Clark Sutphin, Dia Joshi, Dianne Celemen, Dhriti Suresh, Jaden Juarez, Jenna Mayfield, Karen Olivares, Keira Braithwaite, Krista Barber, Leila Zwetsloot, Madeline Nguyen, Maeve Kimia, Mason Thibodeaux, Niharika
Modeled by Anaisa Acharya, Ashley Allen, Alivia Weum, Clark Sutphin, Dia Joshi, Dianne Celemen, Dhriti Suresh, Jaden Juarez, Jenna Mayfield, Karen Olivares, Keira Braithwaite, Krista Barber, Leila Zwetsloot, Madeline Nguyen, Maeve Kimia, Mason Thibodeaux, Niharika Ghoshal, Noah Hughes, Richa
Directed
Katz, Alexandra Sanchez Maldonado, Juliette Dias, Savannah Matthews
Photographed by Uredo Agada, Michelle Hand, Sofia Nyiri, Sophia Katz, Juliette Dias
In a society where trends are globalized and social media dominates nearly every facet of our lives, it is becoming increasingly vital for brands to find ways to break through the clutter of information that consumers both receive and perceive on a daily basis. In the sphere of fashion, French luxury brand Hermès is outperforming its competitors in visual merchandising by breaking through this clutter effectively, seamlessly and creatively.
Visual merchandising is a marketing practice that uses visual elements to display products in a way that captures consumers’ attention. There are many aspects of the overall design of a window display that work together to make its whole work to deepen the consumer experience and showcase the brand’s identity. These components can include color, lightning, texture, use of space and more. Visual merchandising serves as a critical element of marketing for fashion brands where there must be a constant consideration of how to continuously innovate and keep the label appealing to customers.
After all, the window display of a store is the first impression that a customer has of not only the store itself, but the brand as a whole. Curating this kind of image is no easy feat for a global brand like Hermès: building connections with consumers that come from completely different worldviews and experiences requires a vigilant level of attention to their base of customers. Despite the constant pressure to innovate, Hermès has found a means to universally engage the public and grow brand loyalty. As the French house creates merchandising displays in their storefronts across the globe, they have utilized different talented artists and designers to curate an image of whimsicality and drama. These collaborations are undoubtedly what make each and every window display from Hermès so unique; no display case looks the same, and each has their own remarkable inspiration and meaning to the artist. It is easy to walk past an Hermès window and mistake it for a fine art installation, because that is truly what they are at their core. Each display is a meticulously crafted artwork that combines the art of fashion
“What if glasses grew like corals?”
with visuals and textiles to create an interpretive story for all viewers.
“Whimsy, wit, and play” as Architectural Digest deems it, has been a key player in Hermès’ visual merchandising tactics since the 1930s in its flagship store in Paris. The birth of the iconic displays that we see today began seemingly by chance when a young sales assistant from the glove department,
Annie Beaumel, filled in for the store’s window manager who had taken the day off, sick. Beaumel took this opportunity to move pieces in the window around, hanging saddles—the handcrafted product that launched the Hermès label—upside down. This resulted in Beaumel being appointed to work on window displays for the house until the late 1970s, when the baton was passed to Tunisia-born artist Leila Menchari.
While Beaumel was the one to originally create the association of quirky window displays with Hermès’ brand identity, Menchari solidified it as synonymous with the brand. Menchari worked with the house from 1978 to 2013. Over the span of 35 years, she envisioned every one of her 136 total windows as art exhibitions, each object meticulously placed in the small theater of her windows denoted a critical role. Hermès’ artistic director, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, referred to Menchari as “a master, who has raised her discipline to a level of art,” in an interview with AnOther.
Hermès’ Marine Mirage window display in Tokyo from 2019 is a quintessential representation of how the brand is disrupting the status quo and creating alternative ways to think about fashion in the context of visual and textile art. The theme that Hermès had selected that year was The Pursuit of Dream. The Mischer’Traxler Studio designers, founded by Austrian artistic duo Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler, took this theme and translated it into an unexpected underwater fantasy for viewers.
They considered: “Dreams allow everything. Fluids become solids, gravity is ignored, materials change continuously, objects become corals and fish, and one can jump from reality into other surroundings.” The designers asked questions such as, “What if glasses grew like corals?” and “What if gloves would be hybrids between fish and object?” The display also included kinetic aspects reflected in the delicately moving orange jellyfish which bobbed up and down. Throughout the window, Hermès products are seamlessly and beautifully integrat-
ed in a way that invites the viewer to discover its details and fashions. There are ribbed glasses hidden in the coral reefs, and studded gloves with fish faces attached. This means of showcasing products is changing the mere foundations of what visual merchandising is at its core. It is not just about putting a mannequin in a glass case and adorning it with color coordinating clothes and accessories, but rather creating an immersive and inter-
“What if gloves would be hybrids between fish and object?”
esting experience that playfully invites viewers to explore and engage with curiosity.
Hermès celebrated their flagship store, Faubourg Saint-Honoré, in 2024 by launching a series of enchanting window displays at their Jio World Plaza storefront in Mumbai, India. For the storefront designs, they commissioned different Indian artists who each honored Indian ancient artistic tradition in their sets of displays to celebrate 100 years of Hermès’ inauguration.
The first display named Faubourg in an Enchanted Forest, thought up by designer and filmmaker Aradhana Seth, stunningly honored the flagship store. The window featured a small model of the original Parisian storefront placed in an enchanted forest with Gond-inspired figures — a style of Indian art that often depicts religious and mythological characters — peeking out of the small arched windows.
A few months later, sisters and artistic duo Aashika and Tanishaa Cunha created a variety of hand-cut glass mosaics for The
Faubourg Fairground. The design is playful and colorful, including tiled amusement park rides such as a ferris wheel and carousel with functioning lights. The center of the ferris wheel is adorned by one of Hermès’ tea set saucers and the coordinating teacups are placed around the circle, seemingly “riding” the ferris wheel.
The final display, The Rooftop Garden, was created by artist Yashika Sugandh and inspired by the secret garden that sits hidden atop Hermès’ flagship store. Sugandh’s display is wildly detailed; there is a hanging red turtle where the “shell” is replaced with a halved green apple and a large yellow flower with yellow plates as the centerpiece. There is even a small yellow monkey perched amidst the enchanted garden, delicately holding shiny gold bangles in its hand.
All three installations represent an unbelievable appreciation of artistic talent and creative thought that Hermès aims to associate with their brand and products to create a
“No brief, no real deadline. They respect the artist by giving them complete freedom.”
shopping experience like no other, and that is truly reflected in these playful window cases.
Hermès’ use of detail in their displays goes beyond just the storefront window and into the very fashion products themselves, further proving their commitment to creative thought and integration of artists with very
different mediums and specialties into their brand identity.
In a scarf design collaboration with French illustrator Ugo Gattoni in 2016, Gattoni took this opportunity to bring a charming fantasy world, Hippopolis, into fruition. The design features two giant white marble horses — perhaps nodding to the house’s iconic equestrian roots — architecturally integrated into a large white stone metropolis. The figures are surrounded by whimsical details such as cotton candy pink clouds and a lavender hot air balloon floating above. In an interview with WePresent, Gattoni explains how Hermès was the perfect client, stating, “No brief, no real deadline. They respect the artist by giving them complete freedom.”
Hermès and Gattoni have continued to work together throughout the years to bring Gattoni’s incredible designs from the digital world to the physical world.
While there are other fashion brands trying to amp up their visual merchandising efforts, Hermès is a pioneer in this realm, their unmatched level of creativity and intricacy in window displays dating back to the 1930s. The French house has perfectly curated immersive experiences for its customers, showcasing their value for artistry by supporting a variety of nouveau modern artists that are no stranger to thinking outside of the box. By bringing in different artists for their displays and product designs, Hermès continues to create wildly unique windows that are never dull or boring, always ensuring something to discover when passing by an Hermès storefront. Whether it’s an underwater seascape, an enchanting garden or a colorful fairground, simply walking by one of the house’s windows without a glance is truly a missed opportunity to transport into an unparalleled fantasy world.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Perfect Balance
Written by Alexandra O’Brien | Designed by Olivia Ward
Fashion week headlines over the past few years have been dominated by details about show venues, questions about models being nepotism babies and the web of relationships between those who sit front row. While this shift away from discussing the collection itself may simply reveal a trend in fashion media toward increased sensationalization, it is part of a mutually reinforcing cycle: each season, designers capture the attention of fashion media with increasingly gimmicky concepts and, in turn, those shows dominate fashion week coverage.
Innovation and out-of-the-box concepts are essential to pushing audiences’ conceptualization of how fashion can be a vessel for self-expression. Great collections should incite strong reactions, including negative ones. Fashion is supposed to have feeling, yet there comes a point where the pieces themselves do not tell a story, and the show relies on different provocations to establish a narrative.
Designers at major fashion houses face a unique dilemma: the need to maintain
brand identity and honor legacy versus the near-constant pressure to innovate. Seán McGirr’s debut collection as Alexander McQueen’s new creative director exemplified this struggle. From the moment the first model stepped on the runway in Paris for his Fall/Winter 2024 collection, critics were looking to see what McGirr would bring to McQueen’s brand.
“FASHION
IS SUPPOSED TO MAKE AUDIENCES FEEL SOMETHING.”
McGirr’s task for his debut was insurmountable. Following in the footsteps of Sarah Burton’s decades of beloved work as McQueen’s creative director, any attempt to
establish his own take would face criticism for straying too far from the brand’s deeply established roots. At the same time, if he failed to innovate, he risked losing his integrity as a designer and criticism for relying too much on Burton’s work. While Burton added her own romance to McQueen, she did so after years of working directly with Lee McQueen. Perhaps it was this proximity that provided her with near-immediate legitimacy and the freedom to infuse the brand with her own design identity.
Headlines after the McQueen show were skeptical at best and, at their worst, claimed that McGirr’s collection was so distant from McQueen’s identity it was dismissive of the house’s long standing traditions. McGirr’s debut collection raises the question of how new designers are supposed to innovate at major fashion houses. Have we become opposed to innovation?
As designer brands compete to maintain their influence among younger audiences, they seem disinterested in evaluating whether the legacy to which they cling will allow them to maintain their position at the
forefront of haute couture. Likely, it will be designers creating under their own names such as Rick Owens and Issey Miyake who capture the minds and eyes of young fashion lovers. The consistency that builds brand identity may ultimately be its fall from stature in the present day.
As designers feel pressure to innovate and earn favor among young fashion influencers and audiences, there has been a shift in focus from using clothes to tell a story to establishing narratives for a collection that the pieces merely complement. One of the most iconic examples of this phenomenon is Bella Hadid closing Coperni’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection in a sprayed-on dress. In an interview prior to the show, Sébastien Meyer, the creative director at Coperni, said that the collection was a “celebration of women’s silhouettes from centuries past.”
Yet, instead of allowing the collection to tell that story, the most memorable moment came when two men dressed in black sprayed Bella Hadid with Fabrican, a spray that turns into solid fabric. The simple, white dress that Hadid ultimately wore did not seem to contribute to a celebration of women’s silhouettes over centuries; instead, it seemed like an exercise in provocation that took away from the dress and Hadid herself. While perhaps this spectacle represents the increasing role that technology will play in fashion, there must be a way to modernize where technology is integrated into collections and does not become the primary focus.
As major fashion houses struggle to maintain relevance among younger audiences, the struggle to create sensational moments like Hadid at the Coperni show will increasingly compete with longings for brand identity resonance within new collections. While technology can be an essential tool to push the boundaries of collective imagination, it risks distracting from storytelling through key points of design like tailoring and construction. As new creative directors emerge across the industry, they reignite the tension between remaining relevant in a rapidly evolving industry and maintaining brand legacy. Ultimately, this tension may indicate that the future of fashion will lie with independent designers who are less beholden to expectations that accompany long standing brand identity.
Photo Credit: (Left) Miyake licensed through Shutterstock, (Right) Rick Owens licensed through Shutterstock
D E C O M P R A S D E C O M P R A S
Directed by Alexandra Sanchez Maldonado, Savannah Matthews, Henry Thomas
Photographed by Emma Denman, Khue Nguyen
Styled by Ava Mayo, Marguerite Stanley, Henry Thomas
Modeled by Elizah Van Lokeren, Jade Tsai, Jaden Esquivel, Noah Hughes, Safa Tanuzi,
Designed by Niha Kanumuri, Mila Horsley
The Current Crisis of AESTHETIC AESTHETIC The Current Crisis of
Written by MT Watkins | Designed by Mary Tsantes
Who are you? Are you a Cherry-Tomato Coastal Cowgirl? An Old-Money Clean Girl? Perhaps even an Isabel-Marant Boho Brat? All? None? Who are you?
As we push against the confines of gender and race — forces that threaten to strangle and separate us in 2025 — we paradoxically seek to box ourselves in further.
Inundated by images, reels, TikToks and streams, we are a generation aged by information. Spinning at breakneck speeds, trend cycles have compressed and crunched. Everything old is new again, and everything new is already old.
That coquette, bow-tied maxi-knit sweater you bought: outdated the moment you buy it. The oversized Adidas shorts you purchased for the Blokette trend now mock you as they rot in the back of your closet. As soon as we look back to mock the chevron prints
and gladiator sandals of yore, your favorite micro-influencer is bringing them back. Just as I finally buy myself a pair of “vintage” JNCO jeans off Depop, Alix Earle struts her skinny jeans in a Glenwood Avenue bar.
It’s not rocket science how this torturous cycle began. Our attention spans shortened as our social media consumption accelerated. Never before in history have we had such unfiltered access into the lives of others — especially those deemed wealthier, prettier or cooler.
These social media “elite” are always achieving new heights of virality, securing brand deals and ad campaigns — privileges most can only dream of.
This expansion of our worldview creates space for community and empowerment, but it also fuels insecurity and jealousy.
Generation Z will only realize its power as consumers and cultural creators when our fashion choices are no longer rooted in inse-
curity. As long as we buy to become something we are not, we will never find liberation through personal style.
Our dependence on convenience mangles our creativity.
Recognizing our privilege and power as consumers will embolden us to break the cycles of fast fashion we perpetuate. Gen Z must outgrow mercurial microtrends and fast fashion to mature as consumers and creators.
Couture Versus Convenience
We have so much, yet we believe we have so little. Craving more and more, we wield our power as consumers unethically by spending hundreds of dollars on plastic clothes from Shein, Cider, Forever 21 and other fast fashion corporations with questionable labor practices.
The allure of these companies is irrefutable: a vast array of trendy clothing, a diverse
“WHO ARE YOU? ARE YOU A CHERRY-TOMATO COASTAL COWGIRL? AN OLD MONEY CLEAN GIRL? PERHAPS EVEN AN ISABEL MARANT BOHO BRAT? ALL? NONE? WHO ARE YOU?”
range of sizes and extremely affordable prices. This has led to its explosion in popularity but not without consequences. Cider and Shein, among others, are notorious for stealing the designs of small creators.
Additionally, fast fashion companies have tangible ties to exploitative labor practices, particularly in unregulated sweatshops where workers endure unsafe working conditions. In China, the fashion industry’s reliance on enslaved and exploited Uyghur Muslim labor is well documented. Exploitation exists at every price point and nearly every brand, but the sheer scale of fast fashion — with massive overhead and enormous waste — makes it a chief offender.
Our so-called democratization of fashion has made trendy clothing more accessible than ever. But clothing today is not built to last a lifetime — it is built to last weeks or even days before being discarded. This contributes to 11.3 million tons of textile waste in the United States alone, with every American throwing away an average of 82 pounds of clothing per year.
Our indulgence comes at the cost of other’s existence. Only two percent of textile and garment workers earn a living wage, 80 percent of these workers being young women.
“Fashion, as a system, is paralyzed by im-
balanced power relations,” Hakan Karaosman, an expert on fashion supply chains, wrote in an article titled “Supplier Inclusion Is Key to Climate Action.” .
This power dynamic was perhaps best encapsulated by the notorious TikTok influencer trip to a Shein factory. Influencers, proclaimed leaders of fashion’s democratization, were sponsored for an all-inclusive trip to explore Shein’s process, an effort to whitewash the company’s reputation.
The factory conditions appeared suspiciously clean. Workers, speaking under the watchful eye of their employer, provided glowing testimonials that stood in stark contrast to investigative reports from human rights organizations. Suspicious of the company’s efforts to rehabilitate its’ brand, audiences quickly criticized the authenticity of this experience. These naive American influencers became corporate mouthpieces and actively perpetuated fast fashion’s worst abuses.
Loosening fast fashion’s grip on our spending habits will not be easy, nor will it be entirely possible. The conversation deserves more nuance than the blanket statement “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.” While many individuals are uniquely served by fast fashion brands’ affordability
and size inclusivity, they deserve style without stigma.
There is an undeniable difference between a single mother buying affordable clothing for her growing child versus college students buying eight types of bedazzled boleros to be discarded in a club bathroom.
However, those with the means to buy less, wear more and consume differently should do so.
Until we recognize our privilege as consumers in the U.S. economy, our gluttony for cheap clothing, fast shipping and convenient living will continue to come at the expense of others.
The Generational Consumer
As Gen Z comes of age and grows into its power as consumers, industry leaders are paying close attention.
Consumer trends are studied meticulously by any penny-pinching fashion executive. They have realized that consumers want to connect with brands, they facilitate through relatable influencers, personable content that humanizes brands and advertisements referencing memes.
Consumers are buying 60 percent more clothes annually than they did 17 years ago, according to the United Nations Alliance for
Sustainable Fashion.
While they can sometimes produce counterintuitive results, a high publicity boycott against specific companies can still be extremely detrimental to a brand’s reputation.
Negative reviews and consumer-to-consumer communication can brutalize a brand’s bottom line. In 2023, 94 percent of consumers reported that reviews were the most critical element of a purchase — above price or quality, according to a 2023 survey by Power Reviews. Business research centers have documented the social ripple effect that can multiply negative perceptions rapidly. In a digital marketplace, an inundation of negative reviews can push a brand into an algorithmic void, an irrevocable obscurity.
The all-powerful algorithm is the microtrend machine that can swallow both consumer and brand identities whole.
The Artificial Aesthetic
By buying clothes to fit into the latest era and burrow into the newest “-core” trend, the inauthenticity of apparel haunts us before it even arrives on our doorstep.
Through our collective neurosis and pocket-watching, we have wrenched aesthetic from its rightful place among ephemeral, spontaneous beauty and forced it into overly contrived, studied, performative displays.
This phenomenon — turning effortless beauty into a commercialized 10-step routine — is the foundation for microtrends and overconsumption.
“IN THE SEARCH TO BECOME SOMEONE ELSE, WE NOT ONLY FAIL SPECTACULARLY, WE RISK LOSING OURSELVES.”
Consider “the French girl.” Enamored by American fashionistas for decades, she is idolized for her recklessly smudged red lip, her perfectly coiffed bedhead and day-old eyeliner. Jane Birkin’s notoriously neglected and bedazzled Hermès bag has been a particular subject of obsession. The laissez-faire beauty came to be studied, picked apart and re-enacted by young social media users.
On TikTok, style enthusiasts carefully curate routines and convince audiences that buying these eight items and perfecting the Jane Birkin look will grant them the same effortless charm. The irony? True nonchalance
cannot be achieved through meticulousness.
We are told that achieving an aesthetic ideal requires relentless consumption of media, how-tos, face creams, jelly blushes, frayed sweaters and fringe boots. But if we embodied that ideal in the first place, no further consumption would be necessary.
No studied application would be required to be ourselves. In the search to become someone else, we not only fail spectacularly — we risk losing ourselves.
Microtrends that Marginalize
This crisis of identity and aesthetic is only magnified when viewed through an intersectional lens.
Imagine “the French girl.” What does she look like? What is the complexion of her skin? The texture of her hair?
These aesthetics, rooted in specific physical attributes, are inherently designed to fit some while excluding others.
Perhaps the most obvious example of this exclusionary nature is the “clean girl.” She is depicted with perfectly glossy pink lips, polite freckles on supple, glowing, fair skin and an impenetrable slicked-back bun. This style was predicated on the fresh, minimalist looks of Hailey Bieber and Sofia Richie, whose proximity to coastal styles — collared shirts, athleisure dresses and white tank tops — became the envy of the nation.
However, much of the clean girl mantra depends on a perfect, unblemished exterior. It stigmatizes acne, rosacea and texture skin that may not be so easily tamed. To achieve this effortless look takes a lot of work: buying the right Olaplex oil, the Dior lip gloss and applying it all just so.
The clean girl aesthetic excludes more than it includes. Its alignment with whiteness deprives women of color of their rightful place as the originators of many so-called discovered trends.
Yet, its domination of the algorithm was not met without competition.
Enter: the “mob wife.” Decked out in bold makeup, styled and voluminous hair, gold hoops and fur-lined leather, this aesthetic could not be further from its adversary. The mob wife aesthetic pulls heavily from depictions of Carmela Soprano from “The Sopranos,” or the women of “The Godfather” series. Its practitioners say “basta” to minimalism, opting for bold, unapologetically feminine silhouettes. The references to Dolce & Gabbana, Versace and other Italian couturiers are obvious, perpetuated by chunky fur coats and maximalist gold jewelry.
Yet once again, the creative force of Chicana and Black American street style is underappreciated. In particular, the women of the Chola subculture present in southern
California originated the defined lip liner, dramatic cat-eye and nameplate jewelry that is now problematically attributed to the “mob wife” aesthetic. Essence magazine rightfully notes that instead of gaining deserved credit on social media, famous women of color who don these fashions are subjected to patronizing micro-aggressions.
The racialized dynamics of these archetypes are problematic enough. Yet, these microtrends are further complicated with the injection of class and social status.
Classism is the determining factor of covetable style. Class and style are inextricably linked; class defines style habits just as style denotes class.
This is especially clear in the recent fascination with “old money” and “quiet luxury” aesthetics. These trends are fueled by more than an affinity for Barbour jackets and linen pants, but, rather, political and economic realities of style.
“THE GREATEST POWER OF ALL IS TO BE FREE OF INFLUENCE.”
Likely fueled by elite-centric media such as “The Crown,” “Saltburn” and “Succession,” the ‘Stealth Wealth’ movement positions itself as a counterpoint to the conspicuous consumption that defined the 2010s. The revitalized interest in admiring and recreating elite modes of dress indicates greater financial insecurity among consumers. To assuage this insecurity, we indulge in the persistent cultural tendency to ‘distinguish between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots.’
Microtrends do not realize such virality merely through sartorial preferences of fabric, silhouette and brand. Microtrends further divide, signify alliance to an ‘in-group’, the aesthetic coming to symbolize class, race, personality and purpose. The aesthetics, rooted deeply in racial and socioeconomic assumptions, we choose merely exist to further define us against those different from us.
We are told — and choose to believe — that we can only be a certain type of beauty based on our physical attributes.
We have willingly accepted the only cure to our fear of perception is to do, and buy, everything in our power to achieve our chosen perception.
However, this does nothing to liberate ourselves from societal expectation, rather, it further indentures us to capitalist schemes
preying on our insecurity.
We find ourselves drowning in a cesspool of consumerism, held under by our own hand.
As a generation of proclaimed disruptors, did we only disrupt previous boxes of race, gender and sexuality to build boxes of our own?
Choice Consumption, Style Sovereignty
Luckily, we all have a choice.
We may not control how people perceive us or how the wheels of fast fashion continue to churn, but we have ultimate power over what we consume, what we wear and why we wear it.
After all, Yves Saint Laurent said, “fashions fade. Style is eternal.”
Style takes self-certainty. The icons we celebrate are not revered for meticulous plotting and performance but for their graceful ease. Dressing should be as effortless as breathing without the need for a dozen howto videos.
Real style isn’t about collecting the perfect pieces to fit an archetypal aesthetic. It is about infusing diverse elements of color, line and fabric — truly pushing your boundaries. Style is brave, bold and independent.
The greatest power of all is to be free of influence. It is powerful to buy something because you love it, not out of societal pressure.
While we may never be completely free from the influence of Pinterest boards and dreamy montages, we can combine elements of every trend we love to become what we truly are.
A fringe here, fur there — our own aesthetic arises.
And this aesthetic? It is not studied, inauthentic or contrived.
It is completely, carelessly, messily us.
Photo Credits: Unsplash
THE POLITICS OF
YOUR CLOTHES
Written by Emaan Parvez / Designed by Lynx Yuan
In a world where political statements are woven into the fabric of everyday life, the clothes we wear are rarely neutral. Political tensions dominate today’s headlines — from high-stakes elections that can reshape nations to global conflicts with impacts that span continents. Does fashion exist beyond these politics? Or, has it always been intertwined, reflecting the pulse of the times?
As far back as the Middle Ages, fashion enforced societal norms, with sumptuary laws dictating what commoners could wear. In the 18th century, the British government banned Scottish tartans and kilts after the Jacobite uprisings, aiming to suppress Highland culture. More recently, Iran’s mandatory hijab dress code for women echoes this approach of control through clothing.
But people have repeatedly pushed back, using fashion to ex
ning the red Phrygian “liberty cap,” a symbol of revolutionary zeal. Fast forward to recent years, and Iran’s “Girls of Revolution Street” movement saw women publicly removing their hijabs to reclaim their freedom. The 1960s brought another iconic act of resistance — The Black Panther Party’s aesthetic of pride and defiance, with black leather jackets, berets and sunglasses symbolizing Black power and unity. Fashion has always been more than fabric — it is a reflection of who we are, whether bound by control or driven by freedom.
World leaders have long understood the power of fashion in making a statement. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela ushered in a new era of political style with his iconic Madiba shirts. Gone were the constricting suits of colonial tradition; instead, Mandela chose vibrant, free-flowing prints that celebrated African heritage and symbolized a joyous break from the past. His shirts became emblems of a blossoming democracy, where every stitch spoke of liberation and pride.
Fast forward to the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher’s power suits carved out space in boardrooms and parliamentary halls alike. With sharp tailoring and no-nonsense structure, Thatcher’s suits became symbols of authority, embodying the grit and influence of women as they claimed ground in male-dominated arenas. It was a decade of big shoulders and bigger ambitions, and Thatcher’s fashion sense was its power anthem.
Decades later, at the 2020 inauguration, Kamala Harris — draped head to toe in Black-owned fashion — took to the stage with a message, both bold and unmistakably modern. This was not just a wardrobe choice — it was an ode to inclusivity and empowerment, a testament to America’s diverse identity.
And then, there are bolder statements. The keffiyeh, often worn as a scarf, has become a fashion staple rooted in solidarity with Palestine, its pattern an unmistakable nod to cultural and political history. Dressing to affirm a genderqueer identity, for instance, can also serve as a fluid, unspoken message. Gender-neutral brands like Telfar and Collina Strada invite wearers to blend, remix and redefine traditional boundaries — a visu-
al manifesto of self-expression that honors personal truths over societal expectations. Oversized blazers, relaxed jumpsuits or deconstructed silhouettes dissolve the lines of masculine and feminine, grounding identity in comfort and autonomy.
This connection between culture and fashion spans continents. In Nigeria, the Ankara print has evolved beyond a local fabric to a global symbol of African pride and resistance against cultural erasure. Likewise, Japan’s rise of sukajan — embroidered souvenir jackets originally worn by American soldiers after World War II — now conveys a blend of defiance and cultural fusion.
Each piece tells a story that transcends borders, reminding us that fashion, in its most authentic form, reflects identity, community and resistance.
Today, fashion’s political influence is as layered as the garments we wear. For some, it is a statement in streetwear — a crisp “I Support Young Black Businesses” T-shirt from Off-White that speaks volumes, with proceeds funneled toward anti-gun violence initiatives like Chicago CRED. For others, the revolution is quieter yet equally intentional: a curated wardrobe of sustainably sourced pieces, an allegiance to eco-conscious brands and a commitment to reducing consumption in a world of excess.
Consider brands like Stella McCartney and Patagonia, which pledge loyalty to the planet through sustainable practices that counter fast fashion’s environmental toll. Vintage or thrifted pieces are also emerging as heroes in this narrative, not only prolonging a garment’s life but reasserting a belief in ethical, circular fashion.
Alongside these brands, contemporary designers like Marine Serre and Pyer Moss are redefining the intersection of fashion and activism in unique ways. Serre’s collections bridge sustainability and futurism, blending deadstock fabrics with her signature crescent moon motif. Her collections are not just about eco-consciousness — they forecast a world where resourcefulness is a new luxury. Similarly, Moss, led by Kerby Jean-Raymond, approaches fashion as cultural storytelling. His shows are tributes to Black culture, blending art and activism to amplify stories often overlooked by mainstream fashion. Each piece is a testament to resilience
and heritage, making statements that transcend the runway.
Fashion’s politics can be as subtle as signing Remake’s #PayUp petition — a digital signature demanding post-coronavirus support for garment workers — or as obvious as an “I Am” hoodie that centers marginalized voices in public spaces. Each choice reflects and interacts with the world around us. While clothing allows individuals to express and affirm their own identity, it also positions them within societal frameworks, signaling values, affiliations or resistance. Whether someone dresses to defy traditional gender norms or support sustainable practices, these choices are inherently political, creating a dialogue between self-expression and society — a way of telling the world and ourselves who we are and who we are becoming.
For designers working under the looming shadow of conflict, themes of resilience, displacement and defiance are not abstract. They are a daily reality. Their work, businesses and identities are bound to the political landscape, with each piece they design standing as a testament. For designers like Demna Gvasalia and Virgil Abloh, these themes are not just philosophical — they are embedded in their collections as a visceral response to today’s most pressing social issues.
Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge at the Costume Institute at the Met, encapsulated this sentiment when he said, “Fashion functions as a mirror to our times, so it is inherently political.”
Consider Gvasalia’s hauntingly beautiful Fall/Winter 2022 show for Balenciaga. From the moment guests took their seats, draped in rich cobalt blue and sunflower yellow reminiscent of the Ukrainian flag, the statement was clear. For Gvasalia, the war in Ukraine reawakened painful memories of his flight from Georgia. The atmosphere
was tense, lit by erratic flashes of white light mimicking bombs falling in the night, while speakers vibrated with the murmur of ominous, heavy beats. Models, heads held high, trudged through an artificial snowstorm, their oversized silhouettes cloaked in inky blacks, embodying resilience in the face of an unyielding storm. As the finale arrived — a vibrant yellow tracksuit paired with a flowing blue dress — the collection took on new layers of meaning, standing as both tribute and testament to Ukraine’s unbroken spirit.
“TODAY, FASHION’S POLITICAL INFLUENCE IS AS LAYERED AS THE GARMENTS WE WEAR.”
In Florence, Virgil Abloh’s Off-White Spring 2018 show turned the historic city into a backdrop for bold political statements. Teaming up with artist Jenny Holzer, Abloh projected provocative messages like “Abuse of Power Comes as No Surprise” onto Florence’s ancient walls, merging fashion’s forward momentum with the gravity of history. Models dressed in shades of charcoal, cream and black, their minimalist looks lending focus to the powerful slogans that surrounded them. This was more than a show. It was a call to attention, turning each garment into a statement of solidarity and resilience. But designers are not the only ones who can make an impact. Our choices shape the industry landscape, pushing it toward or away from ethical practices. Supporting eco-friendly brands like Eileen Fisher or
emerging small businesses focused on upcycling does not simply give us a stylish wardrobe — it lets us voice our values through what we wear. By choosing pieces crafted with the environment in mind, we are investing in a future that respects resources and labor alike.
For those eager to make an even more direct impact, thrifting and shopping vintage become transformative acts. This is not about retro appeal. Each vintage or thrifted item represents an intentional refusal to support the wastefulness embedded in fast fashion cycles. It a conscious decision to extend the life of garments, conserve resources and reduce demand for new, resource-intensive clothing. By valuing what already exists, we become stewards of a circular economy that helps slow down the relentless churn of fast fashion.
Yet, the power we wield is not limited to our shopping habits. Small actions like signing petitions for fair wages or humane treatment of garment workers bring consumers into the advocacy space. These actions contribute to larger shifts, pushing for policy changes that hold brands accountable and protect workers’ rights. It is a reminder that our voices matter — not just through the products we choose but through the support we give those fighting for systemic change.
Conscious fashion transcends fleeting trends. It is a commitment to a collective effort to reimagine the industry as one that uplifts communities and cares for the planet.
Ultimately, the politics of fashion are in the eye of the beholder. Whether acknowledged or not, they are ever-present, woven into the very fabric of what we wear — a declaration of who we are and the values we stand by, which are in dialogue with the world around us.
ELLNESS
Matcha Latte & Matching Loafers
How Food, Fashion and Fantasies Intersect
IMG model Nara Smith has taken social media by storm, not for her fashion or beauty tips, but for her highly imitated home-cooking videos. Ralph Lauren has a cafe; Dior and Gucci have restaurants; Brandy Melville sells olive oil. Viral London bakery Sourdough Sophia is baking up bow-shaped croissants by the hundred for coquettish fans of Sandy Liang. And what fall outfit would be complete without a pumpkin spice latte in hand?
Food and fashion have a loaded history of interaction. They take up corresponding roles in our day-to-day lives as sources of simple pleasure as well as outlets for creativity. Both modes connect us to our bodies; they are filtered through our personal taste and are inherently linked to our experiences and identities. They are art forms as well as basic needs, creating a major contrast between their high-brow and low-brow configurations.
Thus, they are significant indicators of status and wealth. As two of the largest manufactured goods exported globally, food and fashion are intrinsically tied to the ebb and flow of our capitalist system — and in our current stage of capitalism, governed by the pervasive rise of social media, they are more deeply intertwined than ever before. Vocabulary and trends from the respective food and fashion worlds intersect prominently in our feeds, changing the way we
the personal and creative, yet necessary and repetitive, nature of eating and getting dressed. Food and fashion connect with audiences beyond the initial communities built around them, with their respective hashtags pulling in millions of interactions per week across platforms. They inspire viewers to covet in a similar way: a decadent Thai spread at a new pop-up or a fresh haul of trendy clothes might provoke a similar sense of craving. They also initiate comparison, highlighting areas of dissatisfaction with what we eat and wear ourselves.
“In essence, our food and clothing should be connected and curated into a lifestyle, with emphasis placed on how things look.”
In the online world, the selective content people share dictates our interpretations and
share to project more than just a mundane life. In essence, our food and clothing should be connected and curated into a lifestyle, with emphasis placed on how things look. Within fashion, this desire for a curated lifestyle is evident within the meteoric rise of “aesthetics”, which are, in many ways, a fasttrack to self-expression. Once a series of niches developed in tight-knit internet communities more akin to subcultures, aesthetics have since permeated the mainstream in a new micro-trending format that seems to lend itself to mass circulation: shareable mood boards, catchy buzzwords (often suffixed with “-core”), recognizable color palettes and signature cult pieces (the office siren’s Bayonetta glasses, for example).
Big and small brands alike have, therefore, seized upon aesthetics as a marketing strategy, with shopping lists and targeted ads framing products as must-haves to “complete” a trending look. On Lucina Chambers’ e-commerce platform “Collagerie”, which specializes in style edits, one can pad out their “Italian Aesthetic” with baroque prints and hand-painted Maison Flâneur Aperitivo plates. Their “Stylish Woman’s Gift Guide” contains chic knits for the season, a set of aperitif forks (the editor’s pick) and the “Big Mamma Cucina Popolare: Contemporary Italian Recipes” book (their best seller). In an aestheticized, social media-governed world, having a style encompasses much more than
clothes we choose to wear — fulfilling an aesthetic relies on assuming a character, a ready-made fantasy lifestyle, undoubtedly part of its appeal.
In Vogue Business, Depop trend-spokes person Agus Panzoni termed this the urge to “storify”: where we root our everyday food and fashion choices back to a gov erning fantasy in order to assume its aspirational qualities. Take the “tomato girl,” who, according to Bon Appétit, associates herself with the effortless glamor of Mediterranean vacations by donning strappy sandals and eating handmade pasta. Here, food is encompassed by fashion, becom ing an accessory to reinforce the fantasies we adopt when we take on a certain aesthet ic. A clean girl’s matcha latte or lunch-break salmon bowl fortifies her lifestyle; her image feels incongruous if she posts herself posing with a bottle of Gatorade or a grab-and-go sandwich.
“In the online world, the selective content people share dictates our interpretations and assumptions of value.”
In GQ Magazine, entrepreneur Simon Beckerman, who founded clothing resale giant Depop in 2011, saw the similarities in Gen Z’s uses of food and fashion to project their identities online when he created Delli. The platform, which launched in 2022 and acquired $6 million in funding last month, allows indie food brands to sell limited-time “drops” of exclusive products in a sales model cut straight from the fashion world. Such products include condiments, alcohol and a variety of nonperishables with innovative recipes and eye-catching label graphics. There is Kold Sauce’s burnt pineapple and hot pepper ketchup, Pollen Bakery’s croissant butter — goods that are not necessarily the foundational components of a meal but serve to elevate a preexisting one.
The gap between Depop and Delli (and consequently fashion and food) can easily be bridged, not just by the latter’s approach to distribution. In an interview with GQ, Beckerman makes it clear that both of his platforms target social media users’ quest to broadcast their own distinct visual identity,
with endless syrups, blends and add-ons is another poignant way consumable goods can become a canvas for self-expression. In the words of viral TikTok barista Josiah Varghese, “people are able to carry [drinks] around and show people: This is me.”
One cause of this emphasis on creative customization is that in a world where social media’s influence keeps us in a state of self-observation and competition, any opportunity to elevate our online presence via visual signifiers of taste can be tempting.
If your lunchbox Instagram story presents a neatly wrapped sandwich with a jar of Haynes’ gourmet candied jalapenos in view, or your newest post features cowboy boots with distinctly vintage leather, these goods (and, by extension, your image) will stick out as unique, cultured and authentic to the friends who view your account. Concepts like Delli, Collagerie and micro-trending aesthetics can also be read as reflections of our culture’s move towards automation. In these cases, the creative aspect of curation is outsourced.
The trend toward self-expression through luxurious purchases meant to elevate one’s image is also a byproduct of economic downturn. During the 2000s recession, Estée
chairman Leonard Lauder coined the term “lipstick effect” to explain the surprising upswing in cosmetics sales observed at the time. When consumers lack the means for larger aspirational expenses (like cars or upgraded apartments), they turn to more accessible luxuries like beauty products in order to indulge.
“Consumable goods can become a canvas for self-expression.”
In a similar vein, May 2020 saw a TikTok by creator Ashley Ward go viral, in which she encouraged users to romanticize their lives by finding or creating beauty in the mundane to combat the collective decline in mental health associated with the pandemic lockdown. Post-COVID-19, #romanticizeyourlife has remained a popular trend, and so has the way this mindset influences our use of food and fashion to express our ideal selves. With the cost-of-living crisis, inflation and job shortages wreaking havoc on
Lauder
our ability to own homes or escape student debt, it is easy to see why. When the stability of our future is thrown into question, there is ample motivation to inhabit escapist fantasies instead — a psychological trend that marketing professor Zubin Sethna identifies as the cause behind the lipstick effect in an interview with The Independent. In beautifying our lives by purchasing this season’s “It Girl” attire instead of saving money for a rainy day, or by splurging on “chic” tinned fish from Vogue-endorsed Fishwife instead of opting for the cheaper store-brand kind, we can retain a sense of control, luxury and success in times of struggle. Social media gives added value to these small luxuries as they become less ephemeral: Why spend hundreds on Dior when you could purchase a $14 coffee at their Miami cafe, immortalize it on your feed with a picture and wear the brand’s name just as effectively?
“When the stability of our future is thrown into question, there is ample motivation to inhabit escapist fantasies instead.”
We can also use food and fashion to imitate the fantasy lives of those we admire. While there has always been an interest in what celebrities eat and wear, the rise of paraso cial relationships and the overexposure of famous figures’ daily lives al lows us to compare our lives to their own in much greater detail. Food endorse
ments from celebrities associated with the style world can take on a cult status: for example, Gigi Hadid’s spicy vodka pasta recipe in early 2020 or Hailey Bieber’s signature Erewhon smoothie order.
“We can also use food and fashion to imitate the fantasy lives of those we admire.”
In a break from the past of tabloids, which attached celebrities and models to dangerously restrictive diets, these modern-day celebrity-endorsed recipes and food spots do not revolve around weight-loss promotion. However, interest in eating like a celebrity is still tied to the pursuit of thinness, as the celebrities whose eating habits are imitated are almost always slender. Their bodies carry a sense of unspoken reassurance — pizza is excused when enjoyed in a Bella Hadid way — and this distinction highlights a need to examine how the images that constitute our
works at a top firm. The problem with escaping life’s problems by buying the illusion of a fantasy that may need to be repurchased over and over to suit the rapid pace of the trend cycle is an obvious one of overconsumption, shallowness and perpetual dissatisfaction. It begs the question: When we eat and dress to pursue a certain image, are we harmlessly romanticizing our lives? Or are we trying to indulge, shop, bluff and pose ourselves away from addressing issues that are, like it or not, our reality?
Written by Tabitha Woolcott
Designed by Ava Mayo
Photo Credits: Firefly AI & Ava Mayo
A PLACE FOR EVERY BODY EVERY BODY
WRITTEN AND DESIGNED
BY SOPHIA MELIN
From well-muscled Greek sculptures to ’80s bodybuilders on magazine covers, the idolization of specific body qualities has repeatedly influenced and shaped western societal standards.
The notion of a “perfect body” has detrimental effects on the human race. These posed and perfected depictions are often nothing but a small fraction of bodies that are considered “in shape.”
Ultimately, the vast majority of people do not fit the mold of what artists, media outlets or the fitness industry say an athletic body — or any body for that matter — should look like. No child should ever have to hear that they are not skinny enough to be a dancer or not strong enough to play football simply because they were born a certain way.
Athleticism appears differently in everybody, and one does not need to have any specific trait to be successful. Like any other
Around 10 years ago, however, a slight movement toward a healthier body culture for women began. Toy manufacturer Mattel debuted Barbies with a range of body types, reality show “Project Runway” included plus-size models for the first time in its history and more.
Times are changing, especially in our age of social media, where users can choose to show their bodies authentically, revealing true depictions of the human form — stretch marks, slouched stomachs and all.
If medalists from the 2024 Paris Olympics were placed in a lineup, you would see a variety of body types: muscular, broad-shouldered, lean and a 4-foot-8-inch gymnast who can flawlessly fly through the air.
If there is anything that can be taken from the Games this past year, it is that ideas of athleticism are evolving. Regardless of pressure to meet certain weight or height standards, many female athletes combated
not,” Maher said.
On July 26, 2024, the day the Olympics started, Maher posted a TikTok video captioned, “All Body Types Can Be Olympians.”
“From the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player, from a rugby player to a shot-putter, a sprinter, all body types are beautiful, and can do amazing things,” Maher said. “Truly see yourself in these athletes and know you can do it too.”
Despite her infectious confidence in her online presence, as a child, Maher struggled to embrace herself as a tall, muscular girl with broad shoulders.
“I was always like, you know, called masculine or whatever,” she said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “But I never felt that way…I love that [rugby] showed me what I can do. It showed me how capable my body is and it’s not just like a tool to be looked at and objectified.”
Even Simone Biles, the most decorated
“Times are changing, especially in our age of social media, where users can choose to show their bodies authentically, revealing true depictions of the human form — stretch marks, slouched stomachs and all.“
standard or deeply embedded societal idea, this mold of athleticism is ever-changing.
In the ‘90s, women deemed “fit” were mostly pictured as extremely lean and toned. Supermodels such as Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell were pushed to the forefront.
This limited representation fueled the negative-body-image epidemic that burdened children in the 2010s.
Nearly a third of children aged 5 to 6 choose an ideal body size that is thinner than their current perceived size, according to a Common Sense Media report published in 2015. Between 1999 and 2006, hospitalization of children under age 12 for eating disorders spiked 119%.
stereotypes with their heads held high — on and off the field.
Ilona Maher, for example, led the U.S. women’s rugby team to its first bronze medal and posed on the cover of the September issue of Sports Illustrated magazine.
With over six million followers across social media platforms — and being the top followed rugby player in the world on Instagram—Maher often faces a torrent of degrading comments about her body.
In a viral TikTok she posted in July, Maher responded to someone who calculated her BMI to imply that she was unfit.
“I do have a BMI of 30, well, 29.3 to be more exact. I am considered overweight, but alas, I’m going to the Olympics, and you’re
gymnast in history, revealed in an interview that she was bullied as a child for the shape of her arms.
“They used to call me a ‘swoldier,’ which didn’t make me feel the best,” Biles said in an interview on “Today.” “I wore sweaters or jackets all year long to cover my arms. Now I show off my arms all the time.”
In the past, gymnasts were thought of as flexible and skinny. Biles, who is shorter, powerful and a winner of 30 career medals, is known for being stockier than many of her competitors. As of 2024, she is the oldest U.S. gymnast to qualify for the Olympics since 1952, at just 27 years old.
“I feel like whatever your body type is, you just have to be in shape to do gymnastics,”
Biles, in an interview with Glamour magazine, said.
Professional Canadian high diver and social media personality
Molly Carlson has talked openly about her struggles with body dysmorphia online.
“I feel so bad about my body today you guys. I’m going to do a dive even though I’m bloated, even though I’m not feeling good in my own skin right now,” Carlson said in an Instagram Reel, moments before she plunged into the water. “I’m still going to show up for myself.”
health struggles, body dysmorphia, sexuality and more.
“Your body does not define you. Your
womens-centered speaker event founded by Reese Witherspoon.
While there has been significant progress in promoting body diversity and inclusivity in sports, there is still much work to be done. Many female athletes continue to face unrealistic beauty standards, media scrutiny and unequal opportunities compared to their male counterparts.
“While there has been significant progress in promoting body diversity and inclusivity in sports, there is still much work to be done.”
In 2020, she launched her own social media space called BraveGang, a community for individuals to feel comfortable sharing personal stories with each other regarding mental
appearance does not limit your dreams and your worth is so much more than your appearance,” she said at Shineaway 2024, a
The messages these female athletes champion are quite refreshing, to say the least. To create a world where every child feels comfortable participating in the sport of their choice, it is essential to ensure that all body types are not just accepted but celebrated across all levels of competition, from grassroots to professional sports.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Swan Song of the Tradwife Liberation of
the
Homemaker.
Written by Mary-Thomas Watkins | Designed by Arushi Rathod & Adrienne Saitta
In their floral screen-printed, poly-blend dresses, self-proclaimed tradwives peddle a utopian dream where grown-up girls will be free of the toils of corporate life. Their videos make a compelling defense of reproductive labor’s innate worth. Their popularity has even encouraged questioning the gendered dynamics of labor.
Is this the new way of feminist liberation? Does the popularity of tradwives indicate young women’s refutation of corporate feminism as we know it?
“Perhaps, the next wave of feminism must ennoble all women’s work, in and out of the home.”
Nara Smith’s knife-sharp jawline cuts her homemade sourdough bread with ease. Hannah Neeleman dances in muddy pastures in her steel-toed boots. The
With scholars like Shulamith Firestone declaring women’s liberation as only through the release from “the tyranny of reproduction,” domestic labor was pushed down and away. Stay-at-home mothers were made into caricatures, unenlightened drones. Ira Levin’s “The Stepford Wives” depicts homemakers as brainwashed captives. Instead, many feminists thought liberty must be sought through “real” work.
The most privileged, ambitious women sacrificed their sisters of differing color and class to join their male coworkers at the country club. Thus, we understand feminism to be Margaret Thatcher’s #girlboss welfare cuts or Elizabeth Holmes’ white-collar fraud.
Well, the first CEOs have come and gone, and very few reap the benefits. The well-tailored pantsuits of Hillary Clinton and Sheryl Sandberg have walked across the world stage without much change.
All of these women – wealthy, educated and white – proclaimed themselves as feminism’s ultimate victory. The reality of feminist liberation is far from pearl studs and Financial District boardrooms. The top one percent of women can give their speeches, sell their books and contract out their domestic labor to poorer women. But for most women in America, equality at work but not at home is no equality worth having.
Feminism’s problem is how this hard-won equality may reach work but never touches the home. The dynamics of gendered labor have never been widely redressed. Domestic laborers are paid desperately low wages for their hard work. The discrimination against women of color compounds this undervaluing of women’s labor.
“But, the young women of today have seen their mothers struggle. They’ve witnessed their mothers break ceilings at work, coming home to wipe floors.”
What happens, often without realizing, is that a woman’s win of a corner office comes at the cost of a woman in the home.
But, the young women of today have seen their mothers struggle. They’ve witnessed their mothers break ceilings at work, coming home to wipe floors. Girls have seen how corporate feminism wins the common woman only more thankless, unpaying work. Young feminists have seen it, and they want out.
The tension between the needs of women and the working world is what the tradwife sensation has captured. Young women are increasingly disillusioned, anxious even, about their prospects for financial and societal security. This anxiety might be what is driving them towards homemaking content.
In a Youth Behavior Survey by the CDC, nearly 60 percent of teenage girls experienced persistent worry. Seventy-two percent of female undergraduate students described feelings of stress and worry according to survey data by Gallup. Tradwife content inspires a sense of control and freedom within the home, amidst so much anxiety and chaos. As NYU business professor Suzy Welch told
Fortune, to many women, homemaking is about creating their “last refuge, the last safe place.” To many women, the security and freedom this lifestyle provides is the ultimate allure.
“The price paid for this lifestyle is giving up your autonomy, your freedom [and], your independence”
However, it is not all peaches and cream on the homestead. The dependence of the caretaker on external income can lead to controlling, often abusive, situations. The time she has spent raising her children and maintaining her home has earned no market-based salary. If the marriage dissolves, many of these women have gaps in their re-
sumes that are too wide to qualify for a new home, or be considered for a new job.
Even the far-right spokesmodel Lauren Southern, who publicly rejected feminism in favor of these traditional gender roles, found herself subject to brutal emotional abuse and manipulation. This traditional system has isolated women while advantaging men who are “wayward, antisocial, disagreeable and very, very misogynistic” as Southern says.
The blissful scenes of influencers’ finely manicured hands kneading bread may be far removed from a harsher reality. Critics of the tradwife phenomenon worry that young women may buy into this scheme without reading the fine print.
Divorce attorney, Justin Lee, warns viewers the price paid for this lifestyle is giving up “your autonomy, your freedom [and] your independence.” It is important to realize no fantasy is real, and this idealized lifestyle of domestic tranquility can be anything but.
There is no question many women want to reclaim their femininity, evidenced through the frilly trends of lace and bows. But the unforeseen consequence, it seems, is a cession to the patriarchy.
Approaching the trad wife phenomenon in good faith can be seen as a reclamation of “women’s work.” Many even use their platform to advocate for the value of their gendered labor. Without saying as much, Nara Smith’s elegance and excess tell viewers that she can be successful at work and cherished at home. Hannah Neeleman personally refuted a journalist’s depiction of her as the Stepford Wife type — wiped of her autonomy and will. Neeleman argues that her own liberation has come through doing what she loves most, “being a mother, a wife, a businesswoman, a farmer.” And what is wrong with that?
But, just like the #Girlboss CEOs, these tradwife celebrities are wealthy, with resources just across the threshold.
The fact remains: equality for the common woman must be achieved outside and within the home. We can no longer afford to ennoble women’s work in the market without valuing women’s work in the home.
Photo Credits: Unsplash
Gut Health: Myth versus Fact Gut Health: Myth versus Fact
Written by Keira Braithwaite
Designed by Katherine Foster
TikTok’s wellness community has always been intent on finding holistic ways to improve health and absolve everyday wellness issues. In the past few years, a new obsession has formed around a singular root cause for a myriad of health problems from hormones and acne to bloating and weight fluctuation. It all comes back to gut health. But what exactly are the claimed solutions to improving gut health, and how effective are they?
The internet and social media have made health and wellness information more accessible than ever. A community where peers can share health struggles and solutions is incredibly important, especially for women whose chronic symptoms or illnesses are often overlooked and under-researched.
While this has been a boon for general health education, it is important to remember that with more information comes an abundance of misinformation. The internet is almost always trying to sell you something, and on platforms like TikTok and Instagram that have a wide audience of young girls and a penchant for promoting body image issues, the line between wellness information and marketing is blurry.
Wellness creates a massive market for products that claim health benefits, but lack solid research and approval by the Food and Drug Administration These products often target an audience that has historically been pressured to “improve.” Are these companies marketing products to improve your health or your appearance?
The gut health niche is no different. What used to be Kim Kardashian posing with appetite suppressant lollipops has turned into your favorite fitness influencers mixing up “greens powder” next to their washboard abs.
One of the most well-known advertising campaigns on TikTok is Bloom Nutrition’s Greens and Superfoods powder, marketed as “your daily scoop of gut health goodness!” It boasts over 30 “good-for-you ingredients” and the ability to help relieve bloating, sup -
port digestion and promote energy.
This product was widely promoted all over TikTok during the pandemic, often by mega-influencers with young female audiences like Alix Earle and Daisy Keech, as well as smaller fitness and health influencers. Bloom Nutrition’s website even features a section dedicated to its TikTok endorsements. In these videos, the main selling point seems to be the reduction of bloating. The women promoting Bloom Greens often have flat, toned stomachs in full view while they rave about the benefits of taking it.
“In our practice, we teach our clients that while no foods are off limits, prioritizing whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and lean proteins is beneficial because these items have been shown to reduce the risk of disease.”
The messaging is clear: You should drink their powdered greens so you can look like these girls. It isn’t really about feeling your best, it is about looking your best.
The subversion of wellness to fit beauty standards is common but incredibly toxic, especially for young audiences. Wellness should focus on promoting healthy mindsets, not creating an environment constantly geared towards perfection.
Bloom Nutrition’s powdered greens, like many other “gut health” supplements on the market, are not backed by enough clinical research to show any real benefit on gut health. It is not approved by the FDA. Further inquiry has shown that Bloom Greens are not potent enough to be effective.
“The United States Department of Agriculture recommends daily fiber intake of at least 25 g for women up to age 50 years and 38 g for men up to age 50. One serving of Bloom Nutrition Greens & Superfoods powder contains only 1.6 g of fiber,” Melissa Mondala, lifestyle medicine intensivist, said in a Healio article.
In fact, it may even be harmful to gut health.
“Despite their claims of ‘no artificial coloring,’ the fine print of ‘other ingredients’ includes artificial flavors, guar gum, xanthan gum and acesulfame potassium, which are shown through research studies to increase intestinal permeability, otherwise known as leaky or inflamed gut. Additionally, whey isolate protein powders are often linked to constipation, dysbiosis and inflammation,” Mondala said.
“Do what makes you feel good in your body, and trust your gut!”
This is a common phenomenon in the world of gut health supplements. A search for “gut health” on TikTok yields countless videos promoting probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes and other supplements with an embedded link for ease of buying, yet almost none have research backing them. Someone looking to improve their gut health might easily fall into the trap of quick-fix marketing and end up making their issues worse. With so much misinformation and capitalization on gut health, it can be difficult to
separate fact from fiction. Gut health refers to the balance of the gastrointestinal tract’s microbiome, which impacts almost every system in the body.
“With more information comes an abundance of misinformation.”
“The gut is your largest immune system organ, containing up to 80% of your body’s immune cells,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. “These cells help to clear out the many pathogens that pass through it every day. It is also the largest endocrine system organ in your body. They secrete hormones that regulate aspects of your metabolism, including blood sugar, hunger and satiety.”
Gut health also affects the nervous system. Some bacteria directly interacts with nerves positively and negatively. Studies link gut health and neurotransmitter production, like serotonin, which points to gut health’s influence on mental health.
Your microbiome processes nutrients and delivers fuel to the rest of your body. How well this functions is determined by the balance of good bacteria in the gut. Poor gut health, or dysbiosis, occurs when there is
an overgrowth of harmful bacteria, a lack of beneficial bacteria or a general lack of bacterial diversity in the GI tract. This can lead to symptoms like uncomfortable bloating, acne, irritable bowel syndrome, mental-health issues and inflammation.
You do not need a million supplements or synthetic aides to take care of your gut. Prebiotics, probiotics and fiber are all amazing for your gut and can be found naturally in whole foods.
“Some foods that we recommend in our practice include insoluble or soluble fiber-rich foods like ground flaxseed or oatmeal, respectively; fruits and vegetables in general contain a mix of both,” Christine Randazzo Kirschner, MS, RDN, CDN, said in Healio. “Prebiotic foods like asparagus, onion, garlic, leeks and Jerusalem artichokes are also part of our suggestions.”
Probiotics, good live bacteria that confer a health benefit, are found in certain foods like yogurt, kefir and Yakult. Some fermented foods may be considered probiotics and can add to the biodiversity of the microbiome as well. The best thing for gut health is maintaining a healthy, balanced and diverse diet and limiting ultra-processed foods.
“In our practice, we teach our clients that while no foods are off limits, prioritizing whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and lean proteins is beneficial because these items have been shown to reduce the risk of disease,” Mondala said. “Conversely, UPF consumption should be limited until further research clarifies the effects these additives may have on our health.”
Other important ways to manage gut health include good sleep, regular exercise and stress management.
Gut health wellness is not as scary or complicated as the internet makes it seem. You do not need to buy mystery powders to “heal” your gut. Focus on what makes your body feel good, and do not let wellness marketing convince you that your healthiest self is associated with a beauty standard. Do what makes you feel good in your body, and trust your gut!
Photo Credits: Unsplash
RTS
WHAT WAS brat SUMMER?
Written by Phoebe Martel
Designed by Lucie Bridges
When Charli XCX’s “360” came out, I was staring down the barrel of a decidedly non-Brat summer.
Late May, for me, was a kind of purgatory. The end of the semester rolled around, and I had to pack up my belongings and settle into a summer of Baltimore suburbia. I had no paid internships to speak of, only minimum wage grunt work at a boarding school’s archives and transcribing hours–long interviews for an eccentric journalist who fed me seafood pasta as compensation for my troubles. My most “365 party girl” activities consisted of chasing sunsets in the thrift store parking lot, savoring sips of McDonald’s Diet Coke and rehashing stories from three years ago with my childhood friends.
The first 15 tracks of Charli XCX’s Gen Z manifesto, “Brat,” dropped in the first week of June. I was in the thick of a weeklong Brooklyn escapade, shadowing an archival producer in Greenpoint and cat-sitting for my mother’s college best friend. One night, I went to see a teen punk outfit at an industrial warehouse in Bushwick, stopping in a bodega for an ice cream sandwich en route. Under the garish fuschia overheads and the ambient noise of the freezers interspersed with the L train’s roar, I heard “Mean Girls” for the first time.
“Worships Lana Del Rey in her AirPods,”
Charli crooned in her signature Essex brogue. “Yeah, she’s in her mid-20s, real intelligent.”
These words were a blueprint for the kind of post-grad dilettante I might become, somewhere between a dead-eyed Dimes Square denizen and a chic literary scion, à la Joan Didion.
In an interview with the BBC, Charli articulated her vision of Bratdom — a chain smoker in a strappy white top with no bra, a party animal who puts her foot in her mouth from time to time. Tears wash away this character’s already-smudged eyeliner as her mind jumps from a grade-school frenemy to lemon groves in Capri.
There have been many think pieces about “Brat” as a welcome rejection of clean girl femininity or, on the flip side, as a posturing gesture toward anti-capitalist bravado.
The former thesis was given unfortunate credence by the entire Democratic Party machine’s entry into the great branded Brat Summer marketplace when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. In mid-July, Vice President Kamala Harris’s ascension infused the campaign with a healthy helping of youthful, for-the-girls-and-gays effervescence, and consequently, Charli tweeted three words: “Kamala. Is. Brat.”
Many were aghast. Charli — a music critic’s darling, figurehead of late-2010s hyperpop — at such an aesthetic remove from DNC politesse, was not only cowing to, but
propping up the establishment? Charli has never been a political firebrand; she has never spoken on Gaza or abortion rights. Caroline Polachek’s “ACAB on a bus stop sign” throwaway line on her “Everything is romantic” version is the most leftist “Brat” gets. Some fans said that politics extinguished the pure spirit of Brat Summer, but maybe it was the critics whose mistake was to try and locate sober rationality in the absurdist melodrama of the music.
“Brat’s” rollout coincided with a cultural moment that called for self-aware, gritty escapism. Late spring was tumultuous as universities cleared pro-Palestine encampments and the Democratic Party disintegrated from the inside out. A certain subset of our generation — mostly metropolitan, LGBTQ+ and, broadly speaking, hipster — was keen for hedonistic anthems that did not feel so corporate and cloying.
The summer’s other inescapable songstress, Sabrina Carpenter, seemed to represent a more saccharine, bubblegum pop sensibility, the sweet teen sister of the poppers-huffing, Bushwick-dwelling “Brats.”
And then there is Taylor Swift. Much has been made of her and Charli’s alleged beef, which all seems to boil down to the fact that Swift is more of a holding company at this point, angling for total monopoly over the chart data market. Her Tortured Poets’ warehouse and never-ending Eras Tour, working overtime to cement her reign, have begun to
exhaust large swaths of the general public.
“I don’t think the culture really knew where to go at the time when ‘Brat’ came out,” Joey Marmaud, former editor of Coulture Magazine, said. “I think people really liked it because it leans into itself so much. There’s a sartorial code to ‘Brat’ that fits so many people’s aesthetics, It is easier to explain as a mood board: think Jessa from ‘Girls.’”
As it turns out, mass culture and alternative spaces make strange bedfellows. The visual language of a Brooklyn warehouse can feel contrived when injected into the mainstream, and there seems to be an inverse relationship between a meme’s staying power and its absorption into the corporate digital ether.
Now, “Brat’s” guerilla marketing template — poorly rasterized font on a lime-green, perfectly Instagrammable square — has been lifted by the likes of NASA, Kate Spade and Red Bull. Hence, by the time DNC marketing interns painted Kamala HQ lime-green, it was hard to shake the feeling that Brat Summer was dead.
“Internet culture has to be bottom-up,” Marmaud said. “It doesn’t feel subversive when it’s officially adopted by someone who is not ‘of the internet,’ or of the generation that is ‘on the internet.’”
Be that as it may, being a Brat was, for a time, the most ringing endorsement Kamala could have received among 18 to 25 year olds. With Charli’s tweet — not to mention the famed coconut tree symbology — Harris was anointed as the fun, drunk aunt who had come to rescue the Democrats from certain doom. From a policy perspective, Harris is no progressive messiah. But it is hard to dispute that her breezy buoyancy and Gen X credentials infused the race with some much-needed levity.
The source of state-sponsored Brat-mania, then, may have been generational pandering. But for many, the moniker signaled moxie, nerve, the duality of girlbossery and disarray. For many, it was a reclamation. Grimy industrial noise, days-old body glitter and generational trauma all coalesced into a high-octane city symphony where anything could be transposed into the key of Brat. In this lime-green promise land, every unflattering angle of late adolescence is rendered romantic. It is all part of being an anti-hero, a mean girl on the downtown scene.
I first heard Charli XCX in third grade, humming along to “Fancy” as I traded Rainbow Loom anklets for plush unicorns on the playground. “Boom Clap” came out soon after, recorded for 2014 Tumblr magnum opus “The Fault in Our Stars.” It was not until she became an experimental princess that I tuned back in as a deeply online 17 year old.
Her do-it-yourself 2020 record, “How I’m Feeling Now,” will forever be in my personal pantheon of lockdown art.
Cut to last June, and Charli had one foot back in the mainstream. Vogue and the New Yorker declared “pop girl summer,” with Charli at the center of a supposed triumvirate rounded out by Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. Sorority girls drilled the “Apple” dance, and I tried not to assume that none of them had ever heard of A.G. Cook. “Brat” truly was ubiquitous, for better or for worse.
Ava Anselmo, a junior at Fordham University with experience in indie music PR, remembers “Brat’s” rollout as a turning point in her Charli fandom. Anselmo’s tastes align more with the softer avant-pop of “Charli” (2019), but as Charli’s DJ set at a Bushwick warehouse and an Addison Rae duet generated buzz, she sensed the winds were changing.
“Kamala. Is. Brat.”
“There’s nothing quite like “Brat” in most of the music I listen to, and I’ve gotten more into electronic genre since then,” Anselmo said. “Mutual friends are learning how to DJ and performing at New York bars because it’s created this whole resurgence of club music outside of actual club culture.”
Anselmo pinpointed “Brat’s” October’s remix album as the most reminiscent of Charli’s earlier, more contemplative discography. The Japanese House’s “Apple” rendition and “Sympathy is a knife” featuring Ariana Grande lend a more bittersweet, emotionally hungover aftertaste to the original’s ostensibly never-ending hedonism. Inevitably, the party must end, and most leaves change colors in the fall.
On “Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat,” Charli is self-reflexive, meditating on the endless discourse its parent album spawned and her still-raging insecurities. She pleads, “is everything still romantic?,” checking the pulse on the midsummer groundswell that catapulted her to the top.
“The remix album was a really smart thing to do,” Anselmo said. “People are still into ‘Brat,’ but Brat Summer wasn’t going to last forever.”
Around the time “Kamala. Is. Brat.” was heard around the world, I turned 21 years old in the green hills of Vermont. I did not want to listen to anything higher-octane than Clairo’s “Charm,” chock-full of slinky, folksy
choruses and dreamy introspection. This was supposed to be the summer where I indulged and let loose, but it was more of a period of work and recovery. In late-summer TikTok parlance, I was being “demure and mindful.”
Fall semester abroad in Rome felt like a more apt backdrop for me to genuinely embody Brattiness, particularly in a tropical October where I could eat gelato while my friends at home were locked in for midterms. I interned at the Vatican News, which is one place I think too sacrosanct for any lime-greenwashing. Still, there is something distinctly Brat about the Eternal City: decadent, grandiose, perhaps past its glory days.
Now that the remix album is out, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s Sweat Tour came and went and Harris’s campaign engaged in more pressing matters, there does not seem to be a logical next chapter for “Brat” or even the cultural moment it embodied. As winter approaches, pop culture’s pendulum will swing back toward more stripped-down sensibilities. But even if the “Brat” epoch is in its dying breaths, I can not help but hope some of the residual energy will stick.
Last summer, hot pink was the crown jewel of the season. Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster “Barbie” was a self-serious parable that dabbled in existentialism and product placement. For many, its hyper-feminine, mad-camp stylistics signaled a revolution in post-modern feminism, and the film’s gargantuan marketing budget ensured that plastic was back in fashion (but this time, she had read Gloria Steinem).
If 2023 was the year of the doll, where truth was always shrouded behind six layers of taffeta and winking irony, 2024 was one for the dollar-store divas. “Brat” is blunt, freewheeling and intensely human, much like the secret forces that govern a night out. The energy is frivolous when it wants to be, but always with the hint that someone could buy a gun.
SHADOWS IN THE
Directed by Sophia Katz, Alexandra Sanchez Maldonado, Juliette Dias, Savannah Matthews
Photographed by Allison Rikard, Madeline Lai
Styled by Elizabeth Comer, Ava Mayo, Marguerite Stanley, Henry Thomas
Modeled by Ashley Allen, Landon Knox
Designed by Kiki Kozak
Think about your favorite dessert. Consider the way you take small bites, enjoying each piece slowly while savoring the flavor, smell and feeling. It’s not just about having it, it’s about the experience. Not one bit of it goes unappreciated or wasted. To me, this is what film photography is like. A roll of film consisting of those 36 frames is treasured to the very last bit, to that finalizing automatic sound of the rewinding roll.
My mom gifted me my Canon Sureshot 115u for my 20th birthday last year, a $30-something find from eBay. It has become my ultimate companion, the front of its silver facade decorated with colorful stickers, safely tucked and zipped away into its carrying case as it comes along with me.
A little over a year later, my Canon has already traveled with me to three US states, five countries and two continents. It has come with me to the Duke University versus UNC-Chapel Hill basketball game where I rushed Franklin Street from the Dean Dome for the first time, during my sophomore year. It has come with me to drop off my older brother in Charleston, South Carolina, for his first post-grad job. It was with me as I spent the first semester of my junior year abroad in Florence, Italy, and traveled to different parts of Europe on my spare weekends.
Owning a film camera has allowed me to capture simple, fun and peaceful moments in a way that feels far more valuable than anything I could snap using my smartphone. The film that I have collected this past year and a half depicts cherished snippets of the people, places and things that make up the very essence of who I am.
While photography as a whole is one thing, photography through the lens of a film camera is a unique experience that other forms
cannot fully compare to. The mediums of photography are like a spectrum in the nature of their instantaneousness: smartphone, digital and film. Film requires a far more complicated and timely process than the other two. Getting film development is nowhere near as convenient or instantaneous as taking photos on a digital camera, let alone those from a smartphone.
From my perspective, the time it takes to get film developed is what makes film photography more than just an activity — it’s an
“From my perspective, the time it takes to get film developed is what makes film photography more than just an activity — it’s an experience.”
experience. The photos I have collected from my film camera are more meaningful and special to me than any photo I have ever taken on my smartphone. Each photo is not just a photo, but a memory.
One particular moment that comes to mind is a picture that I captured summer
2023. Earlier that year,our family had to say goodbye to our 14-year-old beloved chocolate labrador, Hershey. We decided in late summer to get a new puppy so that our other dog, Poppy, would not be alone, as she has spent her whole life with Hershey.
The day we brought our new puppy, Wellie, home, I asked my mom to hold him so I could take a photo. The resulting picture is absolutely precious and is one of my favorites that I have ever taken on film. What feels so exceptionally special about the photo is that I know it is one I will keep forever and eventually share with future generations of my family. I have taken several pictures of my mom and Wellie on the day we brought him home, but none of them compare to this one picture I captured on film.
Another photo I love is one I took while in the Vatican City when I first arrived in Italy for the semester. My mom and I toured the Holy See, and while inside one part of a museum, there was a window lookout where you could see an incredible view of Michelangelo’s dome. I appreciate how the architecture is highlighted due to the view from my window being darkened. The contrast is stark, but it is what makes the photo so stunning. While I did get pictures of this on my phone as well, none of them match the level of detail of the famous architecture you can see in the film photo. I love how the sunlight is captured here, shining on the dome and other parts of the museum building, highlighting its features. I also got a beautiful photo of the Trevi Fountain in Rome. The small sliver of sky above it is a darker blue, which accentuates how starkly white and grandiose the fountain is in person when you stand in front of it. You can also see the way in which the camera captured the aspect of light here — how it shines atop the figures in the tiered below.
Other photos that are deeply important
to me are ones that I captured over winter break of 2023. I hardly get to see my two best friends from my hometown of Durham. Lily goes to school out of state. So does Ivy, but her family also moved to the midwest. Over the break and to celebrate new years, Ivy flew in to visit and the three of us finally got to unite again since graduating from high school in 2022. Since Ivy had not been in North Carolina for over a year, we wanted to take her to our favorite Southern cuisine restaurant, The Q Shack. In this photo, I
a phone or a digital camera, you can quickly evaluate how the photos look and change the nature in which you are taking them in order to fix that.
able film cameras to celebrities like Ice Spice and Ed Sheeran. Most notably, he gave a camera to sitting President Joe Biden, where the collage featured pictures of the Oval Office and areas around the White House. Reading the comments on their TikTok videos, many people express feeling nostalgia and “FOMO,” or the fear of missing out, for these trips that they themselves have not experienced.
I find it interesting how even those who were not present for the photo being taken can have such a visceral reaction to seeing developed film. It’s almost comparable to flipping through your parents’ old photos from their younger years and feeling like life was better when they were experiencing it. We are always longing for what we do not have, because, of course, the grass is always greener on the other side.
While I think it is important to always strive for something, it is also critical to appreciate life as it is.Through my own journey with film photography, I have been able to
“While photography as a whole is one thing, photography through the lens of a film camera is a unique experience that other forms cannot fully compare to.”
love how you can see the huge metallic sign behind us that says “RIBS.” Another day of her visit, we all went to Elmo’s Diner — a former Chapel Hill staple that still exists in Durham — to relive one of our favorite high school activities of getting their chocolate chip pancakes. It was really special to get these photos back from being developed a few months after break. I felt like I was reliving the visit again. It brought me to tears, making me feel incredibly grateful that we had gotten the chance after so long to all be together again at home.
One of the hardest parts of film photography is not knowing how the frames are going to turn out. I have several amazing and memorable photos that I have taken, but also
With film, this is not possible. You have no idea what you are getting until you finish the entire roll and eventually receive it after being developed. Sometimes it can be disappointing to get photos back that did not turn out how you had expected them, especially after having so much anticipation built up. However, the high quality photos in the mix always make up for the handful of those that did not come out as ideal as hoped.
A popular TikTok account called Life on Film, under the handle of @lifeonfilm.79, does a great job at capturing the essence of film photography and how it makes people feel. The profile has amassed a viewership of over 940,000 through its series where they give disposable cameras to strangers. In this series, the cameraman approaches people in various places — like the airport or simply just on the street — and offers them a disposable camera. He asks them to take photos on their trip or night out with the camera and then to return them to a given address so that Life on Film can develop the frames and make a video.
Their page includes collage-style videos of these strangers doing things like visiting a long distance boyfriend, going out to clubs in big cities and even traveling with a Boy Scout troop. They have also done collaborations on their page where they give dispos-
do that. Getting my own film photos back allows me to recognize how lucky I am to have the people in my life that I do, and how grateful I am to be able to see and experience the things that I have. While owning a film camera and consistently using it is an expensive hobby, I cannot express enough how self-fulfilling of a hobby it is.
Photo Credits: Kiki Kozak
LET THAT PRIEST PRAY
Ctr 82:83
Written by Grace Wilkinson | Designed By Nora lyons & Livia Loverso
Imagine the worst person you know. If they’re in an ascot, handlebar mustache, beanie and monocle, you’re along the right track. This is the same person who will casually refer to Anton Chekov to impress a humanities-based date. Chekhov’s plays are notable for nothing and everything happen ing simultaneously. They are used to educate actors on what it means to perform brilliant, classic and thoughtful theater.
While Chekhov’s work has been adapted many times, into films and modern plays, nobody has done it the way the sexy priest of “Fleabag” has.
Andrew Scott co-cre ated a one-man adap tation of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” along side Simon Stephens, writer of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” Togeth er, the two modernized and rejuvenated the play, and critics are loving it.
“Uncle Vanya” covers themes of loss, class and unrequited love as it follows a Russian family navigating tribulations. A professor and his wife visits their estate, where the visitors and workers spend days together, falling into love
and out of love, and ultimately holding steadfast to the constant reminder of their disillusionment to each other.
Steve Carell starred in “Uncle Vanya” in an off-Broadway show in the summer of 2024, but his performance remained truer to Chekhov’s original work. Carell’s production took place in modern America rather than 19th
tation as Scott’s production does.
With two adaptations of the same 19th century Russian classic literature back to back, you begin to wonder; is this what theater is destined for? Taking classic, ancestrally praised pieces and adapting them for new audiences? If so, are we to embrace the decision, or rebel against the idea of rejuvenating the old rather than discovering the new?
There is a case for both opinions. In one, transforming old works into new words is just another sign of the times. Just like ecosystems, the arts have to adapt to an ever changing world where attention spans are shorter and vocabularies are smaller. Andrew Scott injecting zaniness and jazz into “Vanya” might just mean that it transforms into a digestible piece — a conversation starter for students whose Friday nights cover both frat court and The Crunkleton.
Andrew Scott,
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
“While Chekhov’s work has been adapted many times, into films and modern plays, nobody has done it the way the sexy priest of ‘Fleabag’ has.”
Conversely, if Andrew Scott wanted to do a one-man show, he could just perform a completely original idea. But is “Vanya” not completely original from “Uncle Vanya?” Just because Scott wears a turquoise silk blouse, does that mean he is not performing the same story that was written some dozen decades ago? The final question to consider may be whether the ends justify the means. In this case, adapting classic works means keeping historic theater’s pulse ticking. It is harder to get an audience interested in a 19th century play than a botox’d and steroided version of that 19th century play. If Scott’s performance means that classic theater lives on through a different organism, then by God, let that sexy priest host communion, with my vessel being the first to repent.
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Andrew Scott injecting zaniness and jazz into ‘Vanya’ might just mean that it transforms into a digestible piece.”
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
marimekko aetheria
by Dia
Designed by Mang Iang
Directed by Sophia Katz, Alexandra Sanchez Maldonado, Savannah Matthews, Juliette Dias
Photography by Allison Rikard, Joshua Tu
Style by Elizabeth Comer, Marguerite Stanley, Henry Thomas
Beauty by Jaden Esquivel, Jaden Juarez, Stenna Stargell, Josslyn Smith, Rose Kurian
In a small brick building, with a mural of an ancient Greek dish and a mailbox full of orange slices, livesis the Peel Gallery and Photo Lab. It’s not just your average gallery; it has a spacious retail area where visitors are you’re encouraged to touch, explore and wander around. Peel’s offerings range from prints to original pieces, stickers to stained glass, zines to art books, among a vast range of other items.
Right as the COVID-19 pandemic began to overtake the United States, Burlington, Vermont native Lindsay Metivier took a chance by opening with Peel in March of 2021. Sitting off of West Rosemary Street, where Chapel Hill bleeds into Carrboro, Peel is dedicated to creating arts opportunities for locals. The Triangle is largely known as a center for scientific and technological innovation, but it is also home to a vibrant, thriving arts scene that deserves equal a spotlight. Metivier saw an unfulfilled opportunity for a space for artists to explore mediums and showcase their work, so she took it upon herself to create one.
creative in a relaxed, friendly setting.
Peel is also all about building community among artists and art lovers. The gallery hosts regular events and exhibitions that not only highlight local talent but also create spaces for free-flowing collaboration and conversation. These gatherings often turn into lively celebrations of creativity, where you can meet artists and learn more in-depth about what drives their work.
ulate community engagement, Peel has several events focused on giving back, such as their bi-annual clothing swap that supports CommunityWorx. They also host various film screenings, parking lot festivals, music performances, and concerts.
Peel is a vibrant spot for the arts, especially at in a time when creative spaces are so important. It is a place where artistic expression thrives, and it invites everyone to be part of the journey. Whether you are’re looking to learn something new, find a unique piece of art, or just soak up the lively atmosphere, Peel is ready to welcome you in. In this humble brick building, treasures await for those willing to explore.
“Peel is a vibrant spot for the arts, especially at a time when creative spaces are so important. It is a place where artistic expression thrives.”
Being close to UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus, the space has become popular with students. Peel offers monthly classes that allow artists and amateurs alike to learn a new skill or play around with new techniques. Collage night has become a particularly big hit, drawing in folks who want to get
Written By Celia Gibbs
Designed By Edie Moyers
Peel is also involved with local events like the Strawberry Jamboree in collaboration with the Carrboro Farmers Market, or the annual Chapboro Book Crawl. Grounded in this mission to support artists and stim-
Peel’s vibrant storefront patio in Carrboro.
Photo Credit: Tuong Nguyen
Peel owner and director Lindsay Metivier
Photo Credit above and right: Peel
Designed by Katie Creel
Written by Anaisa Acharya
The safest way to discuss family matters is, natu rally, with Oprah Win frey during a nationally televised interview — at least, that’s what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex believed. Rather than con fronting their royal in-laws directly, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose a public stage to reveal their struggles with racial bias, mental health and isolation. In response, the British royal family released a carefully worded statement to the public, avoiding a direct confron tation with the pair. This con flict implicates a larger cul tural issue: we now live in a society where we avoid difficult conversations, especially with our loved ones. Why do we find it so much easier
the digital age. With the rise of social media platforms, people are more comfortable expressing their views behind the safety of a screen, avoiding face-to-face confrontations altogether. Instagram stories are vehicles for political arguments. The algorithms these platforms use facilitate echo chambers which reduce users’ exposure to differing opinions, increasing polarization. The fear of cancel culture has made individuals more likely to avoid confrontation and critical conversations altogether.
Conflict avoidance in friendships and romantic relationships is also prominent. Petty disagreements and differing preferences go unresolved for the sake of maintaining harmony. Rather than addressing conflict head on, people may distance themselves from conflict by ignoring or avoiding uncomfortable situations. Ironically, this lack of earnest confrontation only culminates in inevitable, and
up with technology, recent generations are developing means of interaction that prioritize convenient dialogue over critical dialogue. We are afraid of losing social capital for expressing unpopular opinions.
We must create brave spaces that don’t simply protect feelings, like a safe space might, but stretch them. By building brave spaces, we encourage open, respectful dialogue on difficult topics. Avoiding conflict is not healthy in the long-term; all it brings is built-up tension and a lack of solutions for the causes we deem important. Instead, we need to focus on strategies to combat toxic conflict avoidance. According to the Harvard Business Review, permission to speak and express oneself creates a level of candor and mutual respect. Urging people to listen to understand— rather than listen to respond —and fully devote their attention to the person speaking allows them to become more open and vulnerable.
“Embracing vulnerability in communication can lead to more honest and meaningful interactions.”
Full Circle Moment:
FROM TO THE CLASSROOM
IWRITTEN BY LOLA WHITE | DESIGNED BY BRYNN DODGE
f you’ve ever seen “Oppenheimer,” you’ll know that Los Alamos, New Mexico, is not exactly a hub for haute couture.
Alexandra Hehlen knew she wanted to branch out. Growing up in a town renowned for its scientific breakthroughs rather than fashion statements, Hehlen needed to start a new journey — to Chapel Hill. As a student at UNC, Hehlen merged her love for fashion and storytelling by co-founding Coulture, a magazine dedicated to making style accessible and inclusive. Now, on the publication’s 10th anniversary, she’s returning to her alma mater — not as a student, but as a professor. This spring, Hehlen will teach the very class that helped shape her career, guiding students to merge creativity, sustainability, and fashion in their work.
“Hehlen merged her love for fashion and storytelling by co-founding Coulture.”
Alexandra Hehlen had big dreams, leading her across the country to Chapel Hill, where she studied journalism and business as a Robertson Scholar. Amidst the bustle of the big school, she felt like something was missing — fashion. Fashion had always been a constant in her life. Motivated by her time writing a style column in her high school newspaper, she began searching for a cre-
ative outlet on campus. Hehlen witnessed the large gap between schoolmates’ passion for style and opportunities for expression, prompting her to take action. Armed with a copy of “How to Start a Magazine” and many brainstorming walks with her dad — who suggested the name Coulture, a blend of culture and couture — Hehlen and Remington Remmel turned their vision into reality in May of 2015.
From the start, Hehlen stood firm on making Coulture an inclusive, diverse and accessible organization. She aimed to liberate fashion from its elite, inaccessible associations. Fashion is for everyone.
Hehlen asked herself, “How do we talk about fashion in a way that’s superhuman?”
Just as fashion can transcend language and cultural barriers, it is also deeply rooted in sociocultural realities. As a magazine focused on culture, Hehlen wanted to depict fashion as a “cultural processor” — making fashion accessible and inclusive, highlighting its role in cultural storytelling and personal expression. She believes that fashion has the power to transcend barriers while also being a lens through which we understand the world around us.
One of the biggest challenges Hehlen faced was securing funding for the magazine. For the first issue, she managed to pool enough money from family, friends and fellow students through a Kickstarter campaign. But, she knew that wasn’t a sustainable option. Fortunately, one of her team members was able to connect with Dana McMahan, who stepped in and helped stabilize funding through her FashionMash program at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Coulture remains under the FashionMash umbrella today.
Under Hehlen and Remmel’s leadership, Coulture grew from a small team of 30 to over 180 members. Reflecting on her experience, Hehlen said that the most fulfilling
part of the journey was bringing her visions to life and seeing how a diverse group of creatives could come together to produce something impactful.
In launching Coulture, Hehlen discovered her love for art direction. She was drawn to the visual elements of creative projects. Internships throughout college helped her sharpen her skills, leading her to pursue a master’s degree in fashion, film and photography at the Paris College of Art. After completing the program, Hehlen worked for multiple beauty and fashion companies, including AIR PARIS and Burt’s Bees, before pivoting to freelance work with nonprofits in Washington, D.C. Hehlen wanted to use her skills in art direction for a greater purpose, collaborating with environmentally conscious companies to make a positive impact on the world.
“How do we talk about fashion in a way that’s superhuman?”
Hehlen always had a strong connection to nature. In Los Alamos, she grew up outdoors, riding horses and finding peace among the elements. After years of fast-paced work in the fashion industry, she felt separated from nature and wanted a reset. This inspired her to quit her job and travel for eight months with her partner, visiting destinations like Patagonia, Argentina and Ecuador. The trip opened her eyes to how fashion and nature are intertwined, especially considering the industry’s significant environmental footprint.
“Coulture grew from a small team of 30 to over 180 members.”
When she returned to D.C. after her eight-month journey, Hehlen felt ready for a new chapter. McMahan reached out to her with an opportunity to teach. Hehlen shared her vision of teaching art direction with a sustainability focus. With McMahan’s support, Hehlen brought that vision to life, blending her creative expertise with her passion for the environment.
Over the past year, the two have planned Hehlen’s course, where she now serves as a new adjunct professor for MEJO 572: Art Direction in Advertising. Her section of this long-standing art direction class adds a focus on social impact for the FashionMash program, centered around responsibility and the environment.
but also how to find inspiration and transform it into a design system that brings their ideas to life.
As she prepares to guide the next generation of media professionals, her advice is clear: stay true to your values.
“Think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” she said, acknowledging the challenges that come with being loyal to your principles, especially in an industry that prioritizes prestige over purpose.
While it’s possible to gain technical skills in jobs that might not fully align with your values, she believes that real creativity flourishes when your work is rooted in what you truly care about.
“It’s easy to get lost in the flashiness of who you’ve worked for,” she said, “but when you feel the most creative, it’s because you’re aligned with your values.”
For her, success comes from constant curiosity. Asking questions, creating, and staying open to new ideas.
Hehlen aims to mix fashion, nature, and creativity by applying classic art direction techniques with an environmentally conscious approach.
From co-founding Coulture as a student to returning to UNC to teach the class that got her started, Alexandra Hehlen is ready to inspire the next generation of young creatives.
Hehlen said the class is fully remote and centered around real-world clients with a focus on environmentally conscious projects. She aims to teach students not only how to collaborate effectively over Zoom,
“Keep evolving,” she said, “and never stop learning.”
“Think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.”
Photo Credits: Alexandra Hehlen
U N C OULTURE U N C OULTURE
OULTURE OULTURE
Directed by Sophia Katz, Alexandra Sanchez Maldonado, Juliette Dias, Savannah Matthews
Photographed by Sophie Hughett, Dylan Thiessen
Styled by Ava Mayo, Marguerite Stanley, Henry Thomas
Modeled by Anne Marie Helmy, Lucy Wu, Mason Thibodeaux Parmis Maeve Kimia, Taanvii Verma, Will Kleinschmidt
