The Fashion Network Spring 2025| Issue 15

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FASHION NETWORK

SYMPHONY OF HORROR

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED CELESTIAL BLOOM EMBRACE THE ANARCHY

SPRING 25 EXECUTIVE BOARD

KARLA DE LA CERDA PRESIDENT

VIVIANNA RUFFO BLOG DIRECTOR

AMY LI OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

EMMA MARTINEZ CREATIVE DIRECTOR

HALENA LAVEN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ANDREA TORELLI LATHULERIE MARKETING DIRECTOR

TIFFANY LU PHOTO/VIDEO DIRECTOR

MELANIA HENDERSON CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF STYLING

NOURAN RASHAD EVENTS DIRECTOR

ANNIE TROMPETER PHOTO/VIDEO DIRECCTOR

ELLIE CURSHELLAS FASHION DESIGN DIRECTOR

ALIMCHANDANI HR DIRECTOR

LAILA DONALDSON SET DIRECTOR

ELSA TOLA MAKUP DIRECTOR

SONIA

Symphony Horror

Symphony Of

Spread Design by Destiny Plata
Design Directed by Emma Martinez
Photographed by Kassandra Plata

Photographed by Evelyn
Photographed
Photographed by Kassandra Plata

Romantic Ruin Romantic Ruin Romantic Ruin Romantic Ruin Romantic Ruin

Photographed by Kassandra Plata
Photographed by Kassandra Plata

Dressed to Disturb: Fashion’s Symphony of Horror

A violin screeches in the dark. Heels echo down a deserted runway. Lace drips like cobwebs. Leather gleams like bone. Welcome to fashion’s haunted overture—its Symphony of Horror—where beauty doesn’t soothe, it unsettles.This isn’t about jump scares or Halloween kitsch. It’s about the kind of horror that lingers. A shadow in silk. A scream stitched into satin. A fascination with decay, dread, and the exquisite elegance of the grotesque.In today’s world of sterile trends and algorithmic sameness, horror in fashion offers something rare: feeling.Why are we drawn to fashion that disturbs us? Because horror reveals truth—about death, desire, power, and vulnerability. When designers tap into those themes, the result is visceral. It transcends trend. It becomes storytelling. Whether it’s a Victorian ghost gown or a techno-witch in vinyl, horror fashion doesn’t just show up—it haunts. Brands like Alexander McQueen, Gareth Pugh, Comme des Garçons, and Iris van Herpen have all played with this darkness. They conjure a world where clothing becomes character, costume becomes narrative, and the body becomes a stage for a horror opera—equal parts romantic and terrifying.

by Evelyn Arellano

Fashion As Gothic Theater

In a true Symphony of Horror, every element of design plays its part—just like instruments in an orchestra: Silhouettes swell and distort, echoing hysteria or restraint. Corsets cage the body. Capes billow like specters.

Textures create tension: shredded tulle, blood-red velvet, cracked latex, stiff lace.

Colors evoke unease—bone white, bruise purple, funeral black, feverish red.

Accessories become artifacts: veils, gloves, face masks, crucifix-heavy jewelry, or claw-like nails.

Designers orchestrate this chaos into beauty, using fear as fabric. The result is sublime discomfort.

Designers orchestrate this chaos into beauty, using fear as fabric. The result is sublime discomfort.

Horror As High Art

What horror fashion does better than any other genre is challenge comfort. It blurs binaries—of beautiful and ugly, alive and dead, woman and monster, couture and corpse.

Take McQueen’s 1999 show, where Shalom Harlow was spray-painted by robotic arms while spinning in white— both muse and machine. Or Thom Browne’s twisted funeral parades, with models in coffin-inspired skirts and decaying florals. These aren’t shows. They’re rituals.

It’s not about costuming horror tropes. It’s about becoming them. The bride undone. The villain revered. The body transformed, not concealed.

Horror in a Post-Pretty World

In the age of curated perfection, horror fashion whispers something radical:

Let it rot. Let it scream. Let it be ruined and still worth looking at.

Soft horror. Neo-Victorian goth. Post-apocalyptic romanticism. These aesthetics are booming not just because they’re cool—but because they speak to the chaos we’re all surviving.Climate crisis. AI dread. Political collapse. There’s something strangely cathartic about wearing a dress that looks like it survived the end of the world. In horror, we find honesty.

How to Wear the Unsettling

You don’t need a fog machine or a funeral procession to channel the Symphony of Horror in your everyday look. Try this:

Romantic Ruin: Pair delicate fabrics (lace, silk, chiffon) with something rough (leather, metal, distressing). Think ghost meets gladiator.

Modern Gothic: Embrace high collars, long sleeves, and floor-length drama with a sleek, modern cut.

Blood Accents: One item in crimson can suggest something ritualistic—lipstick, gloves, or shoes.

Silhouettes with Threat: Look for exaggerated shoulders, trailing hems, or restrictive pieces that alter posture.

Antique Meets Apocalypse: Mix vintage brooches or corsetry with stark, contemporary shapes.

Let your look hint at danger. Let it say: I’ve seen the end, and I dressed for it.

The Symphony of Horror isn’t about being scary. It’s about being unafraid.It’s fashion as mourning. Fashion as rebellion. Fashion as myth. It embraces the parts of ourselves that are wounded, wild, and unspoken. In a culture that tells us to smooth out, clean up, and fit in, horror dares us to do the opposite: to unravel beautifully.So cue the violins. Raise the curtain. Let your hem drag like a ghost and your sleeves scream like sirens. Because in the world of soft monsters and elegant nightmares, you’re not just dressing to impress—You’re dressing to possess.

Photographed by Tiffany Lu
Photographed by Kassandra Plara
Photographed by Tiffany Lu
Photographed by Kassandra Plata

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

ILLUSTRATED

Spread Design by Destiny Plata Design Directed by Emma Martinez
Photographed by Kassy Plata

TEAM

Photographed by Nethra Yuvaraji

WORK

Photographer:Franesca
Photographed by Tiffany Lu
Photographed by Kassy Plata
Photographed by Tiffany Lu
Photographed by Francesca Dumitrescu
Photographed by Francesca Dumitrescu, Tiffany Lu, & Kassy Plata
Photographed by Francesca Dumitrescu
Photographed by Kassy Plata

AMERICA How Athletic Wear Took Over

At some point over the past decade, something shifted. Maybe you noticed it when you found yourself wearing leggings to brunch, a sports bra under your blazer, or when your sneakers began costing more than your dress shoes. What used to be confined to gym lockers and early morning runs is now everywhere: the office, the airport, the dinner date. Athletic wear has slipped quietly—and completely—into everyday American life.

This isn’t just a trend. It’s a cultural shift. It’s comfort disguised as intention. Performance Wear without the performance. It’s America dressing like it’s on the move—even if it’s just to grab coffee.

There’s something almost aspirational about the way athletic wear presents itself. You could be headed to a yoga class. You might go for a run later. Or you’re just someone who values

movement, hustle, and breathability in your wardrobe.

Athletic wear taps into a powerful narrative: mobility equals productivity. Throw on a quarter-zip or a streamlined pair of joggers and suddenly you’re not just dressed—you’re prepared. It’s a subtle status symbol, signaling that you’re living an efficient, high-performance lifestyle—even if your most athletic activity is carrying an oat milk latte back to your desk. If fashion used to be about effort, now it’s about ease. Americans have long had a soft spot for casual style, but in the last decade, comfort has become its own kind of luxury. The pandemic accelerated what had already been brewing: people started asking why “getting dressed” meant sacrificing physical comfort. The answer? It doesn’t have to.

By Nethra Yuvaraji

Photographed
Photographed by Tiffany Lu

Athletic wear’s materials— moisture-wicking, four-way stretch, barely-there seams— offered a kind of freedom that denim or dress pants simply couldn’t. The best part? These clothes didn’t just feel good. They looked good, too. Brands like Lululemon, Alo Yoga, and Outdoor Voices turned technical fabrics into status symbols. High-waisted leggings became boardroom-appropriate with the right coat. Sculpted tanks blurred the line between gym and gallery.

Athletic wear, in this sense, didn’t dilute style—it redefined it.

This evolution wasn’t just about clothes. It was about identity. The rise of “wellness culture” made being healthy—or at least looking like you were trying—a lifestyle flex. Activewear allowed people to perform that identity without saying a word. It wasn’t about going to the gym; it was about being the kind of person who could.

Even beyond yoga studios and spin classes, athletic gear became a visual shorthand for discipline, ambition, and self-optimization. In a culture obsessed with improvement, what better uniform than one made for progress?

Then came the high-fashion collabs and the luxury

Photographed by Nethra Yuvaraji
Photographed by Kassy Plata

crossovers. Sneakers on the runway?

Unthinkable once, but now central to the collections of designers like Virgil Abloh, Stella McCartney, and Demna Gvasalia. Suddenly, athletic codes—elastic waistbands, mesh panels, zippered vests—weren’t just accepted in fashion circles; they were coveted.

Athletic wear’s rise wasn’t about rebellion. It was about evolution. Streetwear blurred with gym wear, blurred with loungewear, until there was no longer a clear distinction. Only a layered, lived-in look that could go from errands to meetings to dinner, no outfit change required.

Ultimately, athletic wear didn’t just become popular—it became the default.

And in many ways, it makes sense. America loves utility. Loves confidence. Loves the idea of always being on the go. Athletic wear lets you feel prepared, styled, and unfussy all at once.

It’s a wardrobe built for movement, but more importantly, it’s built for possibility. You may not actually break a sweat in your sneakers and performance fleece—but the look says you could, if you wanted to.

And in today’s world, that’s enough.

Photographer:Kassy Plata
Spread Design by Madison Edwards & Emma Martinez
Design Directed by Emma Martinez
Photographed by Avni Mohan
Photographed by Francesca Dumitrescu
Photographed by A Bramowicz
Photographed by Francesca Dumitrescu
Photographed by Kassy Plata
Photographed by Avni Mohan
Photographed by Francesca Dumitrescu

How Designers Fuse on the runway nature and cosmos

When petals meet planets and constellations entwine with vines, fashion enters a new dimension—one where the organic and the cosmic collide. In recent seasons, runways from Paris to Seoul have become celestial gardens: dresses shimmer like stardust, floral appliqués bloom in galactic gradients, and silhouettes echo both supernovas and stems.

What makes celestial bloom so captivating is its duality. The botanical has always been a symbol of life and rebirth, while celestial imagery—moons, stars, nebulas—speaks to eternity and the unknown. Together, they create a visual narrative that feels both ancient and futuristic.

Photographed by Francesca Dumitrescu
Photographed by Avni Mohan

Designers are leaning into this aesthetic with rich textures and surreal contrasts:

Tulle layered like nebula clouds, colored in dusty rose and eclipse violet.

Embroidered constellations scattered across silk florals, like stardust on petals.

Structured gowns shaped like unfolding lilies—but cast in metallics that mimic moonlight.

Some standout moments that brought the celestial-botanical fusion to life:

Iris van Herpen, the queen of organic futurism, sculpted gowns that resemble both blooming orchids and spinning galaxies—her craftsmanship echoing both biology and black holes.

Rodarte SS24 painted models as moon maidens, with ethereal makeup and gowns dripping in starry florals, blurring the line between fairy and alien.

Rahul Mishra’s “Cosmic Bloom” collection featured intricate embroidery of galaxies within lotus flowers, each piece telling a story of cosmic interconnection.

Marine Serre took a sportier approach, blending astrology-inspired prints with upcycled florals to symbolize regeneration through time.

“why choose between stardust and soil when you can root yourself in both?”
Photographed by A Bramowicz
Photographed by Francesca Dumitrescu

Across the board, designers are saying: why choose between stardust and soil when you can root yourself in both?

Fashion has always responded to cultural moods. It reflects a collective yearning for transcendence during uncertain times. In a world that feels increasingly fractured, this trend suggests a quiet hope: that beauty, nature, and the cosmos are still in sync.

Whether it’s through a velvet top embroidered with lunar roses or a silk scarf printed with starlit dahlias, this style speaks to those who crave depth, dream in color, and believe fashion should elevate not just the body, but the spirit.

Celestial bloom isn’t just about clothes. It’s a wearable metaphor: for blooming in darkness, for orbiting around beauty, for being wild and eternal at once.

In this era of artificial intelligence and climate concern, space exploration and seed preservation, we’re asking new questions about what it means to be alive, human, and hopeful. And fashion, as always, answers in poetry: with fabric, with fantasy, and with flowers that bloom in the stars.

Not walking the runway anytime soon? Here’s how to channel celestial bloom in your everyday looks:

Mix metallics with florals. Think silver boots with a romantic rose-print dress.

Look for cosmic motifs in soft fabrics. Celestial embroidery on mesh, velvet, or sheer organza.

Layer textures that mimic space and earth. Combine something smooth and synthetic (like lamé) with something earthy and raw (like raw silk or cotton lace).

Add lunar accessories. Crescent moon earrings, constellation rings, or floral hair clips that sparkle like stars.

Photographed by Avni Mohan

Embrace the Anarchy, Fourth Shoot of TFN SP25 Season

Spread Design by Dhruv Oak Design Directed by Emma Martinez

Photographed by Laila Donaldson

Photographed by Amy Li
Photographed by Laila Donaldson

the of

GoTh sTyLe EvoLuTioN

Goth style didn’t begin as a trend. It began as a feeling—a deep, visceral need to embody the shadows the world often tries to avoid. What started in the underground clubs of the 1980s has slowly, stunningly, made its way into mainstream fashion houses, pop culture icons, and even TikTok scrolls. Goth is no longer just a subculture—it’s influence. But where did it start? And how did a style rooted in melancholy, mystery, and rebellion become a couture touchstone?

Photographed by Laila Donaldson

1. The Origins: Death Meets Punk (Late 1970s – 1980s)

The goth aesthetic began as a darker offshoot of the punk scene in late ‘70s London. While punk was raw and aggressive, early goth leaned into theatricality and gloom. Bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, and The Cure weren’t just shaping sound—they were shaping style. Think:

• Ripped fishnets and combat boots

• Dramatic eyeliner and bird’s nest hair

• Velvet blazers, lace gloves, Victorian chokers

The look was romantic, funereal, and definitely anti-mainstream. It was about expressing pain and beauty at once—an art project as much as a personal identity.

2. 1990s: Goth Goes Cyber, Vamp, and Industrial

The ‘90s saw goth splinter into several delicious subgenres:

Cyber Goths paired rave fashion with dystopian techwear—neon dreadlocks, PVC corsets, goggles as accessories.

Vampire Goths went full Anne Rice: floorlength coats, crushed velvet, and blood-red lipstick.

Industrial Goths turned up the volume with military gear, harnesses, and steel-toe boots.

Meanwhile, mainstream pop culture flirted with darkness. The Craft made chokers and black lipstick iconic. Designers like Jean Paul Gaultier embraced gothic silhouettes. Even Barbie got a goth makeover (hello, Halloween edition).

3. 2000s – 2010s: Mall Goth to Haute Goth

If you survived Hot Topic in the early 2000s, you know the mall goth era well—Tripp pants, fingerless gloves, and band tees galore. It was accessible, messy, and deeply formative for a generation. But something else was happening in the shadows: high fashion was watching.

Alexander McQueen fused Victorian mourning with savage beauty. Riccardo Tisci brought dark romanticism to Givenchy. Gareth Pugh made goth downright alien.

Suddenly, goth wasn’t just about rebellion—it was about innovation. Runways became cemeteries of style: sleek, scary, and stunning.

4. 2020s: Goth Reborn (Digital and Diverse)

Today’s goth landscape is expansive and inclusive. TikTok introduced us to goth subgenres we didn’t know we needed—cottage goth, pastel goth, goblincore. The aesthetic is more fluid, more playful, and less gatekept than ever.

Fashion-wise, goth is everywhere: Balenciaga channels apocalypse chic

Rick Owens delivers draped dystopia Mugler offers goth body armor

Even Doja Cat and Wednesday Addams have become modern muses

Black is still the base, but now it’s layered with irony, softness, and tech. It’s less about adhering to a code and more about creating your own haunted language.

Photographed by Laila Donaldson

Photographed by Laila Donaldson
Photographed by Laila Donaldson

What Is Goth NoW? So,

It’s mourning with glitter.

It’s rage in couture.

It’s softness behind spiked eyeliner.

It’s not about dressing for death—it’s about dressing in defiance of it. Goth has never died. It’s just changed shape— like smoke, like shadow, like the perfect coat that makes you feel invincible on a rainy day. And as long as people still seek beauty in darkness, goth will continue to evolve—stitch by stitch, boot by boot, heartbreak by heartbreak.

Photographed by Ellie Curshellas

hen Fashion dresses the DARK

Photographed by Tiffany Lu
Photographed by Tiffany Lu

There is a moment — often between the first fitting and the final runway walk — when a garment becomes more than fabric. It becomes a feeling. Fashion, by nature, is a language of beauty, aspiration, and identity. But as we peel back the layers of tulle and silk, we find something more primal lurking beneath. Over the past few seasons, a new motif has emerged from the shadows—a rising aesthetic I’ve come to think of as the Symphony of Horror. This isn’t horror in the campy, bloodsplattered sense. It is not about fake wounds or Halloween theatrics.

This is horror in its most elegant, cerebral form: the gothic, the uncanny, the disturbing wrapped in the beautiful. It is fashion that unsettles and seduces at the same time—a curated nightmare stitched in silk.

The roots of this movement are deep. Designers like Alexander McQueen, Rick Owens, Iris van Herpen, and Ann Demeulemeester have long dwelled in fashion’s darker corridors. Their work challenges traditional ideas of femininity, beauty, and power. McQueen, especially, built entire collections around the beauty of decay, the fragility of life, and the romanticism of death. His Fall 2009 collection, The Horn of Plenty, was both a critique of fashion excess and a love letter to its tragic grandeur—a true symphony of horror before the term ever passed my lips.

Today’s resurgence of this theme feels more visceral. More deliberate. As if, collectively, designers and wearers alike are reaching for something real in a world that increasingly feels surreal and un steady. There’s an emotional honesty to horror-inspired fashion. It dares to expose the anxieties we’re all trying to style our way out of: climate dread, digital distortion, societal breakdown. In the symphony, fear becomes fabric.

The Movements Dread: of

I like to think of this aesthetic in musical terms—a fashion concerto in four parts. Each “movement” carries its own emotional and visual tone:

I. Overture – The Innocence Before the Haunting

Soft whites, delicate pleats, sheer layers that seem untouched. This is the calm before. Think virginal silhouettes with an eerie stillness. Not quite bridal—more sacrificial. It is the blank canvas where unease begins to stir.

II. Allegro of Dread – Tension in the Silhouette

Suddenly, we feel it: structure sharpens. Angles emerge. Blood-like reds and bruised purples bleed into otherwise neutral palettes. Fabrics begin to fight gravity—hovering, twisting, distorting the human form. It’s as though the clothes are reacting to an invisible threat, armoring the body from within.

III. Elegy in Lace – Mourning as Fashion

Here, we enter the gothic. Black veils, jet beads, trailing hems that whisper across the floor. This movement romanticizes sorrow: the mourning dress reborn as high fashion. Gloves like second skin. Shoes with heels shaped like daggers. Hair slicked like wet ash. Grief, made exquisite.

IV. Finale: The Becoming – From Beauty to Beast

In the final act, the transformation is complete. Gowns unravel. Faces are obscured. Symmetry disappears. Materials stiffen or melt. The model is no longer human but mythic—Medusa in latex, a siren in charred silk, a shadow incarnate. Horror becomes liberation. The monster is no longer hiding; she walks the runway with power.

by Tiffany

Photographed
Tiffany Lu
Photographed by Tiffany Lu

Why are we so drawn to this? In part, it’s psychological. Carl Jung once wrote about the “shadow self”—the dark, repressed parts of ourselves we try to hide. Fashion, like all art, gives us permission to confront it. To wear it. To make it beautiful. In this way, the Symphony of Horror isn’t just a trend. It’s a reckoning. A way for fashion to reclaim the narrative of fear—not as something to run from, but as something we carry with dignity. It’s why lace can feel like a noose. Why an oversized coat can look like a cocoon or a coffin. Why a dress made of torn gauze can feel like both bandage and wound.

In the age of algorithmic sameness, horror in fashion reminds us that fashion is still capable of provoking, of disturbing, of saying something that isn’t always palatable. And perhaps that’s what we need more of: not just pretty things, but things that make us feel.

After all, the most haunting music is not the loudest—it’s the quiet, creeping melody that follows you long after the concert ends. And the most unforgettable fashion? It’s the kind that refuses to be forgotten.

25 20 SPRING CREDITS

SYMPHONY OF HORROR

Models

Alejandro Lino

Allison Chung

Amanda Sekili

Destiny Plata

Isabella Moughal

Jaeden Hsu

Kalysta Liu

Laila Donaldson

Lina Castaneda

Mariia Surina

Mierra Freeman

Rhea Parekh

Sasha Hirschberg

Tara Mirkov

Stylists

Lena Packer

Melania Henderson

Alejandro Lino

Allison Chung

Kalysta Liu

Laila Donaldson

Mierra Freeman

Rhea Parekh

Sasha Hirschberg

Tara Mirkov

Makeup Artists

Anusha Ratnakar

Elsa Tolla

Karla De La Cerda

Lina Castaneda

Photographers/ Videographers

A Bramowicz

Evelyn Arellano

Kassandra Plata

Graphic Designer

Destiny Plata SPORTS

ILLUSTRATED

Models

Amy Li

Ayush Thomas Mammen

Devansh Nandwana

Edith Pumphrey

Elsa Tolla

Emily Chen

Hanaan Santosz

Jaeden Hsu

Jacob Onu

Julia Persak

Julia Swartz

Kalysta Liu

Kennedy Lawson

Kyriaki Karavasis

Lena Packer

Mariia Surina

Melania Henderson

Roger Holben

Sophia Chen

Sophie Hartzheim

Sumayyah Ismail

Thomas Sanders

Vanessa Borisova

Stylists

Ayush Thomas Mammen

Devansh Nandwana

Edith Pumphrey

Emily Chen

Hanaan Santosa

Jacob Onu

Julia Persak Kalysta Liu

Lena Packer

Mariia Surina

Melania Henderson

Mierra Freeman

Roger Holben

Sophie Hartzheim

Thomas Sanders

Makeup Artists/Hair Stylists

Amy Li

Elsa Tolla

Julia Swartz

Vanessa Borisova

Photographers/ Videographers

Francesca Dumitrescu

Kassy Plata

Nethra Yuvaraj

Tiffany Lu

Graphic Designer

Destiny Plata

CELESTIAL BLOOM

Models

Ananya Sampathkumar

Ashika Koripelly

Ava Kolodziej

Camden Moraska

Emma Shepherd

Helene Simmons

Jocelyn Leggett

Julia Swartz

Kennedy Lawson

Laila Donaldson

Lena Packer

Luna Piccioni

Maya Strong

Mierra Freeman

Roger Holben

Sasha Hirschberg

Sonia Alimchandani

Tara Mirkov

Amy Li

Stylists

Ananya Sampathkumar

Ashika Koripelly

Ava Kolodziej

Emma Shepherd

Isabella Machaj

Julia Swartz

Luna Piccioni

Maya Strong

Mierra Freeman

Roger Holben

Sasha Hirschberg

Tara Mirkov

Makeup Artists

Anusha Ratnakar

Elsa Tolla

Laila Donaldson

Sonia Alimchandani

Hair Stylist

Amy Li

Kennedy Lawson

Photographers/ Videographers

A Bramowicz

Avni Mohan

Francesca Dumitrescu

Kassandra Plata

Graphic Designer

Maddie Edwards

EMBRACE THE ANARCHY

Models

Abby Pritz

Alejandro Lino

Amy Li

Andrea Garcia

Ayanna Little

Destiny Plata

Ellie Curshellas

Isabella Machaj

Kassandra Plata

Kennedy Lawson

Laila Donaldson

Oli Cluchey

Parker Bade

Sasha Bachleda

Sonia Alimchandani

Tara Mirkov

Stylists

Abby Pritz Alejandro Lino

Ayanna Little

Destiny Plata

Jocelyn Leggett

Luna Piccioni

Sasha Bachleda

Tara Mirkov

Makeup Artists

Anusha Ratnakar

Laila Donaldson

Sonia Alimchandani

Photographers/ Videographers

Amy Li

Ellie Curshellas

Laila Donaldson

Tiffany Lu

Graphic Designer

Photographed by Dhruv Oak

Front & Back Cover

Nethra Yuvaraj

Tiffany Lu

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