Fashion club sparks creativity

The student-run USD Fashion Collective gives students opportunity to express their individual style

Mackenzie McDonald / Contributor / The USD Vista

Fashion is constantly evolving, and so is the University of San Diego Fashion Collective, a student-run club looking to majorly revamp its style this spring with an exciting new project – a student-produced magazine.

The USD Fashion Collective was co-founded last year by juniors Ella Wathne and Sophia Talese with the simple intention of uniting creative minds. Rooted in a shared love for fashion, Wathne and Talese have worked to create a community for students to express their individual style and connect with similar-minded individuals.

 Club president Wathne said that she first got the idea to start a fashion club after she transferred to USD her sophomore year and recognized an unmet need in the community. After attending an art club meeting during her first week, Wathne said she was struck by the meeting’s low attendance. It prompted her to think about establishing a club of her own–one that was still rooted in a passion for the arts, but approached that passion from a slightly different angle.

“I wanted to create a community of artistic people,” Wathne said. “A space where creative people could come together and inspire one another. I love fashion, and I felt like there wasn’t really a group on campus with that specific focus.”

Following this realization, Wathne said she contacted her architecture professor and asked if she knew anyone who might be interested in starting a fashion club. That’s how she met Talese. 

“After that, I met with Sophia, and USD Fashion Collective got started,” Wathne said.

Unfortunately, the club did not gain the immediate traction that Wathne had hoped it might. USD Fashion Collective remains relatively unknown to some USD students, despite holding a number of events since its formation last year.

One such event USD Fashion Collective participated in was a clothing exchange co-hosted with the Fair Trade Club. The event promoted sustainable fashion by providing students with the the opportunity to “swap” old items of clothing rather than going out and buying more.  

The club also organizes three professional photo shoots per semester that are used as content for the USD Fashion Collective Instagram and blog, which have been a big success according to Wathne. Still, she wants the club to have greater scope, which is why her and Talese decided it was time to make some changes.

“As a group, we all needed a goal,” Wathne said. “Something to work toward other than events and photoshoots. Something serious and tangible.”

That’s where the idea to create a magazine came in. Not only would publishing a magazine give club members a concrete objective, but it would also ideally increase group membership by giving USD Fashion Collective greater exposure. Wathne also believes that putting together a magazine will give the club a chance to broaden its self-concept.

“We’re getting more serious about this,” Wathne said. “We want to get into campus culture and art and featuring artists on campus.  That’s the big reason we decided to do a magazine.”

The magazine, which does not yet have an official name, is set to launch in early May. It will be mainly digital with limited print editions of each new issue. Wathne said that the magazine will be comprised of several different sections, including a section featuring student artists and musicians and another specifically dedicated to submissions of creative work.  

It will also include a section called “Cool Girls on Campus” that highlights the accomplishments of female go-getters. The first one focused on the girls behind Roller Bowls, a student-run company that makes custom smoothie bowls and delivers them to their customers on roller blades.

Although the “Cool Girls on Campus” spot is female-specific, Wathne expressed the desire to make USD Fashion Collective increasingly gender inclusive.

“We need to get the word out,” Wathne said. “There’s definitely this assumption that USD Fashion Collective is only for girls, and we want to change that.” 

To that end, Wathne said she hopes to incorporate content into the magazine specifically targeted at males as well, expanding the creative potential of the publication.    

Looking ahead to the magazine’s release in early May, the USD Fashion Collective hopes to put forth a strong and innovative publication, staying true to their core values of passion and originality.