Campus fashionistas and a $292 billion industry

 

By Holland Scattergood/Arizona Sonora News

While taking a stroll around the University of Arizona campus, it is apparent that fashion is important to students.

The university’s TREND is a fashion club created through the Terry J. Lundgren Retailing Center to acknowledge and analyze the importance of the art-fashion industry, and to encourage students to pursue careers in the fashion industry, which had $292 billion in retail sales in 2016 . 

Trend Fashion Club president Claudia Johnson. Photo by Holland Scattergood

Clo Johnson of TREND called it “a fashion club on campus where anyone who is interested in fashion is welcome to come. Each meeting is different; we focus on all aspects of fashion such as the buying, designing, photography, writing, business and so forth. We are a group of people who enjoy this art form and come together to hang out and discuss this industry.” Johnson, a journalism student, explained that she hopes to go into the public relations side of the fashion industry.

Once a week these college fashionistas meet up to discuss a broad variety of topics, club member and creative director Mika Legaspi said. adding, “we call it the bridge between business and fashion we talk about what’s in and what’s out trend wise, we also talk about the runway shows that are happening like New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and we discuss the lines that we like and the lines that we don’t.” 

The blog manager, Kami Strander said, “TREND is probably the best thing I could have ever gotten involved with in my time at the university. I wanted to find a place where I could communicate my creativity and passions with other like-minded individuals.” Strander duty as blog manager consists of organizing photo shoots and writing posts to keep the blog current and compelling 

The club keeps close watch on what students on campus are wearing, and how high-end fashion trends reach college students. Legaspi explained that the members of Trend have their own personal style but that many members and University of Arizona students are currently obsessed with Streetwear, the fashion trend reflecting styles from the urban subculture  “Many of the students in our club are dressed Streetwear-based,  which is very in right now so through that we do talk about popular trends on campus, like the biker shorts trend, and oversized sweaters, and what’s going to happen in the summer time — and just elaborate on what we think.” 

Legaspi is currently taking classes at the UA Terry J. Lundgren retailing center on fashion trend-prediction and analysis. 

My style is very Streetwear based,” Legaspi said, adding: “The best way to describe Streetwear is casual clothing worn by urban youth.” This style includes hints of hip-hop, sportswear, and Japanese fashion. 

Mika Legaspi in Streetwear. Photo by Holland Scattergood

Members of TREND say that animal print designs are  popular on the University of Arizona campus as well.

The animal print trend and many others such as Streetwear have made their way from high end collections at New York Fashion week down to economy brands affordable to college students.

Claudia Johnson, the club president, said: “Right now, UA is all about the Teddy coats and animal prints such as cheetah and snake print. Also, neon colors have been popping up as well. This influence stems from celebrities on the West Coast who have been sporting this look. 

Members of Trend put on a University of Arizona Fashion week every year, originally founded by UA fashion merchandising alumni Jenna DeMaio. DeMaio started UA fashion week to educate college students and the Tucson community on the creative art of fashion. 

Fashion week takes place in April and is a showcase of local Tucson designers and other beginning designersClo Johnson says, “Fashion week was created a couple of years ago by two executive members of Trend. It’s not only a really fun experience, but it is also an opportunity for the members to get very creative and help out with putting on an actual show. They gain hands-on experience that they can take with them after college. 

Trend members travel to many fashion events around Arizona and they Las Vegas annually to attend MAGIC, one of the largest fashion trade shows in the U.S. The group also volunteers at Phoenix Fashion Week once a year. 

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