Columbia students turned the campus into a runway during the first week of the semester, showcasing looks inspired from eastern Asian subcultures to vintage western styles.
Dylan Butler and Aliyah Lyle, both first-year fashion studies majors, were already making style statements, pulling inspiration from a variety of subcultures.
Butler took inspiration from influencers like Sabrina Lilliane and dollete and gyaru aesthetics — Japanese subcultures often associated with bold fashion and dyed hair — with a preference for lots of pastel colors.
“There are a lot of unique styles. It’s refreshing coming from high school to a new environment,” Butler said.
Lyle preferd more neutral tones in her personal style inspired by street fashion, academica and outfits from K-pop groups like TWICE.
“There are pressures to dress up, but at the same time, no one would care if you showed up in sweatpants,” Lyle said.
Tim King, a sophomore animation and computer graphics major, wore a fully thrifted outfit with a machine embroidered bag while working on assignments at the Makerspace in the Student Center.
“My biggest inspirations are probably my friends,” King said.”If I’m not thrifting with them, I’m probably not buying any clothes”
For Bethany Jin, a first-year fashion studies major, designers like Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano inspire her style.
“I wouldn’t say that I dress like the pieces they design, but I like their mindset about design and creating,” Jin said.
For her last first week as a senior, fashion studies major Eileen Vivoda wore a Western vintage–inspired outfit, pairing her mom’s hand-me-down boots and shorts with a vintage 1970s tee.
Vivoda noticed certain trends around campus, with students opting for shoulder bags over backpacks and pairing long skirts with chunky belts.
Vivoda said that Columbia gives a space for her to be more authentic with her style choices and be surrounded by students who express their creativity through their clothing.
“My friends that go to state schools would never wear what I wear,” she said.
Colbey Reid, director of the School of Fashion, gave insight on how Columbia students choose to express themselves over the years.
“Certainly there are trends that materialize, but I do love the fact that people kind of follow their personal style.” she said. “There are as many inspirations as there are people and cultures at the college”
Reid emphasizes that students shouldn’t feel any pressure to dress any certain way or have certain things.
“A lot of our fashion students come to class or campus and they’re in sweats, jeans, baggy clothes, and sneakers,” she said. “Students love thrifting right now, and we have a full service boutique called The Rack on at 916 S. Wabash Ave. and all the clothes in that store are free”
Reid added that students often have a strong sense of how they want to feel – not just how they want to look – and encouraged them to use college as a time to experiment with their styles.
“People who love style the most, people who want to study it for a career, they’re not always trying to nail it perfectly,” she said. “You can actually engage with fashion in a really free and empowering way by taking the pressure off yourself to look just right and approaching it as a game.”
Copy edited by Matt Brady
