Junior Alisha Bowen created the Hamline Fashion Club last year, and is now the President of the organization. Bowen commented that it’s challenging to start a new org on campus, but that it is gaining attention as the year progresses.

“We always have a challenge with membership and getting students to come to our event. Obviously, we are a new org and it will take a lot of time to get as big as other orgs. However, Hamline Fashion Club is becoming more well-known.”

Junior Anna Boguszewski, Secretary for the Hamline Fashion Club says that on top of facing the challenge of building consistent membership as a new org, budgeting has also been a difficult factor in being a new org.

“It is hard to plan events because we never know how many people will show up. With a small budget, our resources are limited and we have to get very creative about how to host large or impressive events.”

Last year, the org’s first two events were a Life Hacks! Workshop, in which students learned how to fix and clean clothing without having to sew, and their First Annual Fashion Show, where students were able to recycle and redesign donated clothes into a new look.

This year, the orgs involvement has exploded into several events on and off campus. The org had a movie night, attended Herberger’s New and Now Fashion Show, and the org even started it’s own clothing repair service. According to Bowen, this service includes minor repairs of students’ clothing from anywhere between $1-$5 dollars.

“My favorite part has been able to meet new people who want to be involved in the organization. This year we have a lot of first-year students and they have been so passionate about taking fashion to a whole another level. Especially using fashion as awareness for serious issues like cultural appropriation, rape culture, body image, etc.”

Boguszewski was very excited about her contribution to the organization since joining as the secretary, and as she helps with events and design.

“I loved getting to help plan and design clothes for the Annual Fashion Show last year. I love making clothing, so having that opportunity to showcase my work was really special, and I loved seeing others’ work too.”

Upcoming events aim to inform students about cultural appropriation, and to celebrate different kinds of fashion unique to different cultures. The next two events are featured as part of the Global Engagement Center’s International Education Week. There is a discussion on Cultural Appropriation set to take place on Nov. 15 from 4:30-6 p.m. in Anderson 112. According to Bowen, this event will include five panelists discussing cultural appropriation and it’s impacts on cultural and ethnic groups.

Another event to spread cultural awareness in regards to fashion is the club’s Cultural Fashion Show, set to take place just two days after the panel, on Nov. 17 from 7 – 9 p.m. in Anderson 111/112, and is a FYSem throwdown. Bowen says that this event is meant to celebrate fashion of different cultures and ethnic groups that are present at Hamline, and that every Multicultural Alliance org will be involved.

Boguszewski commented that Hamline Fashion Club is extremely important, not just because of the fashion aspect, but also because of the topics that are discussed in their meetings and events.

“Clothing is a daily part of everyone’s life and something that a lot of people spend a lot of time thinking about. Having this outlet to discuss fashion and have conversations with people who have similar interests is a great social opportunity. Plus we don’t just sit around and talk about fashion, we actually put together meaningful events… that create a connection between fashion and social issues.”