Fashion culture at WU gains new outlet

Charlotte Fashion Week 2011. Many Winthrop students have gotten involved since its inception three years ago as photographers, interns and even models. Photo by Alison AngelBy Alison Angel
angela@mytjnow.com

Not many would liken an event as big as New York Fashion Week to directly influence a place as far away as Rock Hill or Charlotte.  Yet some people live and breathe for couture and manage to keep one foot in the fashion world by getting their fix from nearby Charlotte and incorporating their own stylish flair into their everyday wear.

Over the past few years the Charlotte and the surrounding areas have created events specifically designated for those who live their lives surrounding themselves in beauty.  Not many outlets were available to WU students before, but now, with the transportation and one week in September, beauty is right at their fingertips.  Since Charlotte created their own version of fashion week in 2008 to follow the events in New York, many who otherwise would be without the chance to participate have found an outlet, including some of Winthrop’s own.

Junior family and consumer sciences major Dustin Ellis, for example, lays it all out on the table:  “People in Rock Hill dress for practicality.  Rock Hill isn’t fashion,” he said.  “People are very safe.”  Yet Ellis, who enjoys defining his own personal style, found a creative outlet by taking part in Charlotte Fashion Week.

Ellis interned for Fashion Week for four months over the summer, helping with everything from pulling looks for photo shoots to selecting models at castings.  He first found the job while researching a second internship, and because of his own enjoyment sewing and developing style, got immersed in the fashion.  

“You won’t see me debuting a collection anytime soon, but it’s something I never tire of,” Ellis said.  “I decided to take part in Charlotte Fashion Week to better align myself with the industry.  As you can imagine, there are few fashion opportunities in the area, and I was eager for more experience.”

Ellis attributes the rise in the fashion subculture to the sensationalization it receives in the media.  However, he said that while Lady Gaga’s extravagant outfits, for example, might bring fashion thought to the forefront but lacks true representation.

“Fashion is a creative expression driven by personal aesthetics,” he said.  “Above all, it’s individual.”

There is an entire fashion subculture brimming beneath Winthrop’s surface that, like Ellis, has more than just a knack for personal style.  

There are always those who manage to look put together and stylish even for a walk around campus.  But some students put such thought and detail into even the simplest of outfits making them fearless and embrace the history of fashion.

Other Winthrop students are involved in the emerging fashion culture in different ways.  Some students, like senior commercial photography major Owen Bayne, are pulled into that world by other means.  

Bayne worked as a photographer at this year’s Charlotte Fashion Week for a friend who was a featured designer, the Eleanor Morgan showcase.  He photographed her line as it went down the runway.  Though Bayne already had an interest in fashion and design, the draw of his best friend being featured closed the deal.

Bayne has also attended other local fashion events as they cropped up in response to the ever-growing demand for fashion culture.  He attended the Charleston Fashion Week and compared the two city’s takes on bringing fashion to the hungry, noting that while Rock Hill’s outlet to fashion week was good, it has plenty of room to grow.

“I am fairly new to the Charlotte and Rock Hill scene, so I’m not sure how it has grown in the fashion department,” Bayne said.  “However, I did also go to Charleston Fashion Week and was a bit more impressed with the overall professionalism of the event.  Charlotte Fashion Week can always improve, but I was not totally dissatisfied.”

Bayne said that he thinks fashion has become so enticing because there is always something new and exciting, and that certainly has appealed to Winthrop students.

“I definitely think there are students [at] Winthrop who are interested in fashion and the fashion world,” he said.  “No two designers are exactly alike, and people are always aspiring to push the boundaries and make something new and unique.”

Above all, as Ellis said, fashion is what one makes it and how it becomes individualized, not strictly what the industry or fashion weeks here and afar present it as.  However, there is an understanding of why it holds mass appeal.

“[Some people view it as] a status symbol alluding to an idealized life,” he said.  “This idea of fashion is like a poster of a movie star scotch taped to the dorm wall of a freshman of meager means.  It’s worth dreaming about.  It’s representative of something more than they are and more than they know.  It’s the unattainable they’re fascinated by.”