Like-minded students at San José State created SJSU Fashion Club as a space for students to find community and express themselves.
Business marketing sophomore and president of the fashion club Alex McArdle said the fashion club is a space for people to express themselves — whether it’s putting on clothes they're comfortable wearing or trying out different styles of outfits.
“It's really just a place where people can come together and hang out,” McArdle said. “It doesn't really have to do with fashion.”
McArdle said during the onboarding process for the fashion club, new members are asked to fill out a form, which asks what their intentions are in joining. McArdle said 90% of responses indicated that most new members were primarily interested in meeting new people.
Marketing junior Ramses Valencia said the fashion club gives him an opportunity to talk to people, and ask questions about articles of clothing and styles that intrigue him.
Valencia said he often sees people around campus wear pieces of clothing that appeal to his sense of style, but lacks the time to stop and spark-up a conversation with them.
He said the fashion club provides an opportunity for him to come together with others and talk about all the ideas he has. These conversations create an opportunity to be inspired and inspire others.
McArdle said the club’s shared passion for fashion was a good icebreaker to start conversation. He said in his last meeting, he used bingo cards that require students to talk to one another about their background and outfits.
“It was like, ‘Find someone who's wearing a streetwear outfit’ or “Find someone who's been to a fashion runway’ and then that gets the conversation going,” McArdle said.
McArdle said fashion is more akin to self-expression than self-marketing. He said self-marketing comes with the connotation that you are selling yourself in a manner, while self-expression is more genuine and in touch with who you are.
Business marketing senior and SJSU Fashion Club’s marketing officer Earl Ryan Santamaria said there is a high concentration of business marketing majors in the club because they share the same ideas when it comes to creativity and expression.
Santamaria said the number of business marketing majors helps with marketing the club on social media, which is an excellent way to reach a wider audience.
Santamaria said he was drawn to the club this semester because of its high ambitions.
He also said once he joined the team, he was surrounded by well-rounded individuals that clicked-well despite only having met three or four times.
McArdle said the fashion club has only been established for less than a year, but has many plans for their community and its future. He said the fashion club already hosts workshops to teach people how to alter clothes, sew and crochet.
Marketing senior Julia Liu said one misconception about people who are interested in fashion is that their interest is kept out of reach to many since clothes are only accessible to those with money to spare. She said the intention of some of their workshops is to democratize fashion.
McCardle said that alongside self-made and altered clothes, there is also a prevalence of thrifted fashion. He said San José has quality thrift shops, including Savers and the Alum Rock Goodwill.
McArdle said in the future the club will host guest speakers to share their experience launching a business, establishing a clothing brand and even reselling clothes on websites such as Depop.
McArdle said since the club has been garnering more attention on social media, it has received offers to collaborate with organizations both on-and-off campus. The nature of these collaborations include photoshoots with a campus magazine.
Business marketing junior and vice president of the Fashion Club Jaren Castro and McArdle said their plan is to host a runway show by the end of the semester, which will include having stylists onsite, music, food and media to record the show.
McArdle and Castro said that the Fashion Club reached out to other fashion-oriented clubs to produce similar shows like the potential runway.
Santamaria said he has learned to surround himself with good people when it comes to starting a new club.
“So far, what I've learned is to surround yourself with good people. I'm blessed to say that I have been, fortunately,” Santamaria said. “And when you are with good people, it motivates you to want to pursue more things and just keep progressing, whether it's for your club or organization or just as yourself as an individual and your dreams.”
Santamaria said it is not necessarily a bad thing to follow trends, especially for those who are trying to enter the world of fashion and need a foothold.
Santamaria said a challenge for people entering fashion is the intent behind getting dressed. He said people naturally care about the opinions of others and that was one of the hardest things for him when getting into fashion.
