BY CHANDLER SIMPSON
Everything I Have learned Since Moving to Paris
There is a dress code, you will not see these citizens walking around in sweatpants and a pajama shirt. Now this may seem like a given, guessing Paris is THE fashion capital of the world but did you know. I am not quite sure of the actual name. Please no foreigner slander. In the Place Vendome, the top fashion houses of Christian Dior, Chanel, Lanvin, Hermès, Louis Vuitton headquarters are located. It is incredible, I feel like I am in some sort of influx of fashion oasis. Listen, pay attention, caring about your style is vital for survival, pay your respect, you are in Paris.
It sucks not to speak the language. I wish I could strangle senior year Chandler for dropping her French 1 course. It is very difficult to do anything if you are american. In case you don’t remember, Europeans don't really like us that much. One lovely day in Paris, it took me three hours to find Orange mobile (a cell provider). Once I landed at the store, I walked in and exhaustively said, “Bonjour! Parlez vous anglais” he responded with “No.” very quickly. I turn to some random french boy and ask him to translate. He proceeded and then the man responded in english. All I am saying is that I am still having problems with my phone.
Fashion school is really fun. I am very, very, very, very, very, grateful for the opportunity to study at Parsons. My professors are seriously legit and honestly feel more like your friends. We have 6 hour classes, divided by lunch and coffee breaks. For drawing and history class, we study at the Louvre. We read our textbooks about the art and then get to see the art in person. The first writing tablets of the world, ancient Greek statues, insane jewelry. The Parsons faculty does an amazing job allowing students to share their own personal experiences and challenges. In one of my classes we talked about our expectations upon arriving as a socratic seminar topic. It feels good to feel like you are learning a lot, especially when you enjoy every single class.
Meeting people who are not a part of the same culture as you is so fun. It feels refreshing, to have a new start and get to know people who are not like me and did not grow up like me. I sometimes feel a bit embarrassed about not being very well versed in the world of cultural diversity, but I am not uncomfortable. There is something egoless about relating to something you have never experienced. I love hearing my peers talk about their home lives. I truly believe I am here to grow through people who are not like me. Not like me! It is so thrilling. My first class I will always remember walking in and hearing people speaking three different languages, French, Spanish, and Mandarin. It is a sort of subtle feeling of sonder.
I love small grocery stores. HEB gives me a panic attack, it takes so long and there is an overwhelming amount of choices and food. In Paris their grocery stores are smaller than any Victoria Secret I have ever been into. Everything is right when you need it in close quarters. It is affordable and fresh. Let us not forget the ABCDEF labelling system that tells you how healthy every item is. It does bring on a certain kind of guilt when I grab something marked with an F. I have been cheffing up since I have been here. I really don’t know what has gotten into me. Possibly all the wine and cheese, but my god it is so easy to make anything good with these kinds of ingredients.
Endless things to do. There is so much to see. One should never eat at the same restaurant, buy the same clothes from the same store, or walk the same road. There are so many decorative details about the city. It can be calm and loud as — at the same time. Back at home there were not so many options to do spontaneous things. Here, the spontaneous things are all around you, you can look anywhere and be drawn into some sort of live entertainment show. Since I have been here I have spent my weekends by the canal, exploring underground bars, dancing at clubs, waking up at the crack of dawn to catch the first metro. Bottom line, there is a lot. No excuse to sit at home, you are always doing something. If you aren't doing something, then you are probably sitting at home feeling guilty about it.
Many more lessons to be continued…
The Pinnacle of Personal Style
By Chandler Rocks
Personal style, what is it? How does one describe their own personal style? Now I am about to tell you, the pinnacle of personal style can be measured in the four following mediums; color, texture, accessorizing, and intuition. Personal style and whether you have acute or defined personal style can stem from many different elements of dressing. When judging another's personal style, take yourself out of the style box. The style box essentially boils down to whether you would wear the piece. This is limiting, your preference of pieces does not define whether or not the subject has personal style.
Color
We love colors, but most importantly we love colors that flatter us. Highlight our complexion, compliment our undertones, a signature color is vital in developing your own personal style. I am a hypocrite. I have not yet found my signature color, but if I were to intuitively settle in on one it would be blue. I have dark hair so lighter blues don't distract, my fair skin is accentuated with darker tones and the color overall calms me. Blue is also one of the most diverse colors to style, unlike yellow and red, this primary princess tends to act like a king. A great starter to find your signature color is to wear the rainbow for a week, whichever day you feel the most confident or get the most compliments take it as a sign to settle on your signature shade.
Texture
That looks amazing, can I touch it? Texture is the love language of clothing, adding dimension and illusion to wearable art. Mixing textures is vital to a staple outfit. For example, silk and satin are softer, more subtle textures, by contrasting the silk with a bulky pant or beaded mini skirt, you will look chic and elevated. As a maximalist, I love combining textures that have no business being together. Adding layers, ribbons, laces, buckles, jewelry, scarfs not only can accentuate your style but can reform your authenticity in dressing. My favorite textures in fashion are the following. I love cutouts, suede, ribbed fabrics, and embroidery bead details.
Accessorizing
More is more, not less but more. I love it more. I love adding more. Outfits with more bracelets, hair bands, clips, bedazzled. The more to wear the more to love. Saw that one coming didn't you. Now I know, it's hard. It may seem a little silly when you first start accessorizing. One may holt at the sight of their reflection and ponder, should I lose the hat? The scarf? The necktie? Blink three times and tell yourself no. Accessories make the outfit better, always. They add character to basic clothing, create diversity within the wearable arrangement, and give you something to talk about. Jewelry especially, almost always has a story. If you are a beginner, please start with rings. Begin to collect them, in fleet markets and garage sales. Go out of your way to shop for accessories, the mother load is held in the Goodwill Bins.
Lastly Intuition
Style is a gut feeling. Pulling pieces to make an outfit is instinctual. When dressing, be present and aware. Open your style decision binder and begin. Start with color, pick two colors that compliment another, if you are feeling frisky adding a second shade to one of the colors. Next texture alignments, pick one central texture you want to make the focal point and wash around it. By washing around it I mean, don't dilute the other textures, wash around them, make them flow, keep your creases clean. When adding extra elements to your outfit, have fun. Act like you are playing dress up, become a character within yourself. Finally creating that alter ego, I myself tend to fall into the emo princess category when it comes to alternate style dimensions. Don't second guess yourself and always snap a picture before walking out the door. Be intuitive and express your personal style.
By Chandler Simpson
I'm a Plant Girl, Interview with Plant Girl NYC
Introduce yourself, how did Plant Girl NYC become? I’m Megan, I'm from new york city, went to catholic school, into art and music, went to tokyo, went to a international school, loved art and art class, child modeling, being on set, that has always influenced me, went onto do dance, went to a performing arts high school as a dance major, dance and theater professional in Japan, this dream career in japan but it didn't end up being what I wanted, start fresh and discover myself, depressed and heartbroken, always into health and being health conscious, starting being vegan, concept of plant girl, drawing on t shirts, using slogans like eat your dream, Plant Girl Club was original name, be plant girl, looking at a flower, these bring me joy and happiness, I am plant girl but it can also be everyone, pre pandemic, always loved fashion shows and magazines, once I was spending a lot of time at home, I wanted to take Plant Girl NYC to the next level, self taught dying through youtube, plant dyes wash out, right now it's just me
What inspired you to build a business like Plant Girl NYC? Who has influenced your brand the most? A Lot of small emerging brands have influenced me, I got connected to them through the pandemic, depop scene and igirl and zig zag goods, very crafted DIY processes encouraged me, I don't have to be a huge corporation, small arts or multimedia artists are so inspiration to me
What are the marketing challenges you have faced when starting a business? Honestly, I just been doing whatever, I don't have a strategy, never invested money, in the beginning it was hard to get a reach, its a lot and people get caught up in the numbers game to get noticed, they will given more chances because of their following, that kinda stuff takes new, it's very new and fresh
How do you feel about the fashion industry and sustainability? Are we doing enough? We are never doing enough, it's a big war it's a big fight, it's never going to go away, all these fast fashion brands are trending on sustainability, there is so much more to unpack, we need to have the conversation going, the sustainability trend is here to say, figure out a way that you can make a difference, I hate to preach about being environmental conscious but keep educating yourself, and being informed, everything adds up
What is the most satisfying part of the tie dye process? Opening it up! Tying the shirt takes the longest, dying the shirts takes a while, it is a three day process, I’m always learning, tie dying has a lot of history, I did a workshop with indigo dye
What do you hope for Plant Girl NYC in this upcoming year? A lot more photo shoots, first official shoot, I organized and produced this whole shoot, it is doing a lot for the brand, a lot more people are being engaged, totally embodies what I want for the brand, showcasing, empowering everyone, everybody can wear plant girl, more exciting to have collaboration, when you share the behind the scenes you grow closer to the brand, I want create inspiration for other people, I love to be in more stores and reach more people, in regards to five year, I would like to see myself with a base in japan and new york, we are all influenced by both worlds, hysteric glamour and angel blue, flashback to my childhood, the retail price is high, the craze has up the value
How have you grown mentally through developing this brand? I have become a lot more confident, I always knew I was an artists, but never have the confidence to say it out loud, never had a body of art to showcase, now i can expressed my passion for fashion and movement, it connects my performing arts past to the present, what I am doing now is clothing, I have an art mindset, I love using clothing as a canvas
Who do you believe is the most influential in the industry? Celebrities most definitely, they dictate the trends, so many people are behind those products, so many stereotypes, the model is in control is a misleading assumption, its a lot of creativity and reflects passion and meaning in their art
What is your favorite thing to wear at the moment? Long skirt, I used to hate wearing long skirts, the influence of Japanese magazine, fruits magazine, so cool and unique, I feel like the silhouette are more elongated
Photography by Matthew Channer, Styling by Angelina Zaphyria, Modeled by Kimanni Starr, Celine Mili, Ava Nobandegani, Niya Garcia, and Anna Siciliano
Fashion Student Fiction: The Realities of Studying Fashion Design
Fashion Student Fiction: The Realities of Studying Fashion Design
Instagram: @_karialexandra
Clothing Brand: @effervesventapparel
Photography: @photosbykarii
Art: @karisartwork
Ever wonder what it is to be a fashion student, to study at the New School? Karina Rodriguez is sophomore at Parsons in New York City, she is a Fashion Design major and has dedicated herself to this creative craft since her senior year of high school. In this interview we will touch into the realities of being an art student and the practicality of attending a design school.
Tell me about yourself, age, name, where you are from? My name is Karina Rodriguez, I am from Miami, I am 19, I am a Fashion Design major at Parsons The New School.
What drew you to the New School? I didn't know I wanted to get into fashion design until my senior year, I left my old high school and switched to a magnet school. Through the school I found my passion, I found out about Parsons through my high school and it all started from there.
How did you get into designing, where does your passion stem from? I got into design as I found a passion for sustainability, I interned with a local fashion designer in Miami by the name of Pangea Kali Virga and through her designs I began to find my passion.
What is the best part about your classes? At my old school I took a lot of normal classes. Compared to college, it depends on the person and what they want, for example, in my writing and history classes they are always connected to fashion, I love how all my classes are mainly art.
What has been your most challenging project? It depends, I have some projects that took a lot of time or it was based on a field I didn't have a lot of experience in, I made this dress out of plastic amazon bags, I had a hard time coming up with a film concept, we had to base it off of a genre, I choose the structure of a medicine commercial, my problem with the assignment was I struggled with making my creative image come to life, I am much more blocked when it comes to bringing my vision to the real world.
How collaborative are assignments? It depends on the teacher, even if It was just an assignment for yourself, you will collaborate with photographers, models, and students etc.
What level of a designer were you going into Parsons? Going into it, I was pretty prepared, my pattern making skills are not the best, I went to Parsons to be more prepared for the technical aspects of fashion. Going into it I understood the importance of photography, I knew a lot about photoshop but not Illustrator.
What does your ideal creative environment look like? I always like to create stuff in my room, sometimes it is inspiring to be in the Parsons spaces, sometimes it feels very competitive, the comfort of my room fuels my creativity, sometimes once my projects are started then I go to those Parsons rooms for the amazing resources and inspiring energy.
What is something you wish you knew before attending an art school? I’d say the whole thing of making friends it's a lot different from a normal state school, it's not like you are going to have a friend group, you have your going out friends, your collaborative friends and school friends. I never found myself in a stable permanent group of friends.
What are your thoughts on the competitiveness of the industry? When it comes to NYFW, everyone is trying their best to email brands to get into these shows, when everyone is doing the same thing it feels impossible to get your foot in the door. It is always a matter of how I can separate myself.
Tell me about your experience in making friends? One of the big things I learned was yes it would be nice to have a whole group friends, but you can't rely on the people you party with for your emotional problems, I am close with my roommate but we have boundaries, the friends you make in the beginning will not be who you end up with, remember that.
Who are some of your inspirations in the fashion industry? I love Iris Van Herpen, I admire her style of technology and creating designs as art and not as clothing, I also love the style of Elena Valez, I also like Jason London, I love the up-cycling look, I look at nature for inspiration, for example, while I was on my trip out camping, I saw a bunch of corals, seeing the corals reminded me of ocean pollution and how our environment is dying, through that inspiration I am reminded to raise awareness through my art.
