Fashion Club
The Hawken Upper School is home to many unique extracurricular activities and clubs, such as the Fashion Club, started by senior Marty Ellis. Fashion Club has evolved into a periodical or newsletter about all sorts of fashion trends and topics relevant to students in the Hawken community. From topics about designer brands to what sustainability means in fashion, and the new Hawks Nest items in store, the Fashion Club is a great place for students who have a real interest in fashion design to learn more.
Marty was originally motivated to create the Fashion Club with this mission in mind: “To provide an outlet for students to talk and learn about the fashion industry and what it means in our society.” When asked about why he started the club, Marty explained that he “think(s) fashion is one of the most important parts of our culture and is regarded as materialistic and exclusive much too often. To me, it is one of the purest forms of self-expression: nothing less than art.” Marty hopes that his peers will “be able to learn and share the same passion for this industry in an easy manner, all the while building a community of students with a unified interest.” He hopes to be a resource for any students who are passionate or interested about fashion.
Sophie Armitage is a senior who recently joined Fashion Club leadership and participated in a pre-college summer program at the Rhode Island School of Design. There, she learned about drawing, design, fashion design, art history, and just how intense the art industry is. Sophie said that her “professors really emphasized the amount of work and sleepless nights it takes to be in the fashion industry.” Sophie had the opportunity to be taught by professionals who have worked with huge brands like Chanel, YSL, Gaultier, and Dior. Through her experiences this summer, she believes she will be able to give more insight into the artistic and creative side of the industry and wants to provide members of the Fashion Club with the resources to do so.
When asked about advice for students interested in joining the Fashion Club, Sophie said, “really anyone can join! No matter how involved you are in the fashion world, the club is open to anyone and everyone. We are trying to cater our material to different aspects of fashion, so that anyone can be interested in the club. With the new setup of the fashion club through email/newsletters, we will have more opportunity to do so. Since we got such a large number of students interested in fashion club from the fair, we are really excited to move forward.”
The Fashion Club is a fun, open community for everyone who wants to learn more about different topics of fashion. Marty and Sophie are both creative individuals who love fashion design. If you want to subscribe to the Fashion Club’s newsletter, you can email them at 20ellmar@hawken.edu or 20armsop@hawken.edu.