How To Start A Successful Fashion Club In College! (With RIT’s Fabrick)
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Ever thought about starting a fashion club at your college?
Last fall, I had the pleasure of interviewing two students at Rochester Institute of Technology who did just that!
Meet Robbie Dyson and Jacob Yoon - founders of RIT Fabrick, a completely student-run organization dedicated to celebrating a love of all things fashion.
Robbie serves as the club’s President and Jacob as Media Director. I spoke with them about how Fabrick evolved from just an idea to a fully fledged organization that hosts fashion shows and even publishes its own magazine.
Here’s their story and how you can create something truly special like this at your own college:
Starting A Fashion Club: How It All Began
RIT students can be described in many ways. They’re creative, hardworking and innovative.
But did you know they’re also stylish?
Students Robbie and Jacob certainly did, and in 2021 they founded Fabrick: Brick City’s club for “fashion minded people''.
“We noticed that there were so many students on this campus who were into fashion, who used fashion as a way to express themselves.” Jacob said. So naturally he wondered, “why isn’t there a fashion club at RIT?”
And so, the idea for Fabrick was born.
Their goal was to build an inclusive community where students could express their style however they wanted, share inspiration, meet friends, collaborate on projects, and celebrate all things fashion.
The club’s launch had a little bit of help from the internet’s ultimate hub for fashion inspiration.
In 2021, Jacob started @rit.fits on Instagram to document the many unique outfits of students on campus.
The account was a huge success, quickly amassing a few hundred followers. Today, over 1400 followers enjoy regular posts highlighting some of RIT’s most fashionable students!
The success of @rit.fits proved just how much of an audience there was for fashion based activities at RIT.
It was the perfect opportunity to grow the club’s name and attract the fashion minded people Robbie and Jacob were looking for to make the club a success.
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What’s Being A Member of RIT Fabrick Like?
So, you might be wondering what an average meeting of Fabrick is like.
At meetings, you'll find students celebrating their love of fashion in a myriad of ways, from collaborating on photo shoots, sharing style inspiration, learning to sew, designing collections for fashion shows, and so much more.
“Our meetings are activity based but they’re also very social,” said Jacob. Club leaders take pride in organizing meetings that are not only interactive and informative, but also fun.
For Robbie, the first meeting of the 22-23 school year is a stand out.
Students were split into groups and challenged to create outfits out of whatever materials they could find, an event they dubbed “Trashion Show.”
Any random object or scrap of garbage was fair game.
Members had fun searching for materials around the building and even outside on campus in order to create some truly one of a kind garments.
For Jacob, last year's spring photoshoot is a fond memory.
Members enjoyed beautiful spring weather while having fun modeling for the camera and coming up with new pose ideas.
Not only was it a great creative exercise, but it served as a bonding experience for the club.
“At the beginning of the meeting, everyone was pretty much strangers and then at the end they were exchanging social media and making plans and everything.”
He and Robbie recalled how even long after the photoshoot was over, members stuck around to hang out and chat with one another.
As transfer students who at first struggled to make connections at RIT, seeing their club bring people together who may never have met in the first place proved both incredibly fulfilling and rewarding.
The connections only continued to grow from there.
“I remember I was walking with Joy (RIT Fabrick Secretary) and we saw like a group of people standing together talking and they were all people that met from the club. That was pretty cool,” Robbie said.
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Designing For Beyond Fashion
Putting on a fashion show is no small feat.
Figuring out the mechanics of designing clothes, working with models, and organizing an entire performance is hard enough as it is, not to mention garnering the funds to make it all a reality.
It’s something the founders of Fabrick always wanted to do but it seemed too unrealistic of a goal for a club just getting started.
That’s when a golden opportunity presented itself: a chance to design for the annual Beyond Fashion Show at RIT.
Beyond Fashion, which held its inaugural show in December 2021 at Magic Spell Studios in Rochester, NY, showcases designs inspired by the work of Italian graphic designer Massimo Vignelli.
The 2022 theme was his iconic redesign of the New York City subway map.
However, this exciting opportunity didn't come without obstacles.
Designing under the subway map theme proved to be a huge challenge in itself.
Upon starting the project, designers found that their individual tastes in fashion differed drastically from the style of Vignelli’s work, which is known for being minimalist and monochromatic.
In fact, for some members, his style was the complete opposite of their own. Particularly for those who loved maximalism, often categorized by loud colors and bold, intricate patterns.
It took a team effort to learn how to design a collection that adhered to the show’s theme while creating garments that they themselves would enjoy wearing.
College life is busy enough, but now imagine designing an entire clothing collection on top of being a full time student and only having a few months to do it.
As you can imagine, it's not easy!
Now imagine only having a few months to learn something you’ve never done before.
Fabrick members have varying experience when it comes to fashion design. Some are complete beginners, while others are more advanced.
Despite their differences in experience, the club found a way for each designer to contribute something valuable to the project.
Each person shared unique ideas and knowledge, teaching each other new skills like sewing and sketching and working together to create something beautiful in the process.
Below, enjoy some photos featuring Fabrick’s work from the show, which was held in December 2022.
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Just The Beginning
After Beyond Fashion, Fabrick only continued to elevate their status as RIT’s ultimate fashion organization.
In February 2023, they hosted their own flea market on campus selling clothing donated by club members, hand-painted tote bags, and stickers featuring RIT’s mascot: Ritchie the tiger.
In April, the club teamed up with The Black Thought Collective (TBTC) at RIT to host a fashion show celebrating Black fashion throughout history and exploring “how futuristic trendsetters were ostracized for clothes that are now universally accepted.”
And then - at the end of the month came the release of the first ever edition of Fabrick's own fashion magazine, titled “Origin Story.”
Outro & Closing Thoughts
From flea markets, to fashion shows, to releasing a magazine, there’s no doubt that Fabrick’s first full year in existence was a roaring success.
I know this is just the beginning for them, and I can’t wait to see what else the future has in store for this incredible group of students.
If you’re thinking about starting a fashion club at your college, this is your sign to go for it!
After all, you never know where it may lead you.
Thank you for reading, and I’ll talk to you in my next post. <3
Related readings:
7 Simple Ways To Improve Focus & Productivity In College (From A College Junior)
My (Ideal) College Morning Routine When I’m Feeling Productive
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