In Moda’s latest issue is displayed in the library among other student publications.
After approximately a year and a half of inactivity, In Moda, Choate’s fashion club, has resurrected. Haley Williams ’18, one of club’s leaders, stated that “the cause for the sudden start was due to the constant scrutiny about our club ‘not doing anything.’ Different people made comments that suggested they felt they could run the club better than we could. We’ve made many efforts prior to this, but we were only sophomores when we started, so when people would commit to modeling for us, they saw no issue in constantly bailing on us.” As disappointing as this may seem, Williams and her partner and co-president, Kate Newhouse ’18, have taken the responsibility that Sophie Imamura ’15 endowed upon them and have begun to put it to good use, coming out with the club’s first ever publication.
After its release, the publication received a mix bag of emotion. However, it was influential nonetheless. While some criticized it for being unnecessary and done without much quality, many feel as though it’s beneficial to introduce a club back to campus that promotes individuality and supports different body types, which is a rare occurrence in the field of fashion. Williams has been a good sport towards all reactions, stating that “I got a lot of praise which was greatly appreciated. As for people that didn’t like it… if ya don’t got haters then ya ain’t poppin.’
However, the only opinion outside of that of the leaders that truly makes a difference is that of Truelian Lee ’17, as the chair of COSA, or Committee on Student Activity. Her job centers around maintaining the stability of clubs currently on campus and reviewing new club proposals. “Looking back, initially the mission of the fashion club was kind of similar to the International Student Society in that it would be a discussion based club that also produced a publication. It was active my freshman and sophomore year, but I did not see anything happen last year.” She continued, “Part of their resurrection was COSA. This year, we’ve made it a goal to maintain and follow up on existing clubs on campus. Part of it was on their part as well, as they did seem to recruit some other members for their masthead that weren’t fashion club members originally.” In terms of legitimate club organization, Lee said that their best route would most likely be to become singularly a publication.
Looking towards the future, Lee says that they need to “Have a regular publication schedule and adhere to that. Also recruiting beyond their masthead to have a steady foundation of writers in order for them to become a legitimate club on campus.” Williams, on the other hand, stated, “I hope to produce more photoshoots, potentially a big fashion show sponsored by a Choate alumni in the industry, and maybe even some film-based productions.”
As for the questioned expansion of the club, Williams said “We are constantly expanding, growing and evolving… so yes.” It seems like In Moda is ready for its close up- again.
