Photos taken by Sophia Carter and Amelia Beuscher
UT’s Fashion Society hosts its fashion show with its first ever conjoined theme.
UT’s Fashion Society hosted its first fashion show since 2023 and also its first joint theme featuring punk versus academia. The show was held on March 7th, 2025 in Ayres Hall, and members of the club were more than thrilled to strut the runway.
The show featured different patterns and textures that seemed to represent either punk or academia. Cres Cope, a member of Fashion Society who dressed academia, explained some details of her outfit and how they connected to the theme.
“The different aspects of my outfit like my jewelry, pants, and my skirt bring a lot of character to the entire outfit and represent the embodiment of my style of fashion,” Cope said.
Colby Hughes, a member who dressed punk, explained the importance of detail.
“Punk is all about metals and grainy textures,” Hughes said.
There were lots of dark jackets, silver jewelry and bold makeup clashed with plaid skirts, sweaters and soft shades of yellow and brown as the show represented the two themes intertwined.
Although the fashion show was a big hit, it took a lot of time and effort to make it happen. For Connor Chockley, the head of Fashion Society, the main steps of planning the show were getting people to agree on the theme, communicating with facilities for a place to host the show, and, of course, making it happen altogether. Chockley also explained the importance of hosting a show.
“Using Ayres Hallway was kind of a random request. Fashion shows are in buildings, with people lining the walkways. Before, we’ve done it on stage with people watching from the stands, so this is much more authentic and real,” Chockley said.
Fashion Society has not only doubled in members since last year, but has grown to become a more inclusive and safe place for everyone involved.
“I saw how diverse and inclusive Fashion Society was, and I loved the vibe of everyone and the things they brought to the meetings,” Cope said.
The club doesn’t have one aesthetic or genre of clothing that dominates others and people feel free to dress however they want while also feeling included and able to express who they are.
Fashion Society’s goals are to make people feel confident about themselves and develop a strong sense of self-expression.
“Fashion is a form of art and self-expression, and we want to emphasize that. For people with similar interests with their own style who appreciate other people’s style, we’ve tried to create a creative space for those people,” said Ashley Sooklal, a member of Fashion Society.
After watching Fashion Society bring the aesthetics of punk and academia to life, the club welcomes a diverse range of styles and emphasizes inclusivity and self-expression through fashion on and off the runway.
