When sophomore Elle Douglas started a fashion club at Boys & Girls Club of Springfield, she had no idea how rewarding the experience would be. The entertainment management major has a passion for fashion. She also works as a youth development professional at the organization. “I have always loved working with kids. I love how you can use your own talents to teach them. Boys & Girls Club needed a lot of help in their fine arts department. I was happy to join the team,” she said. So, she organized a fashion club. Ten students in grades three through five met weekly. Douglas taught them the basics of fashion merchandising and how to create a portfolio.
They studied industry trends and learned how much research and preparation goes into designing and merchandising. Douglas set out to organize a fashion show at the club and showcase the students’ work in Sartorial Magazine, MSU’s studentrun fashion and culture publication. Katie Chandler, an editor for Sartorial Magazine, loved the idea. “Katie was like, ‘I really want to make this a bigger deal. I would like to host it here at Missouri State and I want the parents to come here.’” Douglas said. They looped in Nia Harrison, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, and she gave it the green light. Through the fall semester of 2022, the kids studied fashion, then with grant money from Boys & Girls Clubs, were each given $50 to go shopping at T.J. Maxx. They were tasked with creating two outfits for the upcoming show. “With our grant that we have at work, we must incorporate math, science, reading in everything that we do. We made the kids calculate their own budget. They were in T.J. Maxx with their little notebooks and their little pencils going, ‘If my necklace is $15
and this skirt is $20, what does that make?,’” Douglas said. She scheduled a photo shoot of the kids and then they held a fashion show in Plaster Student Union. On Dec. 2, the big day had arrived. “We did hair and makeup, so they got the full experience of what it’s like to be a model,” said Harrison. “They were super excited. They were the funniest kids I’ve ever met. One of the kids wants to major in fashion and said, ‘You’ll be hearing from me in a few years.’” They were ready to showcase their own personal fashion with the outfits they had assembled. The more the crowd cheered, the more their confidence bloomed. “They took on a different persona,” Douglas said. “They went from these kids that were just learning to these confident individuals. It was adorable. I taught them so much, but I could never have taught them the amount of confidence that they gained. It was so inspiring