With fashion trends changing by the minute, Washington International School students explore their freedom of not having uniforms by expressing themselves through clothing.
WIS, being one of the many district schools, is an international school that does not require uniforms due to their belief that religions and nationalities that would interfere with uniforms should be respected. As long as students abide by the dress code, there are no clothing restrictions, liberating students to exhibit their creativity through their outfits.
From 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, approximately 500 students circulate the Tregaron campus each with their respective outfits. In the upper school section, ages range from 13-18 years old. Whether it’s an ordinary school day or the night before homecoming, fashion trends are one of the most common conversation topics for teenagers.
For this generation, the primary source for fashion information is social media. Students use social media because it serves as easy access to current issues and topics in seconds through their phones. Whether it’s a Snapchat article by Complex or an Instagram post from a celebrity, the media is the first place teenagers turn to to get the latest scoop on clothing drops and trends.
There are many reasons to how clothing trends became trends in the first place. The most influential aspect of trends are celebrities and their association with the product. Some celebrities such as Kanye West have their own clothing brands and others simply portray their admiration for brands through public appearances and media posts.The infamous rapper’s collaboration with Adidas has sold out over 30,000 pairs of each shoe. Retail prices range around $200 but exclusivity has boosted resale prices to over $5000.Celebrities of the likes of Kanye West have such a great influence on their fan base that whatever they wear can attract an appeal and demand for the accessory.
According to students, fashion is a very complicated market where different components play a role in the pricing of products. Prices of clothes can increase depending on the quality, exclusivity, and hype of the product. As artisan clothing accessories are scarce, it is getting increasingly difficult for teens to acquire these products due to the outrageous prices. This makes it exceptionally rare to sight students wearing products from the likes of Gucci, Supreme, Givenchy and more. Whilst certain celebrities are attracted to clothes by their price tag, students of WIS value clothes for different reasons.
To aid the understanding of fashion trends at WIS, a passionate 10th grade student Sami Kattan shared his views and interest in clothing. In recent years, he has developed an attachment to clothing and has become knowledgeable about the market and concepts. As fashion is one of his greatest hobbies, he chooses to invest his personal money into clothing.
Kattan’s requirements when buying clothes are quality, aesthetics, value, and hype of the product. The reason why he turns towards more expensive clothing is because it gives a more premium feel and a more elevated look. Sami mentioned how his outfits sometimes accumulate negative attention at school because people recognize the value of it. This shows how his harmless act of pursuing his passion can receive pessimistic views. “People always ask me why I spend my money on clothes…I disregard the comments because I like to look good for myself.” His intentions aren’t to harm anyone but simply to bring him happiness because that’s what he loves. Sami’s motto and belief about fashion is “if you look good, you feel good,” which explains that his appearance matters to himself because it’s a factor of his general happiness.
*For privacy reasons, prices of clothes could not be disclosed*
Sami Kattan is not alone when it comes to students who admire fashion. A young entrepreneur named Diego David Maldonado created his own fashion line. His company, called DiegoGotClout, started out as a dream and has now become prominent throughout the WIS community for the design of the product and the support from his friends. Whilst he only creates t-shirts for now, he envisions his company to sell different types of items in the future.
The 9th grade student creates and designs his shirts all on his own and sells them for $18-$25, but has received bids up to $55. To start off, he produced the shirts in limited numbers of about 10. After have had seen the demand rise drastically, it is expected the larger production numbers are to come. “Initially, the shirts were just meant for me and my friends to rep the same merch, but when I saw that others enjoyed the design I made it public.” Although it might seem like the company is just a source of revenue for Maldonado, there is a greater reason behind that. Maldonado says that recently, most companies are lacking passion and that’s what motivated him into starting his self driven line. “I like my clothing over other brands because it’s original, something you don’t find these days.” Diego Maldonado has an evident love for fashion and sees clothes a domain where people can show off their creativity rather than an everyday necessity.
By Pierre Alexandre Forneris
