To begin the spring semester, Vogue at MU and BlackMindz hosted an open-ended discussion on the importance of mental health and its role in fashion at the Arrupe Center for Community Service and Social Responsibility.
Black Mindz is a relatively new organization that focuses on providing a space for students of color to discuss the importance of mental health, and Vogue at MU is a Marquette organization that emphasizes how fashion is important in self-expression.
Together, these two groups hosted a discussion to connect the uniqueness of fashion and how that taps into who you are and how you view yourself.
Jasmine Scott, the president of Black Mindz said the event’s discussion, “Tappin’ in to You,” revolved around being unique and having self-confidence. Scott said feeling good with fashion can be correlated with mental health.
The first half of the event involved discussion and community building, followed by a presentation talking about fashion and mental health and ending with an activity where participants created their logo.
“Originally, Black Mindz came up with this idea, and then we decided, ‘hey, this would be really good for fashion wise because fashion is a really big part of our culture,'” Scott said. “So, why not put two and two together since we’re really familiar with one another.”
The mental health conversation started with discussing what the members of Black Mindz felt passionate about, such as feeling isolated, not feeling like able to speak out and imposter syndrome. 1 in 5 adults suffer from mental health disorders.
Scott said they do research on the topics they discuss in order to effectively provide helpful information and skillsets.
Aniya White, the publicity officer of Vogue at MU, said this event crossed the bridge between fashion and mental health.
“One of my main mottos is if you look good, you feel good. It’s not even about how other people perceive you, but how you look at yourself. It shouldn’t matter what anyone else says about you,” White said.
Scott said being unique is a big part of being yourself, and your self-esteem boosts your self-perception. She said a big part of the event is to connect with new people.
“I think fashion is something that is very expressive if you know what you’re meant to do,” White said.
White said mental health is reflected within clothing and body posture, like how you walk into a room and the confidence you bring with it.
“I think it’s something that everybody should have a sense of whether it’s something that you like or maybe people buy other things that people wear fashion-wise and you take that within yourself and make it your own. It’s all about individuality and coming together,” White said.
White said fashion is something that affects us since it’s something we do every day and represents our sense of self since it’s the first thing people see when they see you.
Moving forward, Scott said they are collaborating with Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity incorporated, where they will be making gift baskets. Scott said they want to get their name out there and collaborate more with other organizations on campus.
As a relatively new club, this is Vogue at MU’s first collaboration, and they hope to gain a group of people who are really interested and want to get involved. White said they hope to get involved with other groups such as the LGBTQ+ Resource Center.
This story was written by Trinity Zapotocky. She can be reached at [email protected]
