Are student journalists keeping the fashion scene alive in boston?

Analise Bruno, Fashion Section Editor of The BU Buzz. Photo by Eliana Marcu.

What’s it like running Boston University’s only award winning fashion magazine? Zoe McCarthy, Editor in Chief of Off the Cuff, says it requires her to be a jack-of-all-trades. 

Off the Cuff publishes twice a year, and it’s up to McCarthy to scout and book shoot locations, run staff meetings, edit spreads, approve articles, finalize themes, and make sure hundreds of issues are printed. When short staffed, McCarthy said she takes on the role of makeup artist and stylist. 

But she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“It’s so cool that I get to do this, it’s really one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done,” McCarthy said. 

For McCarthy, Off the Cuff is the creative outlet she’s been missing as a Biomedical Engineering major. She said her classes don’t give her the space to experiment with design the way she anticipated they would, and having been interested in art, fashion and makeup since high school, joining a fashion publication felt obvious.

She joined Off the Cuff last year as a makeup artist. By the end of the year, the former Editor in Chief, Jessie Yang, offered her the coveted position. It was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

“I thought it would be a really good idea, especially if I want to move into the fashion world post-grad,” she said. 

As Editor in Chief, McCarthy has been leading the charge on the magazine’s latest issue, “Laws of Attraction”, which was published this past Friday. The issue tackles concepts like violence and parasocial relationships through the lens of fashion. 

“We draw a lot of our inspiration from editorial magazines like Vogue, just because they do a lot of experimental stuff. It’s very high fashion but also beautifully crafted, and they like to push the boundaries,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said that when pitching themes, her and Co-Creative Directors Eva Fournel and Elizabeth Natalie Ng turn to Pinterest. The site allows them to create mood boards and find inspiration for outfits and photo concepts. They also find inspiration in and around Boston.

“I’ll see someone walking down the street and see a cool fit, and think ‘oh my God’ we can draw inspiration from that,” McCarthy said.

Student journalists like McCarthy play a big role in shaping fashion and culture in Boston. The city is home to over fifty colleges and universities and over 250,000 college students. According to Boston University, the applicant pool from BU alone represents all fifty states and 181 countries. Students leave a global mark on the city and its biggest trends. 

“I like that students encourage and influence experimentation with fashion, especially in a city school like Boston. It’s a place where you can do that, like you can get away with doing that. It’s not crazy to be in a cool outfit in the street,” she said.

But it’s not just about looking cool or influencing trends. Paige Yoskin, Editor in Chief of Strike Magazine, says fashion is about self-expression. 

Naomi Cohen and Paige Yoskin, Editors in Chief of Strike Magazine. Photos by William Chapman.

“To be able to wear whatever you want requires a level of bravery and confidence that is not recognized. Fashion is often an expression of who someone is, and can be as vulnerable and rewarding as music and visual art,” she said.

Yoskin said Strike aims to create an inclusive and welcoming environment that encourages young people in Boston to share their ideas.

“Providing a voice and a platform for the many fashionable minds in this city will always be our main concern. People take young minds and ideas for granted, and we hope to change this preconception one magazine issue at a time,” she said. 

Being an independent magazine, Strike is entirely student-run and funded. Yoskin said it’s one of her favorite aspects of the job. The magazine runs entirely on the creativity and tenaciousness of its student journalists. Since it’s not affiliated with any college or university, its membership is open to all students in the city. 

But not everyone sees the value in this kind of student journalism. Analise Bruno, Fashion Section Editor of The Buzz, said she worries that fashion, and fashion writing, is seldom taken seriously. 

“I feel like there’s this huge misconception that blogging and fashion writing is fake journalism or menial writing,” she said.

Bruno said that fashion and lifestyle writers are crucial for audience engagement. The articles these writers produce require a heightened level of vulnerability, and create an outlet for personal expression that hinges on relatability. It’s one of her favorite aspects of working for The Buzz. 

“It feels like you’re playing dress up with your dolls from childhood. It’s so much fun curating different looks and then watching them all come together behind the theme and photoshoot. I have never been given so much creative freedom in my whole life,” she said. 

Paige Yoskin agrees. And she refutes the notion that fashion is an exercise in vanity, too.

“When people care about fashion they are branded with labels like being shallow and obsessed with themselves when this could not be further from the truth. Fashion is a form of art, and because it is primarily sustained by marginalized groups such as people of color, women, and the LGBTQ+ community it is not deemed as important as more accepted examples of art,” she said. 

For Zoe McCarthy, Off the Cuff’s lasting impact is its ability to create a safe space for students who are willing to express themselves through fashion. It’s a respite from a culture that sometimes denounces fashion as a materialistic venture or as pretentious. 

“Fashion publications give people inspiration to find their personal style and wear things that make them feel good,” McCarthy said.