Hello! My name is Caitlin Wagner, and I will be a senior this fall majoring in Textile and Apparel Design with supplementary studies in Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. I am also pleased to report that in addition to the incredible time that I have spent in Madison during my college career, I will be taking the opportunity to complete my senior year as a visiting student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. The cherry on top of the sundae is that I get to spend my summer embarking on an adventure as a CollegeFashionista Style Guru!
One of my favorite pastimes is observing what fashion has to offer all around me. I could spend hours at any given coffee shop mesmerized by the steady flow of customers, all sporting their own interpretation on a fashion trend. I believe that the ability to recognize their interpretation is like trying to translate another language. The more you take note of the differences, the easier it is to see similarities, and before you know it, you are speaking their language fluently.
In addition to taking inspiration from street fashion and trends on the runway, I source a lot of my ideas for my designs and my own wardrobe from theatre, film and art in general. I am a die-hard movie fan, but by no means a critic. I do, however, appreciate the visual display that a movie has to offer. My favorite movies are those that are just dripping with decadent and detailed costumes that are so beautiful you don’t want to peel your eyes away from the screen for even one second. Watching films like these allows me to escape into an idealistic world, where you always have something fabulous to wear for any occasion. If only that were the case in real life, right?
I would say that my personal style is mainly classic, but I am always looking for a way to mix things up. I love finding a graphic print to spice up a standard black and white ensemble or adding a cool accessory to make my outfit a little more interesting. I figure I might as well have fun with my look now, while I am still discovering all that the world has to offer. I’ll wait to be boring when I’m dead! As for now, I will be off playing with pattern, colors and basically breaking every fashion rule that was created in the pursuit of a more colorful and exciting world.
Fashion should be a way for us to revisit the years of our youth, when we could spend hours dressing up with absolutely nowhere to go. It should make us a little uncomfortable and a lot inspired!
Let’s make this a rad summer!
