Explanations of day-to-day processes, leadership advice and interview tips were just the tip of the iceberg at Orange Coast College Fashion Club’s first spring event in over two years.
It was all the career advice ever needed in one room.
The Fashion Club hosted its first “Connekt” summit on Thursday, centered around a six-person panel of experienced individuals in the fashion industry who spoke about the highs and lows fashion students will inevitably face in the early stages of their careers.
In the first event hosted at the Student Union, the Connekt summit featured speakers Nicole Saunders, creative producer at Boot Barn; Nessa Tabrizy, senior designer at TikTok; Cheryl Lindberg, head of consumer engagement at Ren Clean Skincare; Tosin Junaid, founder and head designer of NAID’S; Sherry Tang, sales manager at The Webster and Beth Jones, stylist and social media influencer. The panelists joined to share invaluable knowledge with dozens of OCC students and alumni.
Junaid made it clear to always put yourself out there.
“You need to be a people’s person,” Junaid said. “During my early fashion week show last year, there happened to be a volunteer who came to just volunteer for the production team, and all that. He ended up walking the runway for me. I just learned today that he is part of the [OCC] Fashion Club.”
Others like Jones gave advice on content creation on social media. One of the topics that the panel discussed was mental burnout, and Jones elaborated on how keeping content out of her personal life has allowed her to be present in more authentic moments.
“The way that I’ve learned to adapt and pivot is separating myself from my social media in the sense that ‘Beth Jones’ is someone, and then ‘B Jones Style’ is somebody else in a way,” Jones said.
Inevitably, The Connekt discussion gravitated towards making genuine connections with any people along the way.
“A really cool thing about going to school [at OCC] is that you’re making connections with your teachers,” Saunders said. “Some of these professors might work in the industry or might know people. I took the econ class here with John Hazen, and [he] actually got my resume up to HR. He remembered me and sent my resume and I got the job. Now I’m here, technically because John Hazen got me through the door.”
OCC recognizes multiple student-run businesses in the fashion realm, many of which advertised and ran pop-up shops in the early hours of Connekt.
Seven fashion students showcased their businesses, including Christian Hernández with his upcycling clothing brand CH, Jean-Victor Lairmore and his clothing brand STREAMS & GROUNDS and Erika Horiguchi with her business Endlessly, to name a few.
Mariam Abdelrehim’s business “Bebe Rouge,” which offers handmade earrings, bracelets and necklaces among other products, was especially notable as her jewelry is being sold in as many as 20 stores nationwide. “It’s really nice to be in a community and get feedback when I’m lost,” Abdelrehim said.
To close the meeting, Fashion Club president Caitlyn Hicks recognized how much the program has grown since the pandemic put a wrench in some of the club’s plans.
“We decided to not let [the pandemic] get us down,” Hicks said. “We opened up our social media, and we started Color Week, and we started different games in our [Instagram] stories. People started being a part of our club and getting interested. From there, we grew a following that we’ve been able to expand ever since.”
For those interested in joining Fashion Club, the program meets on the third Monday of each month inside the Student Union Building. Their next meeting is May 16 at noon in Student Union room 213.
