Chairperson of Fashion Society Amelia Ní Thuathail and DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) Officer Ola Obadina recently sat down with the University Times to discuss their previous and upcoming work, their goals, and their observations at Trinity. While they both had different goals for the upcoming year, they echoed the same sentiment: come one, come all. Fashion is for everyone.
Were both of you involved in fashion society last year, and if so, what did you work on, what specific pieces or designs maybe you contributed to, and what projects were you a part of?
AMELIA: We were both on Erasmus for the full year in Paris last year, but we both were on the committee in second year, and our main contribution that year was to the fashion show.
Both of us worked a lot with the models in the show, and because both of us have experience modelling before, we did a lot of the trainings for the walks for the actual show itself, and then kind of planned the route that models would be taking while walking.
What was your favourite part about making those projects? What’s your favourite part about being involved in this society?
OLA: For me, I really loved getting involved with the show, just because I really value inclusivity, and I think the show is a great way to show that like anyone can model, there’s no specific look to a model. It’s just more about wearing the clothes, how it makes you feel, and we really push that. We’re going to try and push it even more this year, especially with the themes that we choose as well.We do try to keep it quite broad, so that it does include a wide variety of looks and people, as well as the designers, and the clothes that we get. We get a range of different sizes, and we always try to prioritise getting sustainable Irish brands as well—which I think is a really good thing on our part, because sustainability is something that we care a lot about too.
AMELIA: The show is usually my favourite part. I’d be similar with Ola, my favourite part is inclusivity and diversity. Meeting other people who are very different to myself, and I think the best part about the Fashion Society is the fact that it’s not necessarily linked to any one course or any one kind of topic. Every single person can get involved in fashion. It’s something that affects all of us because we all wear clothes, which is kind of a basic way of saying it, but it’s a great way to just meet all different kinds of people.
For both of you guys, what influenced you to get into fashion in the first place? What was the beginning of this journey?
AMELIA: For me, growing up, my mom actually lived in Paris for six years, and she worked for a fashion house. She worked for Nina Ricci, and so growing up fashion was always a really big part of my life. Our whole life, even on our Christmas tree, she would use old haute couture earrings as decorations for the tree. I’ve just grown up with those kinds of pieces around me—it’s always been a real focus in my house. Fashion has just been something that’s been ingrained from a very, very young age. For me, hearing the stories about her work when she was younger, [made me want to] follow in her footsteps in that way.
OLA: For me it kind of comes back to my culture a little bit, because I’m Nigerian originally. Our style there and the clothes we wear there is so different to what is worn here. And I think it’s amazing. But growing up, I see my mom wearing stuff that is completely different to what I’d be wearing, like at school, or I’d see my friends wearing.
So I think I just got a bit of an interest in just the way people express themselves through their clothing. Then I just thought modelling was great too, because I used to watch a lot of fashion shows. I used to watch America’s Next Top Model a lot as well. So I was like, I could do that. And then yeah, got into fashion.
All right. So what advice would you give to those wanting to start or get into fashion?
OLA: In general, do it for the right reasons. A lot of people think fashion is super glamorous, but honestly, a lot of it isn’t. And it is such a big contributor to global warming, and it does have some really bad effects in terms of climate change.
What would you say for people wanting to offset those kinds of fast trends, what are ways they can kind of push against that?
AMELIA: When you shop, buy stuff that you really like. Take the time to figure out what it is that you actually like as a person, rather than picking what the crowd is going for. Also either buying secondhand or buying pieces that are good quality that will last a long time. And I think buying a lot of statement pieces as well will go with a lot of other things like planning. For me, when I go into a shop, I don’t just buy anything.
I wouldn’t just buy one thing because if you do that, often you’ll end up buying something that you might never actually wear. I’m very particular about knowing.
OLA: I completely agree. I do the exact same. And I think just going for timelessness over trends is just huge. It even saves you a lot of money as well because you’re not having to replace the clothes. You can wash them and they don’t go bad. So it’s just a lot of cost savings as well.
What are your goals for this upcoming year, both personally and for the society?
AMELIA: Last year, a lot of the goals were diversity and inclusivity and being more environmentally conscious. We want to continue that this year.Like, for example, we’ve appointed Ola as our diversity and inclusivity officer. We decided as a committee that that was something that we needed in the society and we’re currently in the process of rewriting our constitution to include it. So hopefully it’ll continue for years going forward.
Other than that, I want to bring the society back to being about having a bit more fun because I think it can be quite serious. I don’t want to say exclusionary, but I do think that sometimes it has a reputation that precedes it where people can find it quite intimidating. I remember at Freshers’ Fair, a lot of people would say ‘oh, I don’t know if I’m fashionable enough to join fashion society.’
I want to really knock that out. I want that gone this year. I really want it to be about just having fun and just trying something new. That’s part of the reason with our applications for our new magazine. We’re asking people to try something that they have no experience in. We’re really looking for people to just take a shot at something that they’ve never done before.
OLA: As DEI officer, I’m going to hone in on everyone [being welcome to our events]. Not just getting involved in the committee, but just coming along to events because it is for everyone.
Even with the fashion show, we’re going to ensure that we have a lot of people with different body types from different ethnic backgrounds, and different religions as well. Love to see some hijabs on the runway. I think that’d be incredible.
We’re going to be collaborating with the Afro-Caribbean society and we will try and collaborate with some more societies that are from minority backgrounds or underrepresented groups. I think those collaborations will help the general student population see that fashion is for everyone. Also acknowledging that the roots of fashion are a lot of it does come from different cultures and different communities. We do owe them thanks for a lot of the incredible creations in the industry right now.
It’s so interesting because I think fashion as a whole, the more international it gets, the just more vibrant it can become. It makes it whole. How do you think being at Trinity influences your fashion choices? Do you think the environment inspires you?
OLA: There’s a load of different trends on campus. I always see a lot of vintage wear, and I love that style. Then you also see a bit of streetwear and then just some cultural wear as well.
I think in [my] first year I tried to intentionally dress like a Trinity student would, but at the moment now I kind of really just wear whatever I want. I’ve learned to be confident in my own style. I guess Trinity has helped me in a way, but I think it definitely took a bit of time.
AMELIA: Trinity is a really interesting case where obviously a lot of people in Trinity have access to the internet, so there are certain trends that you’ll see that are coming in from the internet, but I also think Trinity is its own bubble. A lot of the style you see in Trinity is reflective of Dublin style. There’s a huge influence of the kind of grunge style that was strong in the 90s in Dublin in particular, which is cool to see.
There are definitely certain things you could pinpoint as something that a Trinity student would wear. A lot of big scarves, different kinds of tights and Doc Martens. It’s a really cool case that Trinity is this almost bubble where I have my own style, but Trinity gives me a space where I am challenged to go further. It’s a safe space where you could show up to Trinity in anything. You could show up in a track suit or you could show up in a full ball gown and I really don’t think anyone would bat an eye.
Talk to me about your upcoming magazine, DAGDA.
AMELIA: We want people to know the aim is to create an editorial magazine; it’s by students and representative of students. [Looking at] fashion both within Trinity and in the greater Dublin area. [It is] for people who want to get involved, and that there are applications for stylists, models, photographers in our bio as well.
