International Fashion in Radford

By: Julia Nunez

In the world of high-end fashion, inspiration comes from anywhere.

Paris, Milan and London are three cities that inspire the fashion industry. India is a good example of a country that is rising in fashion, because of the resources such as silk, cloth and other materials that are created to make clothes.

Fashion Design major, Dakota Callander, who is freshman at Radford University, helps give some insight about how she gets inspired by international fashion.

“It is definitely important, since our major insists we design objects and clothes to appeal to a wide range of individuals, including international markets,” Callander said.

Fashion is a personal statement. As a fashion designer he or she must recognize that not everyone is the same. Everybody has different likes, dislikes and what one may feel comfortable in, another may not.

Being a designer you want to be as creative as possible. International fashion can help spark the creativity. Being a fashion designer it takes skill to be able to think outside of the box. Not everyone has the eye for design, which is why we have fashion designers.

“The uniqueness and materials used in some International designs inspires me to design things outside of my own comfort zone,” Callander said

There is more to fashion than just being a designer. Here at Radford you can major in fashion design, design culture, design management and merchandising for design. There is so much to do within a Fashion major. Kendra Hudson, a freshman here at Radford University is a Fashion Merchandising major.

“I don’t design clothes at all, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about the inspiration I get from international places,” Hudson said.

Everyday life inspires high-end designers. Even designers for Forever 21 get inspired through youth, and what is popular clothing during fashion week in Milan.

Radford University offers a class called Business of Design. You learn all about how design companies work and how important trade is for U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa. There are some countries that thrive on making materials that other countries just can’t make as well or it is too expensive. For example, in this class you will learn that china is known for shipping and trading a lot with the U.S in the fashion market.

When it is comes to buying materials for companies to make clothes, there is a lot to think about. One key thing to think about is, that people don’t always realize is that some cultures wear different clothes than your typical American would wear.

“I would have to take into consideration the different culture norms and trends for each country because what it suitable for us to wear in the US isn't the same in India for example,” senior Lauren Browning said.

Browning is a fashion merchandising major and hopes to get into the buying and visual marketing field. Where international fashion will come in if she is going to work for a major company.

“International fashion would play a part if I was buying clothes for a company but I think it also depends on if the company is international,” Browning said “If I was buying for a company that was only located in the US, I wouldn't focus on international trends at all probably but, if I was a buyer for Target or Wal-Mart who has stores all over the world.”

Radford University offers classes and opportunities for students to learn about the fashion-marketing world. One opportunity is to study abroad. That is the best way to learn, to go overseas and get that hands on experience.

Callander and Hudson both mentioned how they are looking into going abroad. They said if they can, they will.

Radford University has many diverse opportunities for students to enter the fashion world. Being a small University, students really get a great hands on experience.

International fashion inspires what we as Americans design and wear. If we take the time to learn from other cultures and travel, we could have them get inspired by us. This has already started in Milan there’s is a Brandy Melville store, which started in California and was brought to Milan. The trend as already started, and we need people, like the students of Radford, to continue on this trend.