As Vanderbilt’s Fashion Club prepares for a semester of speaker events and industry-focused programming, its members are thinking beyond outfits and trends. From conversations with fashion executives to planned off-campus experiences, the student-led organization is carving out a space where campus style meets professional exploration.
At a campus where cowboy boots and trench coats coexist throughout the school year, fashion has always been a part of Vanderbilt’s culture; it just did not have an official home. That changed in 2025 with the launch of Vanderbilt’s new Fashion Club, founded by two transfer students who noticed a growing interest in fashion across campus but no established space to explore it.
“We wanted to create a place where students could connect in a lighthearted way but also use fashion to think about bigger questions,” junior Lily Martin, Fashion Club president, said. “It’s such an accessible lens for bigger conversations about consumer behavior and technology. People here clearly care about what they wear and how they express themselves.”
This spring, the club is centering its programming around a virtual speaker series designed to make fashion careers more accessible to students across campus. One of the upcoming events is a Zoom speaker event with Derek Blasberg, former head of fashion at YouTube, which will be held Feb. 23 at 4:30 p.m. CST and is open to all Vanderbilt students. The virtual format allows for greater flexibility, both for speakers joining from cities like Paris and for students balancing academic schedules.
According to Martin, much of the planning involves cold outreach to industry professionals and collaboration with the Vanderbilt Career Center, which helps distribute event information through campus newsletters and helps aid catering from local spots like Paris Baguette. The goal is to bring in speakers whose careers sit at the intersection of fashion, media and strategy — areas of growing interest among Vanderbilt students in both creative industries and intellectually-driven career paths.
“Our last speaker was Zoia Kozakov, the head of digital product management and strategy at Chanel,” Martin said. “She gave a lot of great early career advice and shared how she worked in product management at JPMorgan before applying those same skills in fashion at Chanel. That really resonated with students interested in tech or finance.”
Among the club’s founding members is vice president and junior Tia Rüst, who transferred from Parsons School of Design in New York City, bringing firsthand experience from one of the world’s top fashion schools. Together, the members set out to build a club that blends industry insight with campus culture: part creative outlet, part professional network.
“Fashion Club has been an incredible experience for me as a first-year — both in finding a group of people with whom I can discuss something I’m so passionate about and in learning more about the career side of the fashion industry,” member and first-year Max Gross said.
With the start of the spring semester, public relations lead and sophomore Ella Gonzalez expressed excitement about the organization’s continued growth.
“Having the opportunity to help lead an initiative here at Vanderbilt that does just that is so exciting and rewarding,” Gonzalez said. “I am excited to have a fulfilling and productive spring semester.”
In addition to events, the club maintains a Substack where students are encouraged to contribute personal writing on fashion, culture and industry experiences, including published reflections on New York Fashion Week and upcoming pieces on fashion in Nashville.
Behind all the programming is a shared belief that fashion connects to much more than clothing.
“I’ve always been extremely interested in fashion, and I noticed a lack of pre-professional fashion opportunities on campus,” operations manager and sophomore Olivia Gordon said. “I’m proud to be part of bringing a club to Vanderbilt that helps fill that gap, exposing students to a strong network and helping pave pathways for connections within the industry.”
Looking ahead, the club hopes to grow its membership and cement itself as a creative hub on campus. With its blend of professional development, artistic exploration and community spirit, Vanderbilt’s new Fashion Club is stitching together a space where students can express themselves and maybe even find their future in the ever-changing fashion industry.
