Fashion show promotes sustainability

The music is pumping, the stage is set with glitter and in comes a modern woman — powerful, sophisticated and cat walking in a little black dress.

It’s not the Mercedes-Benz fashion week, it’s the first annual Styleta fashion show, “Rock the Runway,” which took place Thursday at the Willkie Auditorium.

Styleta is a new campus and national organization founded by senior Le Wang and Harvard alumnus Yifan Zhang. Styleta’s mission is to sell high quality designer clothes at discounted prices while donating the proceeds to charity.

“Designers only sell 13 percent of their profits. The rest is either destroyed or stays in a warehouse,” Wang said. “Our solution is to buy the clothes, resell them and donate the proceeds to charities.”

The fashion show gives a new perspective on fashion. Students can buy designer clothes at the show or online. Their purchase helps recycle clothes that would normally be destroyed, and the proceeds go to charity.

Having started barely a year ago, the charity is growing fast. Styleta has had a fashion show on four campuses, and IU is one of the founding campuses.

The show featured different styles for the modern college student. From designer shoes to coats and clothes, all items were donated for the event and were for sale at the trunk show and online.

Aside from Styleta being a charity, it is also a club.

“As a student, if you’re looking for a club, join Styleta,” creative director Ryan Aguirre said.  “You can learn to do a variety of things on campus, and we need people from all disciplines.”

Styleta’s approach to fashion is rooted in charity and community. This gives students an opportunity to participate in a new way of approaching fashion. Styleta is a good marriage of the world’s new-found awareness of being eco-conscious and working with charities.

“Our mission is to help women professionally get on their feet,” model Jennifer Lee said.

Styleta supports Volunteers for America, Kiva, Dress for Success and the local chapter of My Sister’s Closet. All these charities work with empowering women and helping them gain the skills and clothing needed to succeed.

Although this is Styleta’s first year at IU, the members have big hopes for the charity.
“I hope people that come out get to see who we are and what we do,” junior Losalind Loo said.

Styleta’s founders are being recognized in Forbes Magazine next year as one of the 30 under 30. With a successful fashion show and trunk show, Styleta has started the seed of something bright at IU.

“Fashion has the power to help us feel good about each other and help the world,” junior Francesca Fuerman said.