Attention trendsetters! It’s time to bring out your inner fashionista and join Wake’s new club WFU Style. Megan O’Sullivan (’15) and Desiree Sanchis (’13) have teamed up and to create a club designed to connect Wake students who have a knack for style and are interested in the fashion world.
“We want to be a credible source for fashion on campus, but also for finding a professional career in fashion, and connect with other businesses and alumni,” said O’Sullivan.
So, what inspired this ingeniuous idea? During a visit to one of her favorite shopping spots in Dallas, Scoop, O’Sullivan witnessed a group of students from SMU talking with the owners about hosting a launch party for their school’s style club at the store. She realized Wake lacked an outlet for fashion and style and decided to take initiative. Her first move was finding a partner.
“I needed to talk to someone who I knew was a leader at Wake and knew how to start a club and recruit people,” she said. “The first person that came to mind was Des because she has the spunk that will add to what WFU Style should be,” said O’Sullivan
O’Sullivan and Sanchis started spreading the word by hanging flyers around campus announcing an informational meeting and promoting WFU Style on Instagram and Facebook. The duo received amazing feedback: over 50 people sent in applications, of which 28 people were chosen to serve on their five executive teams (blogging, web design, photography, PR, and marketing).
“I think this club is such a unique idea, and it’s something that this liberal arts campus needs,” explains Sanchis. “I think the fashion industry is so amazingly complex and has lots of different components – business, marketing, the arts – and that it belongs in our school.”
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WFU Style’s blog covers a wide variety of topics such as men’s fashion, interior design, restaurants and coverage of fashion events, like Charleston Fashion Week. O’Sullivan updates the Instagram several days a week, while the rest of her team has fun pinning the latest designs on Pinterest.
Not only is this club limited to campus, just last month, WFU Style hosted their launch party at Gusto, a clothing boutique in downtown Winston-Salem. Complete with a red carpet, champagne and beer, DJ, and hors d’oeuvres from Fourth Street Filling Station, WFU Style made a name for itself as an up-and-coming organization on campus. Gusto even gave 20% off all purchases to celebrate!
Missed the party at Gusto? Have no fear! WFU Style’s PR team is in the process of planning an end of year party (yay!)
So, what does the future hold for WFU Style? O’Sullivan and Sanchis are working with student government to get a charter approved and hope to work with the Breast Cancer Fashion Show in the fall.
Keep up with O’Sullivan, Sanchis, and the rest of the WFU Style team by checking out their Facebook page and Pinterest!
*Photography by Charlotte Bedick