My Dear Collegiettes,
Hello. Hola. Tag. Bonjour. Privyet.
It’s time to welcome the summer with open arms, as the nights are lasting longer & warmer and the outfits becoming shorter, thinner, and well, long awaited! What better way to begin to shift through your closets in the hopes of finding that perfect summer outfit than to know what the current trends are? How do you know what the summer’s fashion will be, you ask? Well, over here at the College of William and Mary there is a student run & produced fashion magazine. Yes, you heard me. W&M’s own fashion Rocket Magazine sprung up in the spring of 2011, and is becoming very powerful with its articles and fashionista pictures. Simply click on the links below to see for yourself on what all the talk is about:
Spring ’12 edition: http://issuu.com/rocketmagazine/docs/rocket__spring_2012
Fall ’11 edition: http://issuu.com/rocketmagazine/docs/rocketfall2011
You see, I’ve been thinking, fellow collegiettes, about the neat ideas behind the projects. Who came up with the ‘Sweet Escape’ design in the first edition, or what does the ‘Hunter & Hunted’ theme mean to the models, photographers, and the designers? In order to answer these questions, I decided to go straight to the source. Armed with my dazzling wit and instant Wi-Fi connection, I contacted the heads of each design section & models and interviewed them. Lo and behold: provided below are my results.
Keep in mind, though, online readers that if you like what you see, support W&M’s Rocket Magazine. Grab their free printed issues when they’re released ,‘like’ the FB page dedicated to these artistic, creative, and genius souls, and ‘follow’ their inspiring blog on Tumblr.
Main Website:
www.issuu.com/rocketmagazine
FB Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/RocketMagazine/169828239739136
Tumblr Page:
http://rocketmagazinewm.tumblr.com/
Photo credit goes to Gianna Baigés Parrilla!
The Heads of the Magazine
Editor-In-Chief: Justin Miller
Justin Miller. Junior (Class ’13). English Major. Founder and EIC.
Future Goals: Working For a Media Powerhouse in NY.
I set the meetings, give a template theme to the issue and then brainstorm shoots and looks with the executive editors, I attend every shoot, read every article, and the list goes on. It’s a lot of time, effort, and energy into the creation of the magazine. I work closely with every aspect–photography, editing, design, modeling–to make sure the final product is what we all envisioned, and more.
How did you get involved with Rocket?
I founded it.
What is the most unexpected part of your job?
Getting to work with a bunch of people I would never have met, and seeing their contribution and talent come together cohesively.
What is the most enjoyable part?
I enjoy all of the behind-the-scenes work that Selden and I do once the magazine is in the final stages of design. It’s exciting to see all of the text and photos and colors all packaged together.
What have you learned from working with Rocket?
ROCKET has taught me more than I think any classroom could about leadership, teams, people skills, and much more. The skills I have learned and acquired are actually transferable to any real-time work environment, especially those within the media field. It’s not just theory, it’s legit experience.
What makes Rocket Magazine so special?
It’s the only publication of its kind of on campus, maybe even within the region. It’s a forum for photography, text, fashion — art in general.
What was your wildest moment?
‘Wild’? Oh, I don’t know. Our photoshoots always get a bit spunky. They’re a lot of fun.
Do you have any advice to those who want to follow in your footsteps?
You need a lot of passion and you need to be as clear and direct as possible. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything. I would start building your team and network now, actually. Good luck.
Booking Editor: Tara Oladimeji
Tara. Oladimeji. Sophomore (’14). International Relations Major.
Future Goals: Attend law school after undergrad.
I am the Booking Editor and I work closely with most of the departments within the magazine. It is my job to personify our concepts, to make sure that the dynamics of the models is nothing below perfection, and to see that vision through the photoshoot, via the model. I find models and choose them based on our concept.
What do you do? How do you contribute to this magazine?
I am Rocket’s Booking Editor, so I organize and select models for each of our photoshoots. To the general public, it may seem trivial, but model dynamic is a large part of why many fashion magazines are appealing or in some cases why they aren’t.
How did you get involved with Rocket?
I heard about it through friends, attended some meetings, and filled the position by the Editor-In-Chief.
What is the most unexpected part of your job?
I never anticipated how close I would become with the models. In many regards, my job requires a certain detachment, which is necessary, but their success makes me so proud.
What is the most enjoyable?
I love working with the incredibly diverse talents that are the Magazine’s directors. Each editor has a distinct personality and passion, which is incredibly refreshing.
What have you learned from working with Rocket?
In regards to my specific job, I have learned to do quality work faster. Fashion is so fast paced and things change so quickly so it’s been necessary for me to do things quickly without sacrificing quality.
What makes Rocket Magazine so special?
It is the only one of its kind on this campus and is made up of talent that believes in the power of their passion.
What was your wildest moment?
My wildest moment would probably be our first shoot. They’re were photographers in every direction and sequined scarves being thrown everywhere. It was chaotic ecstasy.
Do you have any advice to those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Ingest fashion literature. Read the Vogues and the Elles of every country. Watch the shows. Read the blogs. Develop your philosophies and be prepared to deconstruct them and to build upon them.
Features Editor: Eden Stuart
Edent Stuart. Junior (’13). English Major.
Future Goals: To find some sort of gainful employment preferably in the fashion industry
What do you do? How do you contribute to this magazine?
With the assistance of other members of the editorial staff, I come up with a concept for the text of the issue and then proceed to formulate story ideas. After sending out these “text assignments”- that is, a list and description of all planned stories, articles, features and interviews- in an email to the staff writers, I set deadlines and allow the writers to sign up for whichever text assignment they desire. After all the work is in, I edit each one and then send the pieces back to their writers for any additional revisions.
How did you get involved with Rocket?
I saw an advertisement in Student Happenings halfway through my sophomore year (right before work began on the teaser issue) and enlisted any and every friend interested in fashion in attending the meeting with me. After serving as a staff writer in the spring, I joined the executive team as features editor for this past fall semester.
What is the most unexpected part of your job?
I’d have to go with the difficulty in choosing what and what not to cover; there’s a ton of fashion news out there, and with issues coming out only once a semester we have to be cognizant of not only what will still be relevant at the time of publication, but also what will resonate with the campus community. Editing is definitely the most time consuming aspect, but there’s a lot less pressure to be creative, which is nice.
What is the most enjoyable?
I really love the whole process; though I gotta admit, seeing it all in print just makes it all feel so worth it. It’s really great to see the final product of all your hard work and collaboration.
What have you learned from working with Rocket?
Definitely organizational skills -I’ve never been terribly organized and, to be honest, I’m still not. But if I didn’t at least attempt to get myself together, there’s no way anything would ever get done.
What makes Rocket Magazine so special?
While all of us on the exec staff are clearly passionate about fashion, art, and design, it’s definitely not the most accessible interest to find an outlet for on campus. I really enjoy having the opportunity to allow students to tap into their artistic talents- be it photography, styling, makeup or design- even if they are majoring in Government or want to be a Doctor when they grow up.
What was your wildest moment?
Ah I don’t have anything! The people who work the photoshoots can give you plenty of stories, though, I’m sure.
Do you have any advice to those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Ah that sounds scary! I’d hardly consider myself some sort of innovator. I guess I’d say just to get involved; volunteer for any and everything that pertains to your interest. You’ll never get anywhere if you don’t just drop your reservations and go for it.
Beauty Editor: Francesca Rizzo
Francesca Rizzo. Sophomore (Class ’14). Marketing Major.
Future Goals: Who knows! I really want to travel a lot.
Beauty editor. Makeup and hair is the name of my game.
What do you do? How do you contribute to this magazine?
I’m in charge of coordinating those who do all the makeup and hair prep for the photo shoots. I’m also part of the conceptualization process for the shoots, and help nail down an aesthetic, which my team and I enhance and solidify with hair and makeup.
How did you get involved with Rocket?
I showed up to the very first interest meeting Rocket had and fell in love with the concept. It was exactly what I was looking for in an on-campus publication because I could use skills that I wouldn’t normally get to use.
What is the most unexpected part of your job?
You have to get really up close and personal with people’s faces. It’s a little awkward at first, but you get over it pretty quickly.
What is the most enjoyable?
Each person is like a blank canvas that my team and I get to turn into something totally different. It’s really astonishing some of the things that can be accomplished. Beauty is truly an art form.
What have you learned from working with Rocket?
I’ve definitely learned to collaborate in an effective manner. There are people above and below you on the totem pole, and learning how to handle both ends has really been a unique privilege.
What makes Rocket Magazine so special?
Rocket is special because it’s so much more than a fashion magazine – the concept and foundation are truly based in art, and there is so much subtlety and so many statements made, even in the little things.
What was your wildest moment since you began working with Rocket?
We had this one shoot where beauty and the models were on time. We were just getting started all of the sudden when the photographers, editor in chief and art director rushed in and told us to stop everything and be done. Apparently we hadn’t timed the shoot exactly right and were running out of sunlight, so we frantically finished what we could and sent the models on their way, and all of this in about the span of 15 minutes!
Do you have any advice to those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Definitely know what you’re doing and never turn down something new. I have a plethora of beauty products, but none of that matters if I don’t know how to use and mix them all to their greatest potential. Always be looking for new things that you don’t have so that you can do more and come up with new combinations. When you get to a certain point there’s an endless number of possibilities for looks and that’s when the fun really starts, because the sky is the limit!
The Shooting Stars of Rocket
Model: Elaine Vega
Elaine. Junior (’13). Theatre Arts & Global Studies with concentrations in Performance and European Studies respectively.
Future goals: Involvement with the entertainment industry- film & stage acting and modeling.
‘Sweet Escape’. ‘Cosmo’. ‘Hunter/Hunted’.
How did you get started in modeling with Rocket?
I saw Rocket’s information on Student Happenings when they first started out, asking for anyone’s interest in modeling. I’ve been independently modeling for a while, and after sending them my information and other model pictures they asked me to participate in one of their shoots. My first shoot was for the project ‘Sweet Escape’.
What is special about your relationship with Rocket?
This magazine is completely student run and all those involved are really outgoing, open, and friendly. The whole atmosphere is welcoming, which makes a difference during the shoots. In addition, most of the shoots as of now are experimental, as in the ‘new-ness’ of this magazine allocates different possibilities of models poses, photographers’ shooting styles, and the general layout of the magazine. Being experimental is a wonderful trait to have when it comes to creating art.
Describe your daily routine for one day (either weekday or weekend).
My days are usually packed, from 6am to around 12-1am. I usually exercise daily, except when the weather is PMSing. Actually, scratch that. I don’t exercise- I run. Exercising makes it sound like I’m a gym buff, which I’m not haha. I’m also pretty health-conscious, so that helps to stay in shape.
Personal preparation before a shoot.
I listen to up-beat music to get my energy up at high levels. Sometimes I practice different poses in the mirror when the music particularly strikes a tune. My roommate often walks in on me doing embarrassing poses.
How to stay fit: what do you do (diet, exercise) or is it all natural?
Like I mentioned before, I run. A lot. It’s a lazy form of exercising that jump-starts my day. Rarely would I eat a ton of junk food in one day, but that doesn’t stop me from eating pizza, Oreos, and other delicious-ness when I see them offered in the cafeterias.
Any advice to those interested in modeling?
Never give up! The opportunities to model may be immensely frustrating at times, but if you believe in yourself things will come to pass. Never stop looking for chances to model, or act in my case. If the place you’re currently located in doesn’t have a magazine or any opportunities- make them. Who says you can’t? Seriously. Also, use the resources around you. W&M’s Swem library’s resources are amazing and it’s because of it that I’ve been able to take advantage of my modeling and acting situation. As in, I’ve created my own Demo Reel that contains both modeling pics and student films based off of my immediate resources. Here’s the link in case you’d like to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUjXtFzWmek . But remember: believe in yourself and never give up!
Model: Catie Pavilack
Catie. Sophomore (’14).
Business major.
Studying in Budapest summer ’12.
‘Witching Hour’. ‘Nirvana’.
How did you get started in modeling with Rocket?
I started Rocket thinking I wanted to be involved in styling . I’ve always been interested in fashion so when I was offered the possibility to model, it seemed like a great way to do something that would really involve me in the magazine.
What is special about your relationship with Rocket?
It’s really amazing what Rocket has done as a student publication. The creative directors are extremely talented and have really unique photo-shoot ideas and article topics.
Describe your daily routine for one day (either weekday or weekend).
My typical weekday usually revolves around class. To start the day, i’ll get up around 8 and try to make myself look presentable even though i’m usually half-asleep. I always eat breakfast because I couldn’t function without it. The rest of the day is spent running around between classes and meetings. Mealtimes are my time to breathe and catch up with friends. If i’m lucky, my day usually ends around 12pm.
Personal preparation before a shoot
I like listening to music before I do anything important- test, interview, etc.
How to stay fit: what do you do (diet, exercise) or is it all natural?
You don’t need experience, just confidence. Have fun J
Model: Morgan Gibson
Morgan. First-year at William & Mary School of
Law. English/Spanish Double Major at Cornell University, 2011.
Future Goals: Undecided.
‘Nirvana’. ‘Witching Hour’. ‘Cosmos’.
How did you get started in modeling with Rocket?
Initially, I intended to do photography for Rocket as an escape from an otherwise creatively lackluster law school environment, but I told Tara, our outstanding booking agent, that I had done some modeling work (nothing serious!) at Cornell and would be around if she needed me. She did, so here I am, on the other side of the camera.
What is special about your relationship with Rocket?
I hate the word special. What does it mean? Even “relationship” is ambig–. Anyway. To avoid a long, linguistically epistemological dissertation, I suppose it’s enough to say that working with Rocket has been incredible as a result of the people who come together to make it happen. For me, it provides a means to connect to the College of William and Mary, meet people I would otherwise never get a chance to meet, all while dealing with something qui me passionne: Fashion.
Describe your daily routine for one day (either weekday or weekend)
This past weekend, I went to Atlanta, GA. Lots of driving, butworth it. Williamsburg is such a nuclear group of people, it’s almost a necessity to get away and see some fresh faces. My last Saturday went something like this: bottomless mimosas at (for) brunch, napped/played touch football at a park, hit a couple boutiques (because, like, *gasp* my closet is SO 2011), went for a run, showered and went out. Came home circa 4 am. I love finding new acquaintances and talking to people who have interests dissimilar to my own, so travel is a must.
Personal preparation before a shoot.
Again, depends on the shoot. Before Nirvana, I did some extra research. Before others, I might glace through Vogue (Italian), various blogs (Style by Kling, Garance Doré) or whatever material Justin (our editor) gives me.