New Fashion Magazine Debuting Spring 2021

Photo courtesy of Meredith College

In Spring 2021, Meredith College will add a new fashion magazine, STUDIO 238, to its list of campus publications. Created and led by Tyler Pharr, ‘21, STUDIO 238 will center around how the fashion art form is connected to social movements, environmental sustainability, consumerism, intersectional identities, youth culture, activism and innovation. Fashion encompasses many disciplines, like art, business, psychology, environmental sustainability, sociology, communication and more; students of all majors are encouraged to submit their work to STUDIO 238. The magazine will be a yearly publication containing photography, art, writing and other projects related to fashion and is accepting submissions from now until the end of February 2021. Students can send their submissions to mhstudio238@gmail.com.

The name of the magazine, STUDIO 238, holds significance for fashion students at Meredith College, as they spend lots of time working in the studio located in Martin Hall’s room 238. This fashion magazine will be the first publication of its kind at Meredith. Not only will it be a magazine focused on the importance of fashion in culture, but it will also give students of all disciplines a medium that showcases their work related to fashion.

Tyler Pharr is a fashion merchandising major minoring in professional writing and presentation media, who, after completing an internship at Entity Magazine, realized her passion for fashion writing and publication. Pharr started working on the layout, ideas and concept for STUDIO 238 in Spring 2020; however, the magazine’s premier was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the magazine could not debut last spring, Pharr has used this as an opportunity to perfect the details. With a strong belief in the magazine’s importance, Pharr reached out to multiple faculty members to learn more about starting a campus publication and used their responses to improve the magazine.

Pharr’s experiences as a Black female creator bring an important perspective to the magazine. This has helped her create an emphasis on the designs of women of color and those who come from groups that are marginalized or silenced in society. STUDIO 238 was created to give a voice to the misunderstood, the misfits and the misrepresented.

Another purpose of STUDIO 238 is to show how fashion is not simply about clothes; it is, as Pharr puts it, “the zeitgeist in threads.” Fashion is, quite literally, weaved into the fabric of our society. Many popular fashion magazines, such as Vogue and Cosmopolitan, have recently been highlighting the importance of fashion brands’ transparency, ethical fashion and activism and communication and branding through fashion. For the Spring 2021 issue of STUDIO 238, the themes are major cultural issues and changes that have taken place since March 2020 and how the fashion industry has responded. Also included is the evolution of verbal and nonverbal communication in Western culture.

Be sure to support Meredith’s newest campus publication in the spring when it debuts, and consider submitting fashion-related projects to STUDIO 238 by the end of February.

By Mia Shelton, Staff Writer