This Campus Celebrity does it all—not only is she the Director of Marketing for Penn Fashion Week, she is also the face of it. Her Campus sat down to talk to Grace about her involvement with PFW and to learn more about her fashion fetish.
Name: Grace Guan
Year: 2015 (Junior)
Hometown: Irvine, CA
Favorite Brands: Currently obsessed with Zara and desperately missing Primark (a British Forever 21-esque store with even better prices and style selection to choose from, shocking I know)
Favorite Online Store: Recently ordered from Nasty Gal, ASOS & Zara; the “free return shipping” deal always gets me
Personal Style: After spending my past semester abroad in London during the fall, I’ve found that my personal style is going through a major transition—I used to love that “hipster”, southern California vibe that’s slightly Brandy Melville-obsessed, but now I find myself drawn to a lot of monochromatic colors (aka lots of black and white, with guest appearances featuring grey and camel) with more modern cuts and designs. I’m also totally obsessed with crop tops, it’s such a trend but I can’t help it!
Her Campus: What are you involved with on campus?
Grace Guan: I’m Director of Marketing for Penn Fashion Week (which is happening RIGHT NOW and has been my life for the past few months so check it out!), VP External for the Collective (previously known as D2S), I love being a part of Greek Intervarsity, and I’m also in Chi Omega.
HC: When did you first fall in love with fashion?
GG: I can’t say there was a distinct moment where I “fell in love” with it, but I think the first time I realized that there was more to fashion than just shopping and getting dressed up was when I was a sophomore in high school and decided that I wanted to create a fashion, arts & culture magazine. Everything about that process was a huge learning experience, but I absolutely loved it and realized that it was the first time I actually did something completely out of my own interest and motivation. It’s something that has completely spilled over into my college experience and potential career plans now, especially now that I’m going to be part of the Buying Executive Development internship program at Bloomingdale’s this summer in Manhattan!
HC: What inspires your style?
GG: Tumblr (I’ve gotten really into reblogging things to my own page that just appeal to my personal aesthetic); YouTube style “gurus” like SunBeamsJess, Claire Marshall, BeautyCrush, and more; and definitely inspired by my current environment/location—from exploring Europe to readjusting to Philly while maintaining my Californian roots.
HC: When did you begin modeling?
GG: I wouldn’t consider anything that I’ve done legitimate “modeling”, but probably the first time was when I was a freshman in high school and an upperclassman in one of my classes asked if I wanted to be in a photo project? Haha, it’s always been amateur posing for friends mainly; the first time I ever walked in anything was my first semester at Penn for the fall D2S fashion show!
HC: What part of Penn Fashion Week are you most excited for?
GG: I’m excited for EVERYTHING! This week has been in the works since last October, when I was still in London (which feels like absolute ages ago), so it’s almost unreal that everything is finally happening. But if I had to choose one, I would highly suggest the Barneys NY keynote speaker panelist event—Richard Perry is both an alum and a huge name in the fashion industry now that Perry Corp. owns Barneys, and we’re so excited to be hosting the current CEO and COO of Barneys as well!
To learn more about Penn Fashion Week, be sure to check out the Her Campus guide!