The spirited and fearless, Alexandra Hehlen from Los Alamos, New Mexico, is no ordinary college sophomore. As a journalism major, reporting specialization, with a business minor, she has already created and built a fashion and lifestyle magazine called Coulture Magazine here at UNC-Chapel Hill. This fashionista is challenging the fashion industry’s norms. The magazine promotes diversity, encourages a healthy body image and directs an open-minded outlook towards fashion.
What is your favorite thing about UNC-Chapel Hill?
AH– I really like how there’s so much discussion at UNC-Chapel Hill, and how people aren’t really afraid to say what they think. As a journalism major, we are always learning about the importance of the First Amendment. I think we have a long way to go at UNC-Chapel Hill and also in the rest of the country. I really value the broad range of voices here.
What made you want to start your own magazine?
AH– It all started when I was in high school. I was always into fashion. My mom would dress me up when I was little, and when I became old enough to dress myself that just became something I really enjoyed doing. Even on the daily, I was always wearing something quirky. When I got into high school, I discovered that I really liked to write. I joined this teen staff that wrote for a page in my local newspaper called the “Teen Pulse” page. I sent an email to the editor of the page asking her if I could write about fashion. I pushed and pushed and finally they allowed me to write something. I wrote about “mom jeans,” and they loved it. It got published and the community loved it. That kind of turned into a fashion column that I wrote every week. When I came to UNC-Chapel Hill, my column had to end. By my second semester at UNC-Chapel Hill, I felt creatively stifled because I wasn’t participating in many creative activities. I started thinking about how there was no fashion magazine on campus, and I really wanted an outlet where I could do fashion in many different ways. At the end of my second semester, I got together with some people, created an application and opened it up through the whole summer. We had about 60 people apply over the summer, and it just went up from there. Our first issue just got delivered Thursday.
How is Coulture different from other fashion magazines?
AH– We are different because we challenge beauty standards, and we encourage our readers to embrace their positive features rather than feel like they have to live up to some unrealistic standard. Right now in the fashion industry, girls and guys alike, especially college students, are bombarded constantly by images on social media and magazines about the perfect body image, and they feel that is the way they should look. That is just not true because these photos are so unrealistic. I think having a platform where we can use fashion to empower people and make them feel encouraged and positive about who they are is really important. Hopefully our readers not only feel empowered by the content we put out, but also that they are really excited to see their friends modeling and writing. It becomes very relatable.
How many people do you have on staff?
AH– If you count the whole crew including me, the deputy editor-in-chief, all the models, the photographers, the writers and the financial people, it’s 90 people. But, we have organized it so that I don’t have to micromanage everybody. We have a team of very capable people who are in charge of their various departments. It’s still a lot of work for me and Remington Remmel to manage everything. Especially the first issue, you are not only figuring out what content to put in, but you are also figuring out how we are going to brand ourselves, what is our marketing strategy, how are we going to make a consistent image of Coulture across all of our social media channels, how are we going to get money, and where can we find the support. Even after all the content was done in September, we were still working tirelessly to make sure that our message was consistent. I am there at every stage of the process.
Where will the magazines be distributed?
AH- On Monday Nov. 16, they will be in the Undergraduate Library, Fedora, Carolina Coffeeshop, Ackland Museum Store and Crepe Traditions. By Nov. 20, the issue should also be in Davis Library, Carroll Hall and possibly Graham Memorial and Hanes Art Center.
What are your hopes for the magazine?
AH– I want to make it bigger and better always. I love the design and the content this year, but I think we have so much more to grow. I want to train our staff better so that they know what kind of standards we hold when writing a piece. I kind of just gave them free rein this time. But, next semester I want to put in place guidelines for how magazine writing should sound especially for a fashion magazine. We want more photoshoots because we love the photoshoots and the models love it. Also, we want to diversify the content more with more pages, and expanding infrastructure-wise is really important for us.
What are your plans after college?
AH– I would love to work for Vogue or Teen Vogue. But I am definitely not set on that. I would also love to start my own clothing company. I think a lot about how to be different and what is needed for women. The thing I think most about in college and in my studies is how you can empower women with fashion. My internship this summer, which is featured in the magazine, is about dressing women to the point where they feel so confident that they feel like they can do anything. One pair of shoes, a bag or a scarf can make all the difference. Seeing that first hand really made me think about using fashion in a positive way. There are many avenues, but I think I am definitely set on something fashion related.
Alexandra is one Tar Heel to look out for. Maybe one day, we will even see her own clothing line in Teen Vogue magazine or working behind the scenes at New York’s Fashion Week. One thing is for sure, the fashion world better get ready for her.