Name: Sierra Mayhew
Hometown: I grew up in Birmingham, MI and I live in New York City, NY over the summers
Graduation Year: 2019
Dorm: Welsh Family Hall
Tell us a little about Fashion Club and why you started it:
I started fashion club with my friend Caroline Forlenza! I knew I wanted to work in fashion freshman year and I immediately looked to find out where I could get involved on campus. I was extremely disappointed when I did not find anything and I felt alone in my desire to pursue my career. When I slowly started meeting other people with the same interest (like Caroline who had the same problem), I thought about how cool it would be to find a place to get all of these people together. Thus giving birth to the newborn baby that is FCND. So basically what we do in fashion club is we have a conversation about what is going on in the fashion industry. We talk about things as simple as fashion trends and as complex as racism and the fashion industry. There is so much more to fashion than the superficial and we want to make sure we take it deeper than that.
Do you want to pursue fashion as a career? If so, where could you see yourself in 10 years?
Yes! It’s literally all I can think about some days. It’s ironic because I used to really want to be a sports journalist. I thought I would be in the magazine side of the industry but now that I know all that there is out there, I am overwhelmed by the possibilities! I have always been the entrepreneur type so I want to monetize and expand my own website like the one I have right now (styleintheway.com). I also might want to start a boutique or a brand…I just know I want to start something and I will be the boss of it! I want to put out an album too, so hopefully I will have done that by then too.
What internship experiences have you had so far related to fashion?
I am so fortunate to have interned at Elle Magazine so early! Thanks to that experience and my previous experience interning at Fox News I was able to get an internship at 3.1 Phillip Lim this summer in the Public Relations department.
Whenever I ask someone for advice going into the fashion industry they say “intern as much as possible.” Literally every time. For that reason, interning is the most important thing to me. I learned so many valuable life lessons and met some great mentors. I intend to have 5 or 6 internships on my transcript by graduation. I can’t stop thinking about my competition for the jobs I want right out of college. It sometimes keeps me up at night thinking, “What are they doing right now that might make them better than me on paper?” I know there will always be someone with a better resume than mine, but I would like to keep that number as small as possible.
Who is your ultimate style icon and why?
Right now, it’s Camille Rowe but it is really always changing.
What other activities are you involved in on campus?
I just finished helping the Black Cultural Arts Council put on their annual fashion show which I really enjoyed. I also work in the Athletics Communications Office so I get to help out with all kinds of sports journalism things.
Describe yourself in 3 words:
Ambitious, Talkative, Confident
Favorite Movie:
American Beauty or Blue Velvet
Favorite fashion trend of the moment:
Red!
New York or Los Angeles?
New York is the best!! You don’t have to drive, pay for a car or wait in traffic. Most fashion designers in the US are based in NYC so it’s the practical choice.
Girly or Edgy?
Edgy
Most influential person in your life:
Myself! That answer might sound extremely egotistical but I always think about “future me” (the one who is running her own fashion business) and look up to that invisible image of what I want to be. One of my goals is to be individual and to be able to bring something new to the table. By looking up to myself, I can keep myself from being the next “Gigi Hadid” or “Chiara Ferragni.” I would rather be the FIRST “Sierra Mayhew.” I hope that makes sense.
And finally… if you could walk in any runway show, which would it be and why?
Although it is not my favorite designer, Phillip Plein. They did a technology themed show where the models were on a conveyor belt and their outfits were put on them by robots. Sign me up for that! You don’t even have to walk.
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All images courtesy of Sierra Mayhew.