Fashion students stress the importance of diversity in the design industry and how it’s represented by the number one fashion design and merchandising school in the Midwest.

“It sometimes feels like it’s about meeting a quota, and not focused on actual diversity or the right things,” Rileyanna Karić, junior fashion merchandising major and president of Modista Fashion Group, said.

Karić said diversity is about much more than feeling accepted. It’s about a person seeing themself in others, in their peers, in their professors and in the work they’re doing.

“Nowadays, it is harder for younger generations of fashion designers to be creative and break molds,” Nadia Boone, senior fashion design major said. “The industry is usually searching for a specific look.”

Diversity in fashion is based on many factors, said Boone. It’s about being creative and sharing that with others through art, wearable and not.

Boone mentioned Black designers Dapper Dan and Patrick Kelly, and how they flourished in the fashion field by being different. Dapper Dan took old Gucci fabrics and turned them into completely new, one-of-a-kind pieces. Patrick Kelly used his creativity and individuality to demand he be seen and accepted by his competitors.

“Diversity is about including others and teaching them about your culture, while also learning about theirs,” Karić said. “It’s about not feeling alone, feeling accepted and pushed to be the best versions of ourselves.”

Ryan Bowles is a reporter. Contact him at rbowles@kent.edu.