Square Spotlight: Inside the UM Fashion Panel
Square Spotlight: Inside the UM Fashion Panel
By Emma Williams — February 10, 2025
The University of Mississippi is buzzing about UM Fashion Panel and what it will provide for the campus.
Article cover image from @umfashionpanel on Instagram.
President Amelia Sweeney and Vice President Gracie Brooke — sophomores majoring in IMC — wanted an outlet where they could express their love and appreciation for fashion. Their IMC professor, Mark Dolan, mentioned his interest in creating a fashion show and Sweeney reached out.
“We can make it happen,” Professor Dolan said.
Sweeney and Brooke met through TikTok in the summer of 2024 and reconnected when they shared Dolan’s class last fall.
“It was kind of just like an unspoken thing that she was in,” Sweeney said regarding sharing the idea with Brooke.
After a meeting with their professor, the ball was rolling. In a matter of three weeks, the duo had come up with their name, logo, and goal. Their vision was to create a space made up of and run by students to showcase students’ unique styles. Their main goal is to have a fashion show this spring that puts this vision on display.
The sophomores got the ball rolling through word-of-mouth, announcing their plans to their sororities and utilizing their social media platforms. They were able to accumulate a large community on the Ole Miss campus by using the messaging app GroupMe.
Last fall, applications opened up for five committees for those who wanted to be more involved in the club’s vision and the spring show. Fashion enthusiasts could apply for exec, fashion show, stylistic choice, social media, and outreach & relations. 90 members were eventually elected and placed into the committee of their preference. People who join the UM Fashion Panel can submit their own photos to be featured on the organization’s Instagram.
“It’s so inspiring because they’re so excited,” Brooke said about their members.
Sweeney and Brooke’s hope for the UM Fashion Panel after they graduate is for the fashion show to be an annual event.
“I don't think it’s ever going to go away. People will never get bored with fashion,” Brooke said about the future of the club.
The drive and excitement the two have towards the club is contagious and shows promise for the fashion panel. One thing the two have learned since starting this club is that there are no rules in fashion.
“Everyone has their own style and there is no right or wrong,” Brooke said.
If you want to get involved in the UM Fashion Panel, follow their instagram @umfashionpanel and join their GroupMe through the link tree in their bio.
Photos provided by UM Fashion Panel.
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