Hello. My name is Madison Merz and I am currently a senior at Kent State University majoring in fashion merchandising with a minor in fashion media. Being that my minor specializes in editorial media, I am extremely excited to begin my journey with CollegeFashionista.
Growing up as a child, I was like any other typical kid. I played outside most of the time and usually found my outfits covered head to toe in dirt or juices. Unlike many others, my interest in fashion was a slow process. I always loved getting dressed up for special occasions, but fashion really didn’t hit home for me until middle school. At that time, we had just recently moved away from the beautiful beaches of Jacksonville, Florida to the cornfields of a small town in Ohio. With the new adjustment of moving to a new location, I started taking in all the different cultural trends that eventually led to me noticing what others at school were wearing.
I started picking up on street trends and began noticing the diversity of style at my school. It intrigued me, and I soon became fascinated with the simple question of, “Why do people dress the way they do?” This simple question is what started my own journey of discovering my own fashion. I started staring at my closet for hours on end trying to figure out my outfits the night before school. Flipping through Seventeen and other magazines soon became a daily occurrence for me. I was always looking for the newest and latest fashion trends to test out. In high school, my passion for the industry only progressed, and my style was constantly changing. It was around my junior year of high school that I knew I wanted to pursue fashion as a career. However, pursuing a fashion merchandising degree was unheard of in my small town community. In fact, it was actually frowned upon. Most people didn’t understand it, and they saw it as a small dream that would have no success. However, I learned to channel that negativity into motivation.
When I graduated high school, I went into Kent State with something to prove. I got heavily involved with the Fashion Student Organization, and I became a student ambassador for the fashion school. My ambition only skyrocketed, and I went to New York City for seven months were I was able to obtain two paid internships. Now, thanks to CollegeFashionista, I have something else I can proudly say I am involved in.
Over the years, I have learned that innovation, originality and diversity are all key elements of not just fashion but life as well. I have learned that through personal style, people can voice who they are as individuals without speaking, and that is truly the power of fashion.
