by Ilyssa Weiner

Oswego, NY- Fashion at Oswego’s first ever Fashion Week kicked off on Apr. 1.

Imani Cruz created Fashion at Oswego in 2014 after realizing there weren’t any fashion organizations on campus. She was influenced by designers in New York City and Paris.

“I kinda took it upon myself to think ‘You know what? It’d be cool if like we went around campus and took photos of people that were dressed really nice,” she said.

“The week is all about taking pride in how you appear and your appearance,” she said. “By creating Oz Fashion Week, we could light up some fire under students to dress nice just for one week.”

The week started with a pop up shop showcasing outfits created by up-and-coming designers from places such as Syracuse and Ithaca.

Rashaad Holley, a grad student at Buffalo State, is the creator of “Vingt Cinq Rashaad” and one of the designers at the pop up shop. His brand comes from a song lyric about not living past 25 years old.

“I take that and revert it into a positive direction and give people like myself inspiration to ascend as opposed to look at a ceiling and be limited,” Holley said.  

With the success of the pop up shop, Cruz is very positive about Fashion at Oswego’s future.