Meet the FSU students who are creating movements through fashion
They’re a talented bunch
We are a generation that lives freely and creatively. We want to be heard and make positive waves throughout our community. Three brands created by FSU students promote positivity and living life unapologetically.
The Tab decided to sit down with Above All: Movement, Buds Clothing, and Hooligans to learn more about their movements and ideologies.
Above All: Movement
The Above All: Movement is the newest movement based apparel line calling students to take action in their own lives. Gillian Newman is a senior who double majors in studio art and advertising.
The Above All: stemmed from Gillian’s own experimental movement her freshman year. Transitioning from a small high school where everyone knows your name, to a University that has thousands of students is overwhelming. It is easy to feel like your voice is being lost in the crowd.
Gillian wanted to reclaim her voice and creativity with “an experimental movement. I posted hundreds of posters that said ‘Above All: ____’ all over campus and watched as people filled them in with what was most important to them. ”
The experience was empowering and encouraged her to move her idea from a social movement to apparel company. The Above All: Movement is much more than apparel, though, “it is about the artist wearing it.” All of the models of the clothing are activists and artists. Their work is featured on the website, so customers can learn about their work and contact them and support their art/ideas.
She hopes this will create a network of artists and activist that can reach people throughout the world.
The Above All: Movement wants college students and young adults to take advantage of their full potential. That means leaving behind the expectations of society and living up to your own standards. Gillian creates the designs for the t-shirts from her experiences, and she believes that’s what makes them so authentic.
This resonates with the t-shirt designs, especially with her favorite design that says on the front “Start F*cking Around” and on the back “Stop F*king Around” these opposite statements sum up our experiences as young adults. It “represents our natural human need to adventure, and I believe that it recognizes the fact that youth can be intimidating, but it’s okay to make mistakes and “f*ck around” until you find the answer.”
The movement will hopefully be a place where artists can connect and help each other grow professionally and creatively. Being able to get in touch what makes you the happiest is what she strives to do with the company. Right now she is working on community outreach and is open to any artists wanting to submit designs. Above All: do what you’re passionate about.
Check out her Instagram and website and email [email protected].
Buds Clothing
Buds Clothing was created by freshman Mike Lazarus his senior year of high school. The idea for the brand evolved from his work doing freelance digital design jobs. He designed t-shirts for his youth group functions. The feeling of seeing people wearing his design sparked his interest in creating t-shirts.
One night, Mike sat down and tried to figure out how to put his passion for design into a brand, and that is when the whole Buddha idea clicked.
The ideology for Buds came from Mike’s own experiences switching schools throughout high school. He said: “Buds was mine and I could go off and work on it. It was there for me when I needed it,” and he hopes Buds will be there for others as well. He wants Buds to he a reminder that life is what you make of it. He wants the Buds community to be able “to grab their Buds t-shirt or bracelet and wear as a way to give them luck.”
This idea really struck out to me. I frequently wear certain necklaces and bracelets when I take exams at school because they bring comfort and help me get through stressful times. Mike is trying to create a community that helps people better themselves, which gives meaning behind his apparel.
We talked a lot about the importance of doing what you’re most passionate about. For Mike, he is considering switching his business major to art and focus on digital design. By studying design in college, he hopes to learn and grow more as an artist. I myself have had the struggle with deciding between a major that is “safe” and a major that is something that I love.
This conversation really resonates with what Buds is all about. Mike wants people to be “the best you, you can be,” which is an important ideology to have. Buds truly is a lifestyle brand and gives an important message. In college, we are confronted with life-changing decisions, and we sometimes forget that we need to make the decision that will make us the happiest. Sometimes making the best decision for ourselves isn’t always the easiest.
Check out Buds Instagram and website.
Hooligans
I also sat down with Jack Shelgren a co-founder of Hooligans Movement LLC. He runs the business along with his fellow hooligans Indigo Hansen, Myles Blatt, and Will Jones. These four students all met because they are a part of a selective entrepreneurship program admitting only 40 sophomores. Jack recounted, after watching each other give their opening introduction speeches the first day of class, they all saw they had a similar positive energy. The group members wanted to promote this vibe and create a brand that started a movement. With the help of Dr. Dever, the resident entrepreneur on campus, they founded Hooligans.
Jack stated: “We are all Hooligans. We aren’t rebels without a cause, we are rebels with a cause.” This idea of living life and taking risks is what Hooligans is all about. He says, “a lot of rules refine humanity,” and if they have to break a few rules along the way, that’s fine.
The Hooligans movement encourages people to embrace who they are and strive for happiness. This is a great message, and a lot of students around campus think so too. They have had $15,000 worth of sales since October 2015. Hooligans donate 5% of their profits to the Mockingbird Foundation.
He talked about his experiences with the growth of the company, and the most surreal moments he has had so far. Being able to meet strangers who have connected with their message, and say they like what the Hooligans are doing make all of the work worth it.
Being able to see people wear their shirts is fulfilling and helps them keep going. Even chance encounters, like this interview, are rewarding for the Hooligans. Jack told me if he never started Hooligans with Myles, Indigo, and Will, he wouldn’t be speaking to me now.
The message behind the brand is taking campus by storm, and why wouldn’t it? Being young is about making mistakes and learning how to become your own person. Life can be a mixture of work and play. We have so much power, and more people should be less afraid to take it.