New School students say the pandemic has changed their fashion sense and style. Many students express themselves through their visible clothing, while some say they feel more pressure behind the camera screen, others have a new found sense of freedom. The New School Free Press spoke with students about their pre-pandemic style and the pressures and frustrations that Zoom classes have presented.
Becca Flood
Becca Flood, a third year BA/BFA dual degree student majoring in Writing at Lang and Fashion Design at Parsons, wore a black turtleneck and a “comfortable” velvet blazer while speaking to the Free Press, paired with blue jeans and an assortment of jewelry. Turtlenecks are her go-to Zoom look, Flood says, and she has a wide assortment of colors.
“They have all got my name embroidered on them so I always wear them in the winter [for] the first week of school so that way professors already know my name,” Flood said.
Flood said that her personal style is less focused on the latest fads, saying, “I consider myself more stylish than fashionable because fashion is rooted in trends or focusing on trends. Style is personal and individual.”
Her interest in fashion surfaced in her sophomore year of high school,“ I chose to major in it over fine arts because I like the way you can tell stories with it. There is just a more tangible aspect to fashion with being able to actually physically wear stories.”
At the onset of the pandemic, Flood’s style took a turn when she had to leave her apartment in New York City quickly, leaving her belongings and clothing behind. She stayed at her childhood home in Campbell Hall, New York, where fashion took on a whole new meaning. “All I really had were things I hadn’t worn since high school and things that didn’t fit me,” Flood said. “So it was this weird, kind of trying to make a style I felt comfortable in out of clothing I hadn’t worn in years and didn’t feel like represented me anymore.”
This semester, she returned to New York for a brief period to get a new apartment and brought clothes back to her childhood home, which allowed her to create looks that were more representative of her style.
For Zoom classes, Flood says she is all about layering, which allows her to start classes looking nice and take layers off if she gets hot. “So I guess layering [is] how I have been getting away with being comfy while still looking cute!”
Flood said that while she is comfortable at home and with her “toned-down” Zoom style, she is looking forward to returning to New York City, where she says she feels more expressive with her style. “In the past, I found a million and one ways to wear the same 20 garments and I loved doing it. [But] I don’t think I do that at all anymore,” Flood said. “I don’t think I am as expressive as I [got] to be in the city. That’s why I keep hoping we can go back soon. In the city there is always something to get dressed up for.”
Clare Hackwith
Clare Hackwith, a third-year Strategic Design and Management student at Parsons, said that over the course of the pandemic her style has evolved to incorporate more colorful clothing and funky accessories. “It makes me happy. Just fun things, fun accessories, fun colors,” said Hackwith. “So, now I just say that I wear whatever makes me smile and whatever makes me happy and feel confident.”
Before the pandemic hit, Hackwith said she dressed like a typical New Yorker, in black clothing, dark colors, and leather jackets. But the onset of the pandemic caused her to feel anxious and depressed, and so she turned to colorful clothing and chunky accessories to lift her spirits.
Hackwith currently attends Zoom classes from her home in Los Angeles, California. She described her style for Zoom class as being on the two ends of the style spectrum: just rolled out of bed or fully dressed up. “It’s either I have my hair in a messy bun and I’m wearing no makeup and in my literal pajamas, or a sweatshirt. Or, I’m dressed to what I’d say is my peak style, like I’ll wear full makeup, full accessories, full outfit.”
Over the past year, Hackwith launched her own jewelry company Gem Mi, where she sells vintage, lucite and glass rings from the 1970s and ’80s. On the days where she has the time and motivation to pull together a look for class, Hackwith said that she slips three or more rings onto her fingers. Rings are a new addition to her wardrobe, which she said has changed a lot in the last year. Hackwith also realized that when wearing rings she talks with her hands and participates in class more often.
“I noticed myself, [that] if I’m not dressed up and feeling good and confident, I won’t participate as much. I’ll feel like I don’t want anyone to look at me. I just don’t want to talk,” she said. “But if I get dressed, I notice that I’m talking more. I’m happier in class.”
Jerome Cheung
Jerome Cheung, a first-year Fashion Design student at Parsons, said that he has toned down his signature style during the pandemic. Originally from Hong Kong, Cheung always had a very colorful style, sharing that he even rocked green hair for a while. His vibrant, pre-pandemic style represented his adventurous personality, wearing bright colors like green, orange, and yellow. Currently in Beijing China, Cheung said his style has changed drastically.“ I remember I was at Parsons for summer camp last year and comparing that style to the style I have now, it’s very different. Not for the worse, I think. I like the style I have now; it’s just very different. I wear darker colors.”
Sporting a hat that he frequently wears to his Zoom classes while talking to the Free Press, Cheung said, “It’s cold here but my hair is also messy and I haven’t cut it in a while and I just wear a normal shirt or a hoodie. I just try to wear something that is comfortable, not really colorful.”
Comfort in his own space is very important to Cheung.“ I also feel like we have more space to explore what we actually find comfortable and are actually willing to wear in a place that is very safe to us. Not being somewhere that is being judged by everyone.”
Cheung said his environment strongly affects his emotions, and subsequently his style. “Being in your house with your family, I guess you just wear things that make you feel at home. And that is not necessarily what you wear outside you know. In a way, it is really freeing. It’s things I actually want to wear, what I think looks good, but is also really comfortable.”
Being a Fashion Design major and deeply invested in fashion for the last five years, Cheung’s style has evolved even more during the pandemic. He said that in Beijing he began to shop in thrift stores and local businesses. In regard to his own designs he said, “Before, when I would think about what I want to design, I would just think about how it looks. But now [I think about] how it feels because that is [an] equally or even more important part of the fashion industry.”
On Zoom Cheung feels that there is more focus on discussions and academics as opposed to looks and social dynamics. “Fashion is not something you can really notice, because in class there are so many boxes on the screen. What I notice first on other people, and what I feel like they notice on me, is just the way that we engage in class and talk. We see the academic value in other people instead of what people look like or what they wear,” said Cheung.
Rory Rucker
When Rory Rucker gets ready for Zoom class, her first thought goes to what she is wearing on the top half of her body. On Zoom, one is only visible from the shoulders up, so Rucker puts most of her effort in styling her hair, makeup, jewelry and top. “I typically try to do something with my makeup because that’s the main thing people see,” she said.
Rucker, a former reporter for the Free Press, is a fourth-year Journalism + Design student graduating in May. Rucker said she spends most of her days inside her apartment and that she likes to take advantage of being inside all day so she can dress in clothing more suitable for warm weather, such as skirts, nightgowns and sheer clothing.
Rucker described her style as leaning towards an “ethereal energy” inspired by designs from Reformation. “I really like night gowns and sheer clothing, and sort of like vintage is usually what I like. I mostly shop at thrift stores, which is where I get most of my clothing. I just wear a lot of white,” Rucker said.
“It sort of took me a long time to develop a style, simply because I lived in a small town where a lot of people didn’t really dress very ‘out there.’ So, I sort of wasn’t aware of a lot of different styles,” said Rucker, who grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She transferred to The New School as a second year and immediately enjoyed the freedom of being able to wear whatever she wanted in New York City.
The biggest change to Rucker’s style during the pandemic has been parting ways with her go-to vintage jeans in exchange for comfier sweatpants. Rucker said that jeans used to be a staple in her closet, but now chooses leggings “for the sake of comfort.”
“I used to be so dedicated to every aspect, like the earrings and the makeup and exactly what clothes I wore and the shoes. And now it’s like I have lost a little bit of the desire to care that much about those things, just because I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “It’s sort of hard to justify that much effort when you’re not leaving your house and no one’s really gonna see it.”
Rucker said that she has never worn the pajamas she slept in to Zoom class. Getting up every morning for class has offered her a much needed routine. “It’s the same reason why I tend to do class sitting up at my desk rather than my bed, just because it forces me to actually pay attention and be learning,” Rucker said. “Little things like dressing up makes me feel a little bit more energized and a bit [more] ready to do stuff.”
In Zoom class Rucker can sometimes be spotted wearing sheer, white fingerless gloves encrusted in small pearls, or a Victorian era bonnet, which Rucker described as “amish chic.”
Stay tuned for more Fashion on 5th: Zoom Edition to come this spring.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified one of our interview subjects. They are Becca Flood, not Becca Floyd.