Esterah Brown

“Beauty has no skin tone.” “My culture is not your costume.” “Eliminate girl hate.”

Every second, a garbage truck’s worth of textiles is landfilled or burned.

It is no secret that the film industry is a historically male-dominated field. However, decades of efforts by filmmakers of all genders, working in all genres, have led to incredible strides in representation across the industry.

Visual and written works of art provide a unique platform for people to express their political, religious, and racial identities. Visual artist Mickalene Thomas and author Darnell Moore do not shy away from making the intricacies of their own identities a central part of their work.

The fashion industry is notorious for its high barriers to entry, and disadvantaged communities often lack access to knowledge of its inner workings. Christian Cruz Godoy, SEAS ’20, has taken on this issue by founding his own label, Uni-ke. Uni-ke aims to bridge the gap between low-income communities and the fashion industry by providing a creative platform for low-income youth to convey their artistic visions.

“Posing Modernity,” the newest exhibition in Columbia’s Wallach Art Gallery, breaks away from curatorial tradition by transcending the artistic norms of gender, sexuality, and race.

The Columbia University Fashion Society hosted its first major event of the year on Oct. 4, bringing in excited students to engage in a conversation with Marika Wagle, a merchandising and brand strategy consultant at MJW Consulting.