Emmanuelle Alt (in) After Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti FW 2011
P.S. Taken by the photo director of Hoot. I can’t stop being impressed by my fellow students.
Time to cram for midterms. Also, I am making it a rule to not go back and look over the entire issue again, now that I’ve already sent it to the printers. When you love something so much that you want it to be perfect, you end up driving yourself crazy.
And I need my sanity for midterms this week.
The Eye, the Columbia Daily Spectator’s weekly features and arts magazine, celebrates its 100th issue today — and in celebration, they decided to ask various figures around campus about the state of journalism at Columbia University. They asked me to contribute a piece, and they were also awesome enough to include an embarrassing illustration of myself (see above). Thank you, Helen and Devin!
Anyway, I really loved reading what all the other campus journalists had to say. Makes me love my school even more. Happy 100th!
College Catwalk: Hoot Magazine and the print debut of Columbia’s fashion scene
by Noel Duan, CC ‘13, co-founder and editor in chief of Hoot, founder of Miss Couturable, style blogMiss Couturable arguably represented the future of fashion writing: A high school student starts a blog and generates a worldwide following. So why did you start a Columbia-specific fashion magazine catering to a more limited audience?
I started fashion blogging in high school, since no one at my Silicon Valley high school was as serious about fashion as I was, and I wanted to connect with fashion enthusiasts around the world who shared my undying love for the sartorial. It was great—I made friends and connections with people who worked in the fashion industry or who just loved art and fashion, which would not have happened without the Internet.
However, when I arrived at Columbia in my first year, I started to meet a lot of students who, like me, read fashion magazines as frequently as, or maybe more frequently than, they read Lit Hum books. I realized that I didn’t need to write a fashion blog in order to engage with fashion-savvy individuals anymore—they were right on campus with me.
I mean, sure, Hoot serves a “limited” audience, but a powerful one, nonetheless. After doing some research, I found out that Columbia alumnae in the fashion industry include Cecilia Dean, BC ’91, founder and editor of Visionaire magazine, to Kelly Killoren Bensimon, GS ’98, former editor of ELLE Accessories magazine, to Cameron Russell GS ’10, model and entrepreneur, to Tina Chai, another CC alum and freelance stylist for brands such as Thakoon. Hoot co-founder and Beauty and Health Director, Jina Lim, and I wanted to bring the fashion community of our school together—and what better way to do this than to work on a collective project such as a fashion publication?
A lot of other colleges and universities, like UC Berkeley and Northwestern, have established fashion magazines, so it only makes sense that Columbia should have one too. Hoot is unique because of the resources that New York City offers; we work with and learn from experienced professionals, book celebrities for our photo shoots, and borrow clothing samples from the same showrooms as major fashion magazines. Hoot educates students about the nuances of fashion publishing, from learning how to properly steam designer clothes at photo shoots, to interviewing fashion designers, to dealing with demanding public relations officers—that’s something that not many campus publications can offer.
That said, I’m always going to love blogging, but blogging is more personal to me. Hoot is a collaborative project for Columbia, by Columbia.
Also this makes me even more excited for Hoot’s Fall 2010 issue, launching in just a few more days.
Gisele Bündchen; FNO: The Show (via BONAE’S BLOG)
Taken by Hoot Photo Director, Damian Tran.
For a young man/student who takes photos of models on a regular basis, he talks about inner beauty a lot.
But, I can see why. Youth is ephemeral, but a beautiful smile never fades.
Hoot’s Fall 2010 issue, starring Tinsley Mortimer, launches in two weeks, and this is just one example of how talented our staff members are. Columbia University students can do more than read books.
Thank you so much, everyone! With 60 hours to go, we’ve made it past our $2,000 goal — we’re at $2,050 right now! Please continue to pledge if you haven’t yet. The smallest amount earns our eternal love and gratitude (especially mine, because I am probably still going to have to pay out of my own pocket to cover all the expenses).
Hoot is only $253 away from its $2000 goal! We only have six days left. The smallest pledge will make a huge difference for us. Please help us out :). Thank you so much!
Hoot’s Kickstarter campaign to help fund its Fall 2010 issue is 57% funded! We have 22 days left to reach our goal of $2000. Please help us out, and thank you so much to everyone who already has!
Something happened today (or actually, didn’t happen today) that makes raising funds for Hoot so much harder. I noshed on wasabi peas, searched up alternative solutions, and finally let someone know my frustrations with her dealings with the past year. It sucked away my energy because I do not like confrontation. I avoided it all year, until it finally put Hoot in jeopardy.
I cannot say this enough, but I really appreciate every single person in Hoot. Producing a college fashion magazine is harder than producing a simple black-and-white publication — or at least more complex. We have to pay for car service for our professionals. We have to pay for catering at photoshoots. We have to be responsible for expensive clothes and accessories borrowed from showrooms. We have to print in four-color all-glossy paper, which is costly. We have to find photographers, stylists, artists, writers, editors, publishers, and many others. It’s not enough to have a good piece of writing and a nice photo. Fashion is a demanding industry, and we’re doing our best on a college budget and as full-time students.
Hootettes are really hardworking and talented, and I consider myself very lucky to be working with a group of fellow college students like them. They inspire me to try harder.
Which is why I am urgently calling for pledges to reach our $2000 bare minimum goal on Kickstarter. $2000 doesn’t cover even half of our expenses for Fall 2010 — but it’s a start. Once Kickstarter takes 5%, we’ll only have $1900 left anyways. We really need $5000 to cover everything like we planned.
So, I don’t like to beg. I don’t know if this counts as begging, but I do want you to know that it really means a lot to us when you Tweet about us, blog about us, or pledge some money for us. Thank you so much for helping us out! It brings tears to my eyes, as silly as this sounds, because we work really hard. And with the circumstances found out today, it’s going to be a lot harder for Hoot to realize its full potential for the Fall 2010 issue without the proper funds. Our cover shoot with Tinsley Mortimer was yesterday, and it was a great success. We haven’t even started school and we’re hustling.
Hm yes, thank you so much, everyone. It’s funny how creative endeavors must often intersect with business endeavors.
So, five days into the Kickstarter fundraising campaign and we’ve already raised $535 — that’s 27% of our goal! Thank you so much to everyone who reblogged, pledged money, and asked friends and family. $10 — or even $1 — goes a LONG way. We have 27 days left to make this happen.
If you haven’t pledged money yet, won’t you please help support the artistic, entrepreneurial, and journalistic efforts of students? In the words of my Style Director, “I just paid for car service and it wasn’t for myself.” It adds up.
Bought every single book I need for this semester. Bought my book bag. Ordered the black and white Afrika print miniskirt from American Apparel for free. Bought a new bright yellow peacoat for autumn — opted for the classic J.Crew coat instead of the slouchy Marc by Marc Jacobs coat. Packed one giant suitcase full of clothes so far. Two more suitcases to go. Launched the Kickstarter project to raise some funds for Hoot’s Fall 2010 issue. Only 1.5 days into it and we’ve raised $405 so far. Became amazed at the generosity of teachers, former classmates, family friends, friends, friends of friends, absolute strangers. Became amazed at the talent, drive, and creativity of Hootettes all over again.
Basically, have been amazed by people all summer. Hoping this will continue throughout the school year.
In spite of the creative talent and ambition that Hootettes have, Hoot is also broke. Producing a glossy color fashion magazine is expensive, after all — in addition to thousands of dollars in printing, we occasionally have to pay for catering for our celebrity photoshoots, car service for our professionals, entrance to important fashion events, and/or other expenses. We have to be professional on a college student budget. That adds up for a publication that’s less than one year old (then again, babies are time and money, eh?).
To help us fund our Fall 2010 issue, starring Tinsley Mortimer, we’re seeking some help from you. We’ve launched our first-ever project with Kickstarter, which is an online funding platform for creative projects! Perfect for us, hm? Kickstarter is great for you because the project is only funded if we reach our goal of $2,000 by September 22nd, 2010 (that is, when you pledge a certain amount of money, you won’t be charged unless we actually reach our goal), and because you get awesome rewards in return for pledging money to us. You can donate $1 to us and still receive a token of eternal gratitude from us.
Click here to visit our Kickstarter project page. The rewards you will receive are on the sidebar at the right, but here are just some of our most interesting thank you gifts for helping us out:
Please also feel free to forward our page to your friends and family!
Love,
The Hootettes
(via blog.hootmag.org)
P.S. Good friends, can you please reblog for me?
Hoot is my passion project. It is Columbia University’s only fashion magazine. I started it with my friend Jina, and it grew to include amazingly talented friends like Sharon. For the past few days, I have been working endlessly on Hoot’s Fall 2010 issue. There is a lot to be done by mid-October.
Hoot is like a needy boyfriend. When I leave it alone for a week, I come back to a mountain of emails — both on my personal account and my business account. If I neglect it, our relationship will crumble. If I smother it, I won’t have time or energy for the other things in my life.
Hoot has given me criticism. Hoot has given me ridicule. Hoot has given me praise and support. Hoot has given me some of the most dapper friends in the world. Hoot has allowed me to meet and work with some of the most extraordinary and interesting people that you may not know about. Hoot has given me inspiration. Hoot has taught me about humility, about being thick-skinned, and about listening to others.
Hoot has also taken away my sleep.
However, whenever I get another eager email from an incoming freshman about getting involved with Hoot, I smile. I was that eager freshman last year, zealously wanting to bring fashion to Columbia.
And Hoot will succeed, because it is driven by genuine people who crave sartorial revolution. We’re not the most popular or the richest publication on campus, but I can guarantee you that we’re full of some of the most talented and passionate. We are the only college fashion publication that features exclusive interviews and photoshoots with celebrities. And yes, while celebrity intermixing with fashion is controversial, one cannot deny the marketing attention that it attains. We are one of few college fashion publications which borrow samples from the same showrooms as Vogue or ELLE. We came together from scratch, from endless meetings in Ferris Booth Lounge and endless hours spent sending emails. We are contortionists, ex-debutantes, future dermatologists, 4.0 GPA students, part-time interns, Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalists, and so much more.
Much love to everyone in Hoot.
Kids, childhood dreams do come true.
Did I ever mention that I used to have the biggest crush on Shawn Hunter, played by Rider Strong, on Boy Meets World? No? Okay, good. No one knew I swooned with as much emotional intensity as possible for a 9-year-old, when Shawn Hunter flipped his hair. Uh-huh, yeah—don’t lie, you did too.
Well, today I flew to Los Angeles for the sole purpose of styling and interviewing Rider, a Columbia University graduate (magna cum laude in English—impressive, eh?), for the cover of Hoot’s (Columbia University’s new fashion magazine, which Jina and I founded together) Winter 2010/2011 Bicoastal issue. The photographer was his brother, Shiloh Strong, and the hair stylist and make-up artist were Mandi Aparicio and Christa McCarthy, respectively. I was assisted by freelance writer-extraordinaire (hire her!), Elaine Low. A very talented—and generous—crew, I might add. Must be that sunny California weather that makes us Californians so friendly and open.
You’ll have to read the issue when it comes out in January to see the actual photos and the exclusive interview (I was so happy when I got to ask him why Shawn Hunter flipped his hair), of course. I have very high regards for Rider—and not just because he flips his hair so well.
While I didn’t get to see Jina because of the terrible traffic in Los Angeles, I did get to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her via BlackBerry Messenger. I did a lot of things I love today: fashion styling (first men’s shoot ever!), interviewing interesting people, meeting new people, talking to old friends, and traveling.
This summer is turning out well.
And so, if I could write a message to 9-year-old Noel, I’d say:
Dear younger me (you worrywart, you),
Even though you will never become a prima ballerina and your “fairy dust”-making business won’t take off, you will be doing the things you love, surrounded by the people you love. You won’t know where you will end up in life—but don’t worry, it doesn’t matter as long as you love what you’re doing.
Tough love,
You, 10 years older and only 3 inches taller
P.S. Keep watching Boy Meets World, even though Mommy says it’s bad for you. It will come in handy. I promise.
