Meet Our Vice President.
@mackenziejanee
Often behind the camera, our Vice President Shagun has an interesting perspective on Fashion Society as someone who’s been involved for multiple years now. I feel lucky to have been able to meet her somewhere she felt comfortable in Edinburgh to chat with her. With Lana Del Rey playing in the background, we got into all things fashion, feminism and Sex and the City ….
L: What is your name?
S: Shagun Jain
L: And where are we? What does this place mean to you?
S: So, we’re in my flat, in Marchmont, in Edinburgh. This is “my place” in Edinburgh and is what I would remember as “my place” when I was in uni. It just feels like home, because it is. Right now, we’re in the living room on a very pretty green couch which is one of my favourite things about this place. I’ve put a lot of thought into decorating my room and making the space my own, especially coming from so far away. In India, I was not really allowed to decorate my room because it didn’t go with the aesthetic of the house so just having the creative freedom of being able to do what I wanted in my room made it so special to me. Whether its travel related, or flowers, or green, or the moon, or … whatever … it’s just my space and that’s why it’s so special to me.
@mackenziejanee
L: How long have you lived here?
S: I have lived here since 2022, so I’ve been here for 2 years and at the end of this academic year it will be three.
L: Are you in your last year of uni?
S: Yes, I am in my fourth year, graduating soon.
@mackenziejanee
L: What are you wearing today, talk me through your outfit.
S: So, I’m wearing my mom’s Levi’s jeans, and they’re wide leg. Then, I got this top from a charity store in Morningside, and I think its Zara but again I got it from a thrift store. It’s collared and has very nice sleeves. I’m then wearing an MK watch which has a thick heavy gold bracelet around it. I have a lot of jewellery on and I’m wearing a headband.
L: Is gold your favourite metal for jewellery?
S: I’m a gold girlie through and through. I realised that when I was 12 when I asked my mom for my first ring, which is this crown one. I feel like as a brown woman, gold is our thing, cos it’s been part of our history for so long, women exert financial freedom through gold, that’s really empowering. So, yes, I’m a gold girlie through and through.
L: What is your favourite item in your wardrobe, and why?
S: So, I feel like this is very difficult to pick. I have chosen two, one is a green trench coat that I got from Armstrong’s, which is a thrift store in Edinburgh. I remember that weekend because one of my friends was visiting me and I was showing her around, we went in the store and this perfect green trench was in there. It had been on my list for so long cos I wanted to get a nice trench coat that I could wear over things. It’s long and green and it goes with everything except my pink shoes cos that’s very clashy. So, I got new shoes to make up for it *laughing*. Then, the second one is a black skirt, a long black skirt. It’s from a brand called Turn Black which is an Indian company that’s sustainable and supports farmers. I like that skirt particularly because I can dress it up, or dress it down. It’s such a classy piece that goes with anything and everything. Usually, that’s my go-to party outfit: I’ll just wear any top with the skirt and can work a lot around it.
L: When you wear the trench, do you wear it belted or unbelted, because I have a trench from Vinted that didn’t come with a belt, which I didn’t mind, but I think some people would be bothered?
S: I wear it belted because I walk so quickly, it always ends up flying everywhere. I don’t button it, but I just belt it a little bit cos it’s a bit oversized, I think it might have been from the men’s section (not that gendered clothing should be a thing). But it’s made for someone with broad shoulders I’m assuming.
@mackenziejanee
L: What experience do you have with fashion, either professionally or personally?
S: If you’d asked me this question 5 or 6 years ago, I would’ve said I wasn’t into fashion at all. But, after coming to uni I got super interested in fashion because I thought it was a way to reinvent myself: “I’m in a new place, I’m going to become a new person”. Fashion is such a great way to show who you are, and just be yourself. I got interested in fashion particularly because I’m super interested in sustainability, so when I first learnt about the fast fashion industry and how it affects women, and people in sweatshops and things of that sort, that’s when I got really interested in the concept of sustainable fashion. I would talk a lot about sustainable fashion and how people can thrift. I made infographics for a page I used to run ages ago and then after that I worked at a sustainable start-up in India and they would repurpose jeans and make bags out of them which was a really cool experience. So, that was really cool, and I realised there’s so much impact that we can make by choosing the right sustainable piece, I feel like so many lives we can help out by making sure we aren’t choosing fast fashion and making conscious choices.
L: So, do you think it started from a place of feminism? Cos, you work with FemSoc so do you want to talk a bit more about that?
S: Yeah, so I’m in Feminist Society. I would say that fashion and feminism obviously go hand in hand, but it came much later on. Originally it was activism, for climate activism that got me into fashion and then later on I realised that for example how women are disadvantaged in the industry and how they are exploited in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, and even India for that matter. I felt that that was really eye-opening, so I realised how important feminism is in the sphere of fashion.
@mackenziejanee
L: What is your role on the committee and how do you think any previous experience will help you in your role this year?
S: So, I’m Vice President of Fashion Society and I’m very very excited. I’ve been on society for two years, so I think it is quite nice to see myself work my way up in the society and make it more homey for myself. Obviously when I first entered the society it was very daunting but now it’s not because everyone was really lovely. I joined in second year as a graphic designer and then I was secretary last year and now VP. I think my past experience, I’ve worked with a lot of sustainable start-ups, and I’m involved in societies on campus as, treasurer or like different roles. I’ve worked with different teams, and it made me feel confident that I had experience certain things in Fashion: maybe having to deal with designers, models and logistics because I’ve done stuff like that before. I had support from the lovely president Mackenzie, we can do it together and change the vision for the society that we’ve talked about since last year and were finally able to bring out and show it to people. So, I think that experience and the passion we had made it possible.
L: Finally, what are you most excited about with Fashion Society this year?
S: I’m super excited for the Sex and the City themed night, which has unfortunately been postponed slightly but I do think this is a good thing, so we can find a venue that is suitable and hopefully get loads of people involved. Sex and the City is such an iconic show, and I recently saw it this summer, the entire Carrie Bradshaw thing: the walk, the New York aspect of it. I’m such a big fan of New York, I went there in February after wanting to go there forever cos of all the New York movies. Watching the show and seeing New York and fashion and how these girls are just so dressed up everywhere, and they’re not scared to dress up! I never want to be “too much” when I go to class but they don’t care. Like, for example, Samantha and how she owns female pleasure and the confidence they all have is very inspirational in some ways. So that’s why I’m excited for the charity theme night. Also, we’re collaborating with FemSoc on that, and I think it’ll be very nice to raise money for a charity related to sex, because it’s part of life, everybody does it, so it’s very important to support that sphere.
L: Okay actually a quick additional question, because I’m curious. But what character are you from Sex and the City?
S: I feel like, I’m a mix of a few of them. I feel like - definitely Miranda because she doesnt like change and is very independent. But at the same time, I feel like – I don’t know it’s a little bit of everything because Charlotte is very classy, very demure very mindful *laughing*. Carrie is so carefree; I love the way she wears her curls in the first few seasons and is just like “fuck it I’m just going to say what I think”. So, I think a little bit of everyone. When I did the quiz though, I got Charlotte. Clearly, I don’t completely agree with that.
L: Brilliant, thank you so much for chatting to me!
@photosbyshagunjain
Getting to talk to Shay was so much fun, and it was really interesting to see someone talk about feminism and how inseparable it is in discussions about fashion, especially when centring sustainability, something we try to do at Fashion Society. If you want to learn more about Shagun you could check out her photography page: @photosbyshagunjain!
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