Linnea Wingerup

When moving to Paris in the fall of 2018, I knew that fashion would be something that I wanted to pursue and better understand; I was in the capital of la mode after all. As an undergraduate, the fashion track and Fashion Studies minor did not exist yet, so I simply took as many fashion-related classes as I could. The stories of how fashion has existed as a socially-politically charged entity in history fascinated me, and I quickly realized that the academic questioning and rhetoric surrounding fashion was something in which I was deeply interested. I found myself further pushing the boundaries of what fashion meant for me. Through reaching out to various AUP fashion alumni, I got involved with shows and showrooms at Paris Fashion Week, and then eventually landed an internship with AUP Professor Renate Stauss helping plan The Multilogue 2021 on Fashion Education – A Conference on Learning and Teaching Fashion in Theory and Practice. In addition to the internship, graduate student Erin Garry and I revamped the Fashion Club here at the university in order to include more academic perspectives on the fashion industry, and to give other students networking opportunities. I also assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief for one semester at the AUP student magazine Peacock and found that the magazine was an outlet in which I could combine my passions for fashion, writing, editing, and creative directing into one project. The experiences I’ve gathered through studying fashion at AUP has truly shaped my career path and expanded my vision of the possibilities of fashion. No longer is fashion simply design or marketing, but it is instead a world of social, political, and academic merit and complexity.