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Alisha Scott, president of Buzz Magazine, talks to the audience during the fashion show. Photo courtesy of Buzz Magazine.

Emmaus High School’s Buzz Magazine hosted its annual fashion show on May 19 in the cafeteria, giving student designers and members of the club a chance to showcase their collections that they have been working on since September.

The student-founded club is extremely tight knit and dedicated to ideas of self-expression and diversity through fashion. The magazine and show were completely student run, with designers, photographers, writers, and models who spent time after school working on photoshoots, designing clothing, writing articles and assembling the annual magazine. Buzz Magazine president, junior Alisha Scott, feels she has benefitted from being a part of the Buzz family.

“It is truly amazing. I love the community of people we’ve built- all of our directors,  including the club members,” Scott said. “There really is no small job on the magazine. Everybody is just a part of the puzzle. It’s stressful at times. Not gonna lie, putting the show together was stressful. But it came out great, and that’s all that I care about.”

The magazine itself, which focuses on topics such as fashion, beauty, and lifestyle, provides students with an opportunity to produce content on the topics they take interest in. Students submit articles with topics that range from makeup tutorials to skin care and personal bucket lists. In between articles, the pages are filled with pictures from photo shoots which have been going on since the beginning of the school year — including gigs at the Bethlehem SteelStacks, and themes such as 1990s trends.

Junior Willow Munson, the secretary and treasurer of Buzz, believes fashion is important for the EHS community to be involved in.

“I think, especially for high school students, [fashion] is a way to express yourself, which helps you grow and learn as an individual,” Munson said. “I love the people [of Buzz Magazine], and I love how it is such a creative outlet. Whatever you’re interested in, it provides you with an outlet to express that interest, which is really important.”

Sophomore Mehru Chaudhry, the director of technology for Buzz, agrees. She came to find her passions in the connections the club had to offer. As well as working for Buzz Magazine’s website, she enjoys spending her time as a photo shoot photographer.

“I have never seen a club that has had these kinds of opportunities before, so it was interesting to join,” Chaudhry said. “Also, it made me fall in love with photography.”

During the fashion show, the club’s various student fashion designers were able to present their clothing lines to the audience. Inspiration for each clothing line was diverse and personal to each student. Junior Samiey Werst’s clothing line, “Feeling Blue,” was inspired by her favorite color, while senior Jessica Harnett’s line, “Moments,” had pieces inspired by different moments in her high school career. Juniors Dylan Keenan and Joe Alston, Buzz’s codirectors for men’s fashion, were able to present their new collaborative brand, Blëächëd Outfittërs.

“Last year for the fashion show, we were offered to have a clothing line, because Dylan and I were both designing clothes on the side,” Alston said. “So when we were designing clothes for the show, the [former] president, Lauren Hodgen, said, ‘You guys should have a name for your brand,’ and she texted us. And since we were bleaching clothing at the time, we just decided we might as well call it Blëächëd Outfittërs, and the brand was born.”

Keenan and Alston’s brand focuses on good vibes and positivity, as well as breaking social norms. Being directors of men’s fashion, they are taking on a challenge; as fashion is traditionally regarded as a female-oriented hobby.

“We want to have a more broad spectrum and be able to reach more people… [Buzz] was basically a women’s club in the beginning, and we want to reach out to more guys,” Alston said.

Keenan admits he was not sure about designing clothing at first, but came to love it as time went by.

“[Joe and I] got invited to the spring fashion show our freshman year, and we were very skeptical at first, I’m not gonna lie,” Keenan said. “Basically, there’s not really many men in Buzz Magazine, so we’re trying to get more men to come in and get involved.”

Just like the designers and photographers, being a model for Buzz has its experiences. For junior model Brianna Friend, this event was her first time modeling in a fashion show.

“Modeling was really exciting, and very nerve wracking, but it was a good time,” Friend said. “I definitely went outside of my shell. In fashion, everyone has a unique style, so if they can show it, that is important.”

Scott feels that the fashion show was a success, and cannot wait for what next year has to come.

“[Buzz] has definitely given me more of a sense of responsibility and leadership, because when I started out as just a freshman, I was confused as everybody else was,” Scott said. “But now I know the ins and outs of Buzz Magazine. I think it went amazing, and I’m so proud of all of our designers and models.”