By Amber Bivins
As you gaze across
a Buffalo State College classroom, one of the first things you may notice is
the amount of diversity. Students from a range of different ethnicities and
backgrounds are all under one roof.
In the Fashion Textile
Technologies program, there are many foreign exchange students who have
traveled thousand of miles to further their education. Fashion students from major world capitals
and small towns alike, are here in Buffalo; but what do they think of our
American fashion?
Wang Xiu
Lan Liang, who prefers to be called Amy, is a 22 year old student from Hong
Kong. She has been in the United States
for almost a year now and plans to return to her native country this summer.
Her unique style, trendy shoes, and knowledge of brands allow her stand out
among the fashion students here at Buffalo State.
“I
am from a huge world city, in a city as busy as Hong Kong people feel more
comfortable expressing themselves. Here people seem to be focused more on
comfort, and I am beginning to understand why with this freezing weather!” says
Amy.
Here
in Buffalo, many students can be spotted wearing name brands such as
Abercrombie and Fitch and Nike, yet the popularity of these well known brands
are not the same in all countries.
“In China, the
fashion is very different. Brands like Super Dry and Fred Perry are really
popular and I almost never see them here. I see some fashionable students with
interesting style but I see a lot of “American” brands. Students I see are
wearing North Face and Uggs, that is not so popular back home. Especially in
Hong Kong, people are always pushing the limits,” she says.
In a metropolitan
area, it is easy to see how fashion could be trendier than here in the Queen City, but when it come to
smaller towns, this is not the case.
Andres Peralta is
a Textile Design major at Buffalo State. As an exchange student from the small
town of Apucarana, Brazil, he identifies Buffalo State as a fashion forward
community.
“ My town is not
very large, I have to travel many miles to get to the nearest retail shopping
area. I even have traveled to Uruguay so I can visit some of my favorite stores”
he says.
Malls and shopping
areas, like the Walden Galleria, are a mecca for popular fashion stores, stores
that are not so easily found in South America.
“ The first
Forever 21 just opened in a neighboring city, this has been very exciting for
me and my friends. We love American style and it is exciting to be able to
purchase the clothes from stores that are in the U.S. Zara also opened recently
in Rio, there is not one here in Buffalo but I did visit the store in New York!
Its so awesome!” he says.
The style at
Buffalo State College ranges drastically from innovative to casual. One’s
background, country of origin, and personal style all have an affect on
opinions, especially for fashion students, who can be particularly
critical. Foreign exchange students who
voice opinions, in class or around campus, can influence their peers and allow
for a better global understanding of retail trends.
