The Vault Fashion Styling Event

Written by Kayla Van Dyken

Fashion is the most direct form of self expression. What you wear and how you wear it displays your personality and emotions, making styling an important tool. Everyone has a unique style that reflects their character, but many have difficulty finding inspiration or knowing where to start. The Vault’s fashion styling event, hosted by Kayla Hoang and Leah Fradin, was held for this exact reason: to give its members a starting point on the road to self-expression. 

To kick-off this hour-long event, Kayla and Leah dove into their personal styles, fashion idols, and helpful tips they use to formulate the perfect outfit. Thrifting connoisseur, Kayla, shared her love of used clothing to add texture, color, and pattern to her ensembles. She draws inspiration from many overseas fashion influencers, such as Mia Isobelle Barker and Olivia Hirst. Kayla shared the importance of proportion within an outfit, providing examples like wearing baggy pants with an oversized top but slicking back your hair, or pairing tight capris with a puffy vest. “It's all about balance,” she said. Kayla also noted how matching metals to your outfit’s color tone, such as gold with warm colors and silver with cool tones, adds a sophisticated touch, especially when everything from jewelry to purse hardware matches. 

Leah, on the other hand, who worked as a stylist this past summer, loves building an outfit around one statement piece. While her current obsession is ornate, voluminous sleeves, Leah’s style combines streetwear with vintage clothing for an overall urban-antique look. “There’s something beautiful about the intersection of arts,” she stated, while explaining how she looks to musical artists for style inspiration. Leah echoed the common frustration of picturing a perfect look in your head, but it falling apart when put together in real life. She mentioned the importance of trial and error and how one of the best ways to define your style is by reaching outside of your comfort zone to create something unique to yourself. 

Both Kayla and Leah emphasized that if you’re going to wear something, wear it with confidence because that is what makes it special. If you feel good in your outfit, that’s what matters, not other people’s opinions. When asked how they found their style inspirations, they answered that it often starts with a rabbit trail: finding one post, person, or picture that catches your eye and performing an internet, fashion deep dive to fill in the gaps of your mood board. It all starts with a search. Another place they suggested to look was international style icons. While Kayla tends to gravitate toward London-based influencers, Tokyo, Paris, and Milan provide additional inspiration that is way ahead of American style. 

After introductions and advice, Kayla and Leah gave their audience a chance to practice the tips and tricks they provided. Attendees were tasked with styling an outfit for a randomly selected event, such as ice skating in Chicago during Christmas time, spending a night at a jazz bar in New York city, or attending a beach vacation dinner. 

Thanks to Kayla and Leah, the Vault’s fashion styling event provided guests with a starting point, advice, and examples, giving direction to those searching for ways to express their individuality through the art of fashion. 

Edited by Hana Razvi & Olivia Daly