Student Organization of the Month: Fashion Merchandising Association

By Sarah Lins
Community Relations Staff Member

For the month of March, the KTSW Community Relations department has chosen Texas State’s Fashion Merchandising Association to be the student organization of the month. This month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lexi Bauerle, who is the president of the Fashion Merchandising Association here at Texas State. Bauerle is in charge of leading weekly meetings and assisting in all the events that the organization hosts.

When asking Bauerle what the main purpose of the Fashion Merchandising Association was, she said that their purpose “is to allow every student at Texas State to express themselves fully and openly in their realm for fashion and let their passion prevail.”

Lexi continued with the importance of giving all members the opportunity and resources to use all creative outlets possible when utilizing their talents. Bauerle also included the amazing opportunities their organization has to “help people get internships and experience, with all the tips and contacts we have in Fashion Merchandising.”

As she went into detail about what the Fashion Merchandising Association meetings typically look like, Bauerle informed me about the range of themes their meetings cover from resume building to mood boards to thrift field trips. Although their meetings are a huge aspect of what they do, their main event is the fashion shows that take place each semester.

Bauerle explained how much goes into creating these shows and the wide range of jobs available for students when putting them together. Some of these include “student designers, stylists, models, videographers and photographers. We also have some local retailers participate in the show. It’s all student-run and a very good time.” Bauerle explained.

However, it does not stop there. On top of meetings and fashion shows, Fashion Merchandising also puts together thrift shops once a semester that take place on the quad. This is a great opportunity for students to donate their unused clothes in order to raise money for the fashion show.

Bauerle also went on to tell me about their online presence, she explained that  “another aspect of the Fashion Merchandising Association is our fashion merchandising daily blog where students write articles about things like sustainability, fashion shows, trends and more.” Talk about an organization with versatility!

As I got to learn more about this association, I had to ask Bauerle what her favorite thing about being both an officer was, and she said, “everybody has so many ideas all of the time and I love that we are able to do most of them in the club! Being surrounded by creative and kind people is very uplifting and inspiring.”

Another attribute the Fashion Merchandising Association includes is how extremely open they are to anyone who wants to join their organization. Bauerle mentioned how they welcome all new members with open arms regardless of what major you are studying!

If you love this student organization just as much as we do and are interested in joining, you can find more information on the Texas State University website or their Twitter and Instagram pages @fmatxst!

Featured Image by Evelyn Deal