Drawing inspiration from the University of Michigan campus, Ouéton —a student-led fashion magazine — published its first issue Feb. 26. The issue highlights troubles in women’s fashion, and the influence of societal expectations on the art form. In preparation of the publication’s second edition, the magazine seeks to continue exploring ideas of self-expression through fashion.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA rising senior Ezra Mazza, founder and editor-in-chief of Ouéton, said the project began with his desire for a physical collection of his photography.
“The magazine idea kind of really started last February when I did a photo shoot with my cousin,” Mazza said. “I’d been doing like a dozen portrait model shoots by then, and after that I really wanted to do something physical with the photos I had.”
Mazza said while the magazine’s name has no inherent meaning, he believes the open interpretation of Ouéton has become an artform in itself.
“I made the Instagram, started on the marketing, came up with the name Ouéton,” Mazza said. “It really is just a made-up word, which was really important to me, because I really wanted people to feel like they could project some meaning onto it, the same way art and fashion identity work.”
As the project grew, Mazza reached out to LSA lecturer Geertrui Moerkerke, a communications professor with a background in fashion journalism. In an interview with The Daily, Moerkerke said Mazza had a strong initial concept for the magazine, something she believes has greatly benefited its development.
“As a journalist, you write within a format, you know what to expect or how to write in what style,” Moerke said. “But if you put yourself (to work on) a magazine, if you do that yourself and you start from scratch, there are a lot of choices that you have to make … When I talked to Ezra, he already had a very firm idea of what he wanted to do with the magazine: Not in the commercial sense, but really a magazine about discovering yourself and expressing yourself. I think he did that in a very original way.”
After financial difficulties prevented the magazine’s first print-edition’s initial fall release, Mazza said this added time allowed him to build relationships with the University’s communications department, and further develop Ouéton’s final print product. Funds for Ouéton have been provided by LSA’s Communication & Media Department, alongside the Barger Leadership Institute.
Mazza said the magazine’s core purpose is to serve as a space for self expression, inspiring Ouéton’s slogan, “our way of seeing things.”
“I would plan out outfits the night before class, and then in the morning, I would just go with the safe option,” Mazza said. “So I really wanted to create a space for people that feel something alongside that — that they just have that space where they can dress how they want, and it can be as weird as they want.”
Currently, Ouéton’s staff is composed of Mazza and a few collaborators. Business rising senior Elena Shaheen, Ouéton collaborator, told The Daily the magazine plans on adding more creatives to the project and continue experimenting with print media.
“Oftentimes, people look at the surface when it comes to fashion,” Shaheen said. “But I’ve always believed from the very beginning that fashion is special, and it has a way of communicating who we are and who we’d like to become. If you can understand that fashion is a story that’s constantly being rewritten, written, edited, changed, marked up, then I think there’s something there that can be grown and just completely expanded as you continue to work within print media.”
Ouéton’s second issue is scheduled to be released before the end of the summer. Physical editions of the magazine are available for purchase at Sandy’s Boutique, or can be accessed digitally through communication with Mazza. Mazza said he hopes the magazine will grow beyond Ann Arbor, and follow his own ambitions outside the city.
“(Ouéton) was founded in Ann Arbor, but I don’t intend it on staying here,” Mazza said. “I eventually want to move to New York and have it grow more there after college … A year from now, I am hoping to at least get seven more issues out.”
Daily Staff Reporter Audrey Shabelski can be reached at audres@umich.edu.
