With a head count of less than 10, the Fashion Club members of Shawnee Mission East all gathered in Room 500A and sat in a circle to begin their favorite icebreaker activity — sharing each of their perfectly crafted outfits.
When sophomore Sofiya Borovytska’s turn came, she explained how the textures and colors of her suede jacket paired with black jeans and a belt complemented each other perfectly.
In an “athleisure” styled school like East, it’s hard to find many students who don’t slouch around in Lululemon leggings, oversized T-shirts and Adidas Superstars. Borovytska goes against the casual crowd and shows her love for fashion through strutting down the hall in ruffled tops and the occasional gingham pant. The old her — a young, shy third grader who was nervous to talk to other kids on the playground — broke out of her box when she discovered her passion and developed how she liked to dress. Now, her confidence shows not only on the runway at East’s Creative CoLab Fashion Show while displaying her own designs, but also at school in places as simple as the science classroom when she raises her hand high to ask a question about ions.
Now a sophomore, she’s wearing carefully thought-out outfits and spending hours of her day in the apparel and sewing classrooms at East. Back in elementary school, Borovytska needed the help of her mom to pick out her outfits and she couldn’t care less what it looked like.
Her go-to elementary school outfit — a pink T-shirt with pink basketball shorts and Sperrys — changed into crop tops and statement pants — something you’d see in a New York Fashion Week Instagram post. Eventually, relying on her mom for fashion advice wasn’t enough and she opted for inspiration elsewhere.
Around her eighth grade year, Borovytska discovered social media which flipped her perspective on what clothing can mean. On Pinterest and Instagram, she saw lots of personality pieces — like pictures of Brigette Bardow, a French fashion model, in her bright yellow top and black leather skirt — showing her how life-giving fashion can be. To Bardow and now Borovytska, clothing isn’t just what people put on their bodies anymore, it’s how they express themselves.
“[The internet] really exposed her to different fashion out there,” Borovytska’s sister Kateryna said. “Looking at bloggers and Pinterest really caused her to start being more outgoing with what she’s wearing.”
Borovytska’s pre-social-media pink T-shirt with gold-star leggings turned into a white synched crop top and buckled wide-legged pants. With that, her shyness turned into a confidence big enough to chat with other fashion lovers at school.
As her clothing choices started to get bolder, so did her personality. Not only could she spark up conversations with people who enjoy the same things, she also gained the ability to speak up in class when she doesn’t understand how to factor trinomials or when she wants to add a thought to a socratic seminar.
“Sofiya in class likes to ask the teacher questions and really wants to succeed,” friend and fellow Fashion Club member Elliott Bowles said.
Her unique personality and fashion sense translate while in the classroom and she’s able to be a confident student.
“She has a really unique personality,” Borovytska’s teacher Mr. Muhammad said. “I think [fashion has] become a big identity for her.”
Through wearing clothes she loves, self-assurance gives her the power to get through each day with a positive mindset.
“Wearing a nice outfit on days I’m not feeling it literally makes me feel so much better,” Borovytska said. “I feel like the clothes that you wear really show who you are.”
After she graduated from IHMS and made it to East her freshman year, she kept the pattern of picking electives that pertained to her love for fashion. Through classes like FAID — fashion and interior design — and Apparel 1, she was introduced to people who recommended Fashion Club to her.
“Fashion Club really lets me express who I am and what I like without being embarrassed about it,” Borovytska said.
Borovytska feels the friendly environment of Fashion Club would be a perfect spot for anyone at school to come if they’re ready to make a switch in their fashion choices and improve their confidence.
“If people saw how much fun and how it could change you in a good way I think people would change their apparel from leggings to clothes that fit their personality,” Borovytska said.
To learn more about Borovytska watch a video HERE