In August 1957, Glamour unveiled the magazine’s first College Women of the Year. Called the “10 Best-Dressed College Girls in America” at the time, the winners had been selected from hundreds of colleges and universities across the country for their fashionable outfits. While we’ve come a long way from assigning merit simply based on what a person wears, the list was forward-thinking at the time for recognizing that women had become an important fixture on campus.
Eventually the contest was changed to focus on a more diverse range of talents and highlight the next generation of leaders. Just some of the exceptional women honored over the years include Martha Stewart, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Katiti Kironde, and Amanda Gorman.
More recently Glamour has honored outstanding community college students of all ages, undergraduates at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), community college students of all ages, college athletes, and aspiring women in STEM.
And this year we returned to our roots, in a way: fashion students. Glamour has a long history of celebrating and supporting changemakers in the industry, from honoring disruptive designers like Aurora James and Diane von Furstenberg at our Women of the Year Awards to our annual By Women initiative that spotlights women-owned brands. But though women make up 60% to 80% of the garment industry’s workforce around the world, the gender pay gap still exists, and only 10 out of 35 leading luxury brands have female creative directors. We believe the next generation of business-savvy professionals, creative thinkers, and—yes—well-dressed women can and will change that.
We found six college fashion students who we feel represent the future of the industry. Introducing: Aanya Sachdeva, the design student whose motto is “Fashion for Change”; Kennedy Hoyt, an art history major who plans to launch her own PR agency to support BIPOC-owned brands one day; Kyra Brummage, an entrepreneurship major styling stars in between classes; Lucy Ivey, an applied communications student who launched her own fashion and culture publication, Our Era, at age 15; Mary Bellakbira, a biomedical engineering major researching the link between fabric, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and women’s hormonal health; and Rain Hashimoto, a fashion merchandising and international relations double major who left a comfortable job at luxury jewelry company to pursue her dreams.
These women are breaking barriers, setting new standards, and making a positive impact in their communities. Get to know their stories.
Jonathan Tse
Meet Aanya Sachdeva, the Designer Whose Motto Is “Fashion for Change”
A fashion design student studying at Parsons School of Design in New York City, Aanya Sachdeva believes that fashion is about more than clothes—it’s a platform to tell stories, raise awareness, and make an impact. Read Sachdeva’s story here.
