By Helania Hefner
While most people wake up each morning and grab the first clean t-shirt in the drawer and head out for the morning, Lorenzo Rocchi is not one of them. He is calculated when it comes to his wardrobe.
As a freshman in college, Rocchi was determined to change the way students perceived fashion at OU. On the eighth floor of Adams Hall, surrounded by friends, Rocchi, and his then-roommate Jack Herdejurgen sat and planned what is now known on campus as the Fashion Society.
For Rocchi, the clothes he wore were not always a priority. In fact, as he remembers it, most of the time he would wake up and blindly pick a pair of pants and shirt.
For most of his life, Rocchi has moved all around the world. From Texas, Alabama, London and back to Alabama, Rocchi says that his love of traveling has greatly inspired the clothes and fashion he enjoys.
“I have moved more times than I can remember,” said Rocchi. “Everywhere I have gone I see new styles and clothes that are unique to that place.”
It wasn’t until the end of his junior year in high school that Rocchi started to care about his outfit choices. He started to appreciate other people’s style and what it meant to find your own style and express yourself in doing so.
Rocchi conveyed that clothes started to give him newfound confidence he had previously lacked throughout highschool. He now had a creative outlet and would slowly start to build his own personal style.
The boy that once wore a dirty orange t-shirt paired with green basketball shorts and flip flops is not the same man you would see on campus today. Rocchi expressed that his personal style is now based more on “streetwear.” Rocchi is now effortless chic everywhere he goes, donning brands like Supreme and Balenciaga in all black head-to-toe.
Coming to OU, Rocchi started working towards a major in business, which took up a big portion of his time. Still, he was determined to join a student organization that would allow him to express his creative side.
“Freshman year I was pretty disappointed to find out there was no fashion club or a club of any kind for students to come together and talk creatively about clothes, so I wanted to change that,” said Rocchi.
Rocchi wanted a place where students had a creative outlet to learn about fashion and develop their own personal style, something he wished he had in high school.
Best friend, freshman year roommate and vice president Jack Herdejurgen remembers the process of getting the Fashion Society up and running.
“It really started out of nowhere,” said Herdejurgen. “Lorenzo mentioned he wanted to start a fashion club and I wasn’t super into clothes but I wanted to help him.”
Herdejurgen said that while starting the fashion society wasn’t difficult, spreading the word and getting students to join was.
According to Herdejurgen, the Fashion Society was up and running by the second semester of their freshman year. To promote the club, Rocchi and Herdejurgen posted all over social media in an effort to gain members.
Over the past two years, the Fashion Society has steadily grown now having close to 20 members who meet every two weeks to discuss the latest trends, popular designers and personal interests.
OU senior, Taylor Trefger, has been a member of the Fashion Society for about a year and a half now.
“The Fashion Society is a great organization to meet students who enjoy fashion,” said Trefger. “I didn’t expect to learn as much as I have.”
Trefger also mentioned her surprise at how many men have joined the Fashion Society, something she says is proof that fashion is for everyone.
The club tries to invite guest speakers from around the Norman area to give insight into the inner workings of the fashion world.
Recently, a local costume designer came to meet with the organization and talk about sewing and the process that goes into making garments.
Rocchi is currently studying in Japan, which he said is helping him learn how different cultures interpret fashion. Rocchi’s travels have helped him evolve his own style and hopes to return to OU and share his knowledge with the fashion society.
“Seeing how the students dress for class here in Japan is wildly different than at OU,” said Rocchi. “They dress with a purpose, not just a sweatshirt and shorts.”
While he might be abroad, Rocchi is still connected to the Fashion Society. He often sends messages in the club group text updating them on life in Japan, as well as any new trends he sees while walking to class.
“I try to stay as connected as possible,” said Rocchi. “I like to keep the club updated with fashion trends I see in Japan and I also like to know what’s going on back home.
The Fashion Society would not be where it is today without the help of one university professor.
Motoko Miura, a current Japanese teacher, helps oversee the club.
“Lorenzo was always a very polite and disciplined student so when he asked me to oversee his club, I said of course,” said professor Miura.
While professor Miura oversees the fashion society, he attends only a few meetings. His biggest role is turning in paperwork to ensure the organization can continue to run on campus.
When asked what’s next for the Fashion Society, Rocchi said that he hopes to gain more visibility on campus so that the club can continue to grow and hopefully one day put on events around campus.
What started as an idea in the dorms has now turned into a successful student organization. With Rocchi set to graduate in 2021, he hopes to pass the club down to someone who loves fashion as much as he, so that the club can continue to thrive and promote creativity for many years to come.
As for Rocchi, he is confident fashion will always play a major role in life. Postgrad Rocchi hopes to attend fashion school and one day work in apparel designing clothes and of course, looking good while doing so.
Seth Prince 