Pearls draped over bare skin, blazers pushing the medium, frill, lace and pure unadulterated androgyny: NC State’s best dressed showed up and showed out to celebrate the launch of the newest issue of Platform magazine on Friday.
Starting in 2016 as Packfashion and changing its name to Platform in 2019, the magazine operates as an independent but University-affiliated publication that draws from a wide array of talent. From stylists, models, editorial staff and photographers to publishers, graphic designers and organizational staff, Platform harmonizes many areas of expertise.
Joseph Smith, a fourth-year studying fashion and textile management, occupies the cover of the magazine. The provocative photo places Smith in front of an old-fashioned gas station.
“It feels amazing [to have Platform out],” Smith said. “You know, it’s an entire semester’s worth of work all culminated into one big magazine. You can just tell everyone’s so proud of the work they did, so it’s very beautiful to see.”
The magazine displays a series of themed photoshoots combining set design, styling and modeling. Editorial contributions from a carefully selected group of staff fill it out. The themes of the shoots range from American gothic to speed drive to the royalty of the French revolution.
Janey Harlow, a fourth-year studying biology, is the director and editor-in-chief of the magazine. Along with 15 other directors, she organizes 120 people, building a complex artistic community along the way.
“We have 120 people, which gets dicey sometimes,” Harlow said. “We’re good at keeping our head above the water, making sure that we have enough for the next person to go on and continue Platform.”
Platform tows a fine line between being affiliated with NC State and being independent. The magazine draws completely from NC State students, but pulls resources from anywhere it can find them.
“The affiliation with NC State sometimes we worry would limit our creative freedom because we can put anything in the magazine that we want to right now,” Harlow said. “It’s student-ran, student-led, and we do what we want.”
Platform’s shoots and editorials push boundaries of university fashion and combine many different elements towards the production of a professional, upscale magazine.
“It supports creative expression at NC State,” Harlow said. “My involvement in basically Platform and fashion and making a tangible work of creative expression was very important to A: finding a community, but B: feeling like you’re involved in something that balances you out with work, with school.”
The event at the Gregg celebrated the magazine’s drop, but also provided an opportunity to discuss as a creative community how members could improve the magazine in the future.
Against a backdrop of charcuterie, high fashion and modern art, the magazine’s drop represents a celebration of cool and the culmination of a semester of hard work in many realms of talent.
“I would like to see Platform become more recognized around NC State.” Harlow said, “One big goal of mine is before I graduate, I would like to get our magazines archived in the library. That could make it accessible to alum and future students, kind of get it recognized as a product of NC State.”
