New issue of 'Coulture' celebrates culture

The latest issue of UNC student fashion magazine "Coulture" just hit stands across campus, and the stunning cover itself is enough to grab the attention of passerby.

But this particular issue, the third so far, holds even more surprises inside — it’s a coloring book.

The Fall/Winter 2016 issue of “Coulture” contains vibrant editorial spreads, South African photoshoots and articles written by students.

Many pages feature ways for readers to interact with the content by adding their own color and design.

The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Alexandra Hehlen, said the staff wanted to really push themselves with this issue, creating a print publication that is fun, empowering and engaging for all readers.

“What we do at ‘Coulture’ is we challenge beauty standards, and we try to make our content accessible and relatable,” Hehlen said.

“We really believe the fact that anybody can be beautiful.”

Hehlen, a junior, said the inspiration for this issue’s theme, Lost in Translation, came from wanting to exhibit people and clothing from all over the world.

She said it’s easy to be unaware of what lifestyle and fashion are like around the world, as those things are often “lost in translation,” and wanted this issue to showcase things UNC students likely hadn’t seen before.

“What we’re doing in this issue is striving to cover people, stories, clothing companies and content from all over the world that we might not have ever heard of before,” Hehlen said.

“Just because we’re so ingrained in our own bubbles, you know — our own worlds.”

Many staff members studied abroad last semester, and worked on the magazine from across the world — one of the photo spreads was shot in Cape Town, South Africa.

Hehlen said the general feeling among the staff is that this is the best edition of “Coulture” to date. The magazine started in the fall of 2015.

Junior Remington Remmel, deputy editor-in-chief of “Coulture,” said this edition is a culmination of all the hard work the staff has done over the past few years.

He said he hopes students will find it inspiring and enjoy seeing their classmates and friends as models in the magazine’s photo spreads.

“The fact that it’s by students I think really resonates with people on campus,” Remmel said. “And my hope is that it’s an inspiring thing for people to realize that a couple of students with a vision can just get together and, with a little hard work, make it happen.”

Remmel said he and Hehlen help put the pieces of the magazine together, but the beauty of “Coulture” is that it is a group effort by a community of people with shared passions.

Junior Alexis Fairbanks, the co-director of photography, said she’s extremely proud of how the magazine has evolved and grown since its start in 2015.

She said she thinks people respond so positively to “Coulture” because of its commitment to inclusion and diversity — things she said are not always common in the fashion industry.

Fairbanks also said she’s proud of the commitment she’s seen from the magazine’s staff, and loves seeing everyone pursue their passions to create a high-quality publication.

“When we’re all working towards a common goal and doing what we love,” she said.

“It’s really wonderful.”

@kaitlynbgreen

swerve@dailytarheel.com