Fashion and Beyond is a new club that strives to build a fashion networking community for students outside of the classroom.

“Networking will be a primary focus of Fashion and Beyond in order to expose students to the many opportunities within the industry in the DFW area as well as the competitive nature of the business of fashion and what it takes to be successful,” Sally Fortenberry, Fashion and Beyond’s advisor, said.

Fortenberry, an associate professor of merchandising and textiles, said she hopes students will take advantage of the club and benefit from the exposure to the industry and fashion events in the area.

“The fashion community in Fort Worth and Dallas is thriving," she said. 

Sarah Wofford, a junior fashion merchandising major, said there has been a need for a club that focuses on fashion and events outside of the classroom. 

Kaygan Tissue, president of Fashion and Beyond, said she founded the club because she wanted to be more involved in the fashion world in the Dallas and Fort Worth area. 

Tissue said in the next two years she hopes the club will host an annual fashion week with fashion shows on campus.  She said there are many people that want connections in the industry, and the club will be a great way to network.  

“Fashion is not just an industry that dresses up all day, but is an industry that works hard to have success and through that hard work it is rewarding to wear the latest trends and fads,” Lyndsey Edgar, a junior fashion merchandising major, said.   

Fortenberry said she hopes the club will “instill the necessary passion that is required to pursue a career in an industry that is highly competitive.”

Fashion and Beyond welcomes all majors. 

The club’s first event of the semester is the screening of The September Issue, on Oct. 25. Visit the club's Facebook page for details.