To Fashion Club President Sage McGill ’26, fashion has always been more than just what meets the eye — it has been a way for them to express themselves and their creativity throughout high school. However, for McGill, fashion wasn’t always at the forefront of their mind.
“[My interest in fashion] started off in freshman year. Alivia Graham ’24 was in Fashion Club and was planning a fashion show … I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, future-wise, but after being in her fashion [show], I was like, this is what I want to do.”
McGill continued, “I didn’t know exactly what field I would go into, but I knew it would be fashion-related.”
Since then, fashion has become a major part of their identity. Whether it’s through leading a fashion club, running fashion shows, or taking fashion-based classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Sage McGill has turned what began as a simple curiosity into a passion.
This year, their interest in fashion came full circle when McGill hosted a fashion show for the Upper School, mirroring Graham’s show three years prior.
McGill shared their feelings about ending their senior year by hosting and designing pieces for a fashion show, saying, “I’m really proud of myself, to be honest. I feel like that was kind of the last important thing for me [to do] before I graduated, and it was something that I committed to doing so long ago.”
They continued, “Even though I’ve changed a lot over the past four years, one thing that has stayed the same has been my want and love for fashion.”
McGill explained that Graham had inspired them to host their very own fashion show. After hosting their own, they said they learned a lot about their fashion aspirations.
“[Graham] has had so much influence on me as a person. [This show allowed me] to see how far I could push myself, with having to juggle [the show] with school and everything. Senior year has been crazy, but I kind of really love the crazy to be honest,” said McGill.
Some participants of the fashion show shared their positive experience while working with McGill.
“During the entire process of working with Sage, I had a good time. They made sure in the beginning that if there was anything I was uncomfortable with, it would be accommodated to what I was comfortable wearing,” said Karrington Colon ’27.
Colon continued, “Overall, I really enjoyed the experience. They had a vision for what they wanted the fashion show to be like, and they made it a lot better than what we could’ve imagined.”
Colon even mentioned that she could see McGill’s dedication to this fashion show during their classes together.
“I would see them during my English class, and they would always be working on [the pieces], so I think this project meant a lot to them, and it really showed in the end,” said Colon.
Rex Barnett ’27, a friend of McGill, shared his perspective on McGill as both a fashion curator and artist.
“They always have a cohesive theme throughout their artwork. I think not necessarily, even if they notice it, but they tend to work with themes in their life,” said Barnett.
Barnett added, “I feel like their art tells a story over a longer period of time without them even realizing they’re documenting parts of their life, while realizing they’re doing it in real time. They’re creating art about their life in real time, which I think is really interesting about the way they conduct things.”
Despite being the sole designer of the fashion show, McGill shared that this experience reinforced that they didn’t want to be a designer, but rather a stylist.
McGill explained that they find “styling more of a culmination of all parts of fashion … while designing is simply just designing.”
They continued to explain that they feel as if “there is so much more to creating a scene than just one garment.”
In relation to not becoming a fashion designer, McGill expanded on their experience in New York and taking classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and how that helped them find the direction they wanted to take in the fashion industry.
“At FIT, I got a feel for different fields and ended up finding fashion styling by taking their classes on it, and I really loved it so much,” said McGill.
They continued, “From there, I started taking photography more. I started creating more. I guess that’s kind of what got me all into [fashion styling], and I just kind of have been doing it since.”
Outside of MFS and the United States, McGill is continuing their fashion journey across the Atlantic Ocean at the University for the Creative Arts in Epsom, England.
“I’ve always wanted to travel for fashion specifically, and England [seems] like it has good inclusivity there for fashion,” McGill said. “London, I mean, is one of the fashion capitals.”
McGill concluded, “[Being in England] just made sense. It’s implementing who I am as a designer and bringing that into how London views fashion and what their trends are.”
