Coming up with Christin: Meet the New Editor-in-Chief
They say a change is as good as a rest, and Rouge Magazine is embracing that philosophy as we begin working on our Fall 2022 issue. We have a new captain at the helm of the ship; Christin Walls has been an integral part of the Rouge family since she joined as a makeup artist in 2019, and there’s truly no one more suited for the role of Editor-in-Chief. With her eye for style and confident leadership, Christin is ready to take on her last semester at UGA and produce the best issue of Rouge yet. I caught up with the new Editor-in-Chief to learn more about her journey up to this point and get to know her shining personality a little better:
Q: Where did you grow up and what brought you to Athens?
A: I grew up in Columbus, Georgia, about three hours from Athens near the border. I kind of just started being a Georgia fan in high school and decided I wanted to go here. I always wanted to go to school and have the whole college experience and everything, and it happened that one of my family members is a football coach here. I think this is the perfect place. I have family here. So that's kind of how it all came together.
Q: What do you study here at UGA, and when are you graduating?
A: I’m a fourth-year psychology major, and I’m actually going to graduate this December!
Q: What was your dream job as a kid? What is your dream job now?
A: Since I was little, I always wanted to be a doctor. What kind of doctor I wanted to be always changed. Now that is still the plan, I’m applying to med schools but also thinking about taking a gap year. But, the overall plan is to become a doctor one day.
Q: Tell us a little bit about how you got your start at the magazine.
A: So honestly, I got into Rouge just through makeup, because I really love makeup and I started to do makeup for shoots. I eventually became a member. So before joining Rouge, I honestly wasn't that concerned about the fashion climate or anything. I'm a pretty simple girl, like most days I'm just in a crop top and leggings and I'm just chill. And then once I joined Rouge, I kind of started to pay attention to more things and get more situated with designers and the trends and stuff like that after becoming a part of Rouge.
Q: Who are your top two favorite designers of all time? Why?
A: I would say Louis Vuitton has really classic pieces that can go with anything. And then I would probably say a brand that I want to own is Christian Dior. I feel like their pieces are also classic pieces, but very sophisticated and ladylike. I just like love like the Lady Dior bags and stuff like that. And that's something I want to own one day.
Q: Where do you draw inspiration from for your makeup looks?
A: I have a few different makeup artists on Instagram I follow or people I watch on YouTube, but I like Kevin Long, I really like NikkiTutorials, Jackie Aina... YouTube kind of got me into makeup. So I kind of just look at what they do. I'm a pretty simple, neutral kind of girl, but I like to switch it up every now and then. I kind of just scroll on Instagram and watch YouTube videos, seeing what people are doing, thinking outside the box to kind of just get the idea of what I want to do.
Q: What has been your favorite memory from working on Rouge?
A: Well, picking one would be hard, so I'm just going to go with a category. Definitely the photoshoot days, they're really long and there's a lot to do, but they're really fun. Just getting to see everyone and hang out and figure out the looks and play around with different shots. It's really a creative and collaborative space where you can come together. We're just all vibing, and it's just a really good time. It is stressful at certain points, but honestly, it just feels good to be around everyone and hang out with everyone and see what they come up with. I'd probably say photoshoot days are my favorite days.
Q: What advice do you have for young people looking to enter the fashion industry and/or get involved with Rouge?
A: Just don't be nervous. Like, I'm literally a pre-med psych major. Nothing to do with fashion. And here I am all these semesters later, Editor-in-Chief for Rouge. Don't be afraid to step outside the box and just do something you love. Like, I genuinely just love makeup, so I decided to join Rouge. And now Rouge has been the best part of my college experience. I would just say if there's something you want to do, just go for it and try your best. Don't worry about what anyone else is going to say, just do what makes you happy.
Q: What does a day in the life of the editor-in-chief look like?
A: So right now, since we haven’t gotten into photoshoots or anything, it's been a lot of just busywork, like emails. Responding to emails or, you know, just monitoring, making sure dues are coming in or getting the presentations together for the meetings. We just had applications not too long ago. So, you know, reading applications, getting teams sorted. So right now it's kind of just a lot of little tasks. Once we get started with photoshoots and stuff like that we'll start pulling clothes and doing graphic design work for the magazine and editing photos and more creative things, and reading articles.
Q: What are you looking forward to most about being editor-in-chief of Rouge?
A: I'm really looking forward to working with the graphic design team and putting together the actual magazine and inserting the photos and just those little like graphic design moments that go along with the articles. I'm just excited to see everything come together into the magazine.
Q: If there was one thing you could tell your 17-year-old self now, what would it be?
A: Don't stress so much about having everything planned out because honestly, there are going to be bumps in the road and your plan is going to have to change at some point.
graphics by: Taylor Lazzari