Rouge Executive Board Profiles: Vanessa Vassileva
“I cannot imagine what my college experience here at UGA would look like without Rouge,” says Vassileva. “To me, the two are interrelated and can’t be separated. I love the magazine and all of the trials, excitement, and responsibility that come with it.”
Vanessa Vassileva is our Editor-In-Chief at Rouge and is a third-year double majoring in Fashion Merchandising and Business Management with emphases both in Product Development and Design and Supply Chain Logistics. She has been involved with the magazine since her freshman year and was instrumental in fostering and fulfilling the idea of rebranding the magazine as Rouge. When she started as Editor-In-Chief of the magazine last year, there were 6-10 members total and now there are 90. For Vassileva, her experience at the magazine is filled with indescribable moments that make the magic of Rouge: “when our Director of Photography, Stephanie, gets an amazing shot, when our Fashion Editors, Madeleine and Grace, put together a killer outfit and everyone in the room gets quiet, or the feeling when I am on the way to pick up the boxes of our hard work for the release party. It is really something special and I am so grateful to play a part in it all.”
Because Rouge is where Vanessa found a home as she adjusted to UGA her freshman year, she hopes that members of Rouge can find a community here as well.
“Aside from providing a professional development network, I hope Rouge can be an anchor to anyone who needs a community and is looking for a fun way to get involved. This organization is a group of creative people across many disciplines, including graphic design, journalism, and business, that is here for people who are interested in anything we have to offer,” said Vanessa.
A common misconception is that this club is only for Fashion Merchandising majors and Vanessa wants to make sure it is known that this is not true-- “our current Beauty Editor, Christin Walls, is a Psychology major on a Pre-Medicine track and our Menswear Editor, Grace Bedsole, is an Entertainment and Media Studies major and both do a fantastic job in their roles,” she said. “Rouge is intended to be a place for anyone with an interest in fashion to be able to express themselves aside from whether or not it is their major. What you are wearing says more about you than you could say in the same amount of time. Clothing, and in turn fashion, is a very powerful tool that we should all learn to use to our advantage, whether or not we study it extensively.”
Q&A with Vanessa Vassileva, Editor-in-Chief
Q: Item in your wardrobe you’ll never give up?
A: Ascots and hair scarves— and I cannot stress this enough!
Q: Dream item you wish you owned?
A: The Chiara heels in bright orange with an embroidered multicolored heel from Sophia Webster-- my dream item since middle school! I would wear them at every opportunity that presented itself.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: On a daily basis, I would describe it as classic but I do love a crazy, bright, and over the top outfit for special events!
Q: Do you have a favorite brand to wear or place to shop?
A: I definitely thrift like it is my job from any and everywhere— Goodwill when I am passing through towns and Plato’s Closet for when I’m in Athens. The chase is half of the fun and I swear there is a special type of endorphin rush reserved for finding quality designer pieces at Goodwill for ridiculously cheap. I do have a well-rounded knowledge of luxury brands and love to keep up to date on what is happening in the houses, but I am not pretentious about owning expensive/brand-marked items for every day at this point in my life. I find that a good amount of my pieces are from Zara from over the years, but I have shopped for statement piece accessories at Walmart and they look quite expensive but it is all about the styling! I think if you have an eye, you can make anything work.
Q: Favorite designer?
A: My favorite brand is Dior and I love the direction Maria Grazia Chiuri has been taking the house in recent years. Other favorites include Zimmermann, Valentino, and Johanna Ortiz, but this is the shortlist.
Q: Beauty staple?
A: Definitely mascara!
Look for the next installment of our Executive Team Profiles next week with our Creative Director, Reilley Shamblin!