A project that started as little more than a dream, Fremd’s fashion magazine Victory released its first edition in September. With its bright recap of summer trends, back-to-school styles, and homecoming, the magazine has established a strong presence and left readers waiting for more.
Victory was founded by seniors and co-presidents Kate Hammond and Hajirah Sajanlal, who had always wanted to build an outlet where students could celebrate their love for fashion and learn more about what it is like to be a creative director.
“I’ve wanted to do it since freshman year,” Hammond said. “It’s always been something that I’ve been passionate about, but more on the fashion side of it.”
Freshman year, it turned out, wasn’t the right timing. With packed schedules and theater rehearsals, both Hammond and Sajanlal were too busy to focus on starting their magazine. It wasn’t until three years later that their ideas were brought to life in their September 2024 edition.
“This summer was known as the Sabrina Carpenter summer, and then Brat [by Charli XCX] was really popular this summer, so we wanted to incorporate that,” Sajanlal said. “We wanted to kind of reel in and be like, ‘Hey, we’re not boring. We want to show stuff that’s trending.’”
A lot of work had to be done behind the scenes before their 22-page issue could be published. Hammond and Sajanlal gathered ideas for the main themes and had members of the magazine select roles where they could choose to be hairstylists, pick out outfits or poses, and more. From there, it took another day to meet for the photo shoot and put everything together.
“Hajirah does a lot of on-the-floor work,” Hammond said. “She also does hair and makeup sometimes.”
In the meantime, Hammond is Victory’s current photographer, taking pictures of the models and designing the front cover.
Once the photo shoot is over, the magazine’s writers and three graphic designers handle the editing and designing process together. They then put the whole magazine together and come up with a uniform theme for the month.
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing, however. Although the two founders wanted Victory to be its own club, they were forced to make it a smaller branch of Fremd’s Fashion Club and are still looking for a second sponsor. Marketing and spreading the word has also been challenging.
Until they have a set editorial staff, Sajanlal has been filling in for makeup and Hammond has been doing the photography.
“We’re supposed to have other photographers,” Hammond said. “So after we get a solid group of writers and an audience, that’s my next step.”
Hammond and Sajanlal are currently in the midst of their October issue, which will center around Halloween, Fremd theater’s rendition of The Great Gatsby, and Hispanic Heritage Month along with a collaboration with Latinos Unidos.
According to Hammond, the two founders wish to break down the barriers between words and photos with their upcoming editions.
“A lot of our photos will be cropped or people will be cut out of them and put within the words,” Hammond said. “It’s formatted in a way that’s more fun.”
Aside from the layout of the magazine, they want to expand their audience to include students from more diverse backgrounds.
“I liked bringing in other voices, so more collabs, definitely honing in more on the fashion aspect because we have a few articles that aren’t fully fashion-related,” Hammond said.
The members of Victory are looking forward to releasing monthly issues until Sajanlal and Hammond graduate. After that, the magazine’s future is still unknown. Perhaps other students will take over and transform the project into something more long-term, but Sajanlal and Hammond are also fine with the idea of the magazine coming to a close once they’re gone.
Regardless, both presidents have found the results of their labor to be well worth the trouble.
“I see all the models interacting with Kate,” Sajanlal said. “Kate makes them look good, and then they just feel better after so it’s just fun. Sometimes it’s really stressful but, if we have a really good shoot, we’re kind of all smiling while leaving.”
Hammond, too, has found the process to be a fulfilling experience.
“It’s exciting because you get to make a completely new thing from nothing,” said Hammond. “After our editors and graphic designers put it together, I literally was like, ‘Oh? Like why am I emotional?’ The final product is very satisfying and it’s fun, but it’s more like a good learning process, and I feel a lot more mature.”
To Hammond, working on Victory can be an invaluable experience for any student, unlike anything else offered by Fremd.
“It’s low commitment, but you’re still able to have a creative outlet, and the production of it has the longevity to help your future career,” Hammond said. “For the people that want to go into hair and makeup and stuff like that, there’s no other clubs that suit them.”
