Dressed in an all-black ensemble despite the budding spring heat, the only touch of color in third-year student Ethan Cummins’ outfit is a pale blue patterned scarf under the collar of his shirt and a charmingly brusque bright yellow smiley button that says “Fuck Everything.”

Cummins, who serves as the editor-in-chief of St. Edward’s Cabra Magazine, has cited inspiration in minimalist brands, limited color pallets and an emphasis on clean lines stating that, while he has a historically dynamic wardrobe, he feels as though he has gone through a metamorphosis to achieve what he describes as a “final form.”

This form is moreover influenced and guided by elements of ‘90s fashion, as well as attempts upon deconstruction and abstraction in clothing and approaching concepts of non-binary expressions. However, there is an inherent difficulty in this, in that much of men’s fashion has been limited to a select few silhouettes for an extensive period of time.

While Cummins does not necessarily consider clothing to be inherently gendered, this does limit expression in that half of all clothing produced is regrettably clipped in terms of creativity and diversity. In order to counter this, Cummins makes a point to challenge how pieces are worn, even with simple alterations to a look, such as wrapping a blazer sleeve across his chest rather than on his arm.

Cummins said he’s always had some sort of interest in personal style and appearance, but it was not until high school that a friend of his served as a conduit for fashion, specifically for its history and contemporary reflections. This interest is moreover cultivated by his preoccupations within Cabra, which exists as a constant propulsion into clothing and fashion through his interactions with others who can share a similar passion.

Beyond his own personal style, however, Cummins makes an interesting distinction between style and fashion that is often lost on people, the former being a modem of taste and expression and the latter as a market and industry which essentially appropriates the style of the time. So while style is an expression limited to culture and generations, fashion is just a commercial reflection of this.

Cummins elaborates upon the nature of fashion as something he would like to make more accessible to others, which serves as an additional goal of Cabra. By demystifying the fashion industry, he claims that one may combat notions of elitism and the strange intimidation that pervades the industry. This intimidation is, after all, the result of a lack of understanding, he claims, as people tend to fear or be uncomfortable with what they do not understand.

These are concepts Cummins aims to combat in his time as editor-in-chief of Cabra and in his general day-to-day life by incorporating an elegant, professional image in a casual setting. In doing so, he can manage to look attractive while also making a statement: Dressing well does not have to be limited to certain spheres or people, and we can all achieve great taste.