This week on Fashion on Fifth, I want to know how your chosen major shapes what you wear. As a Journalism and Design student I constantly find myself grabbing my wire-frame glasses, loafers, leather briefcase, and pen and notepad before leaving the house. I’m only slightly kidding. The students featured this week not only draw inspiration from their fields of study, but also the larger cultures surrounding them.

Max Yuswardy he/it/xe

@zoipill, first-year Parsons School of Design illustration student

As an illustration student, Max strives to dress like a cartoon character. He says it’s “all about proportions: big hair and big pants.” Today he felt inspired by the Sanrio character Cinamoroll, a small white and blue rabbit with long ears and rosy pink cheeks. He loves the political satire web series Centricide, and often dresses similar to the character who’s fascinated by nuclear explosions. Even though Max doesn’t identify as a maximalist, he’s often told he resembles one. Instead of shying away from the label, he leans into it and says even though he doesn’t feel like one, he “might as well go balls deep and dress like it.” He says sometimes people stare when he walks by, but he prefers it that way: “I like being the center of attention.”

Kea Humilde she/her

@fashionablykea, first-year Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts Journalism & Design student

Incorporating both journalism and design into her outfit, Kea tells me her dream to be a fashion journalist. In order to be ready for her next breaking story, she draws from her black, white, and pink wardrobe for the perfect business casual ensemble. Like all of the coolest girls, she grew up reading Vogue and watching The Devil Wears Prada. But she’s no Andy Sachs, because she clearly already knows how to dress. With her Blair Waldorf-inspired pearl headband and Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel-reminiscent tweed coat, I have no doubt that Kea is on her way to becoming our generation’s Miranda Priestly.

Ariah Hamburg she/her

@ariahh_h, second-year Parsons fashion design student

As a fashion design student, Ariah has an intimate appreciation for clothes because she sees them beyond their exterior. Every garment she wears contributes to the silhouette she wants to achieve. She appreciates the fit and construction, and loves tactile materials and details. Ariah caught my eye from across the street because of the colorful layered dress she wore. It shone in the sunlight resembling the feathers of an exotic bird that decided to grace Fifth Avenue on the first warm day of spring. Sometimes you can tell what a person loves to do just by how they dress, and in this case, Ariah exudes fashion as she struts by you on the crosswalk.

Stone Ferrand he/him

@stonerocheux, first-year Lang philosophy student

Stone is most influenced by the people who teach his major. He tells me he wants to start dressing more sophisticated, “in the way that old people do.” His friend who stands beside me chides him, saying that what Stone really wants is to dress like his philosophy professors. In my mind, a male philosophy professor enters the classroom wearing a sport coat, trousers, perhaps an oddly patterned sweater, brown loafers, and a vintage briefcase. But he didn’t buy it vintage–he’s simply had it for 20+ years. Stone, if you are attempting to dress like an old man, you’ve succeeded. And as someone who admires the old guys in paperboy caps and trench coats, I mean that as a compliment.

Justice Trohan she/her

Second-year Parsons Strategic Design & Management student

Justice doesn’t feel too influenced by her major; she channels her creativity into her clothes and hobbies because it isn’t required for her classes. Her tall white socks paired with black kitten heels are simple, but she caught my eye because of her tiger printed crewneck. Her major prepares her for business as she power walks by me with a half-empty Starbucks matcha, her general aura reminding me of a catty executive whose assistant forgot to remind her to pick up her daughter from school. When she stopped mid-strut to check her phone, I took it as a sign that I just had to bother her for a photo. She kindly rolled her eyes and said her outfit was boring, but I have to disagree. It’s so chic, so Miu Miu, and so underlyingly bitchy in the best way.

From cartoon characters to old men, the students featured this week pulled from a multitude of sources for outfit inspiration, all connecting back to their fields of study. At a school with dozens of different majors, it only makes sense that our student body is one of the most stylish and unique. If you disagree, just peer down Fifth Avenue on any given day and get bombarded by shag haircuts, patchwork tattoo sleeves, and Doc Martens (platforms, of course).