TREND Magazine is an Iowa State student-led publication centered around fashion, lifestyle and beauty.
“We are completely student-led, which means everything from the written articles, advertisements, the styling, makeup, graphic design is done by students,” said Editor-in-Chief Mia Kawamitsu, a senior in journalism and mass communication.
TREND Magazine hosted a drag queen game show in the Memorial Union on March 24 as an effort to gather funds for the publication’s 35th issue. The fundraising event was hosted by “the fabulous drag queen Coco,” alongside the Priory of the Wilde Rose Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Attendees had the opportunity to engage in a variety of games such as Minute to Win It and “Duck. Duck, Goose” all accompanied by comedic drag commentary.
“This was the first time we’ve ever hosted an event like this, for the drag game show,” Kawamitsu said. “We [TREND] have worked with drag queens in the past. We’ve invited them to perform at our launch parties, but this our first time that it has become its own event.”
A local drag queen, Coco, a former employee of the closed bar Big Wigs, hosted the event. The event also featured The Priory of the Wilde Rose Sisters, a group of queer nuns in Iowa promulgating universal joy and expiating stigmatic guilt, according to their website.
“With this event, we were hoping to raise money for our 35th issue because the publication does cost over $14,000,” Kawamitsu said. “We also do receive some funding from Student Government, which gives us $3,000.”
Kawamitsu also talked about the fundraising website, Fund ISU, through the Iowa State University Foundation and mentioned that TREND Magazine was able to raise a little over $6,000 through the platform.
“The drag performance, that’s something that a lot of TREND members really enjoy, but we felt that it could be its own event, rather than just a part of the release party,” Kawamitsu said.
Regarding the upcoming issue release, Kawamitsu said, “The theme of our issue is ‘RADAR.’ The message behind our theme is looking at how cycles are perpetuated throughout history, whether that is weather, politics or fashion. It is a palindrome, read the same forward and backward. That was intentional because we wanted to show that cycles are repetitive.”
TREND Magazine is open to all students at Iowa State and does not require any prior experience or involvement. To become a committee member, students must attend TREND’s first meeting in the fall and decide what committee they want to be placed on. Associate director and manager applications are currently open and are due April 28, according to Kawamitsu.
Previous TREND Magazine issues can be viewed through Linktree, as can their Instagram, application forms and website.
