Tomisin Fasosin (BC ‘25) preserves the legacy of black fashion at Barnard through the upcoming ‘Black Style at Barnard’ project

At the crossroads of fashion, identity, and legacy, Tomisin Fasosin uses her creative vision to document and uplift the personal styles of Black students at Barnard.

Photo provided by Tomisin Fasosin/Black Style at Barnard

By Jada Washington 

April 12, 2025

“It’s almost like a soul practice,” says Tomisin Fasosin (BC ‘25), a senior Urban Studies and Africana Studies major, when describing how she approaches getting dressed every day. To her, fashion is more than just wearing clothes — it’s a manifestation of one’s personal identity and a reflection of who they uniquely are. 

This perspective is at the heart of Black Style at Barnard (@blackstyleatbarnard on Instagram), a fashion collective organization she founded in her freshman year. Their first project of 2025, titled “Black Style at Barnard” after the organization itself, is a style class dedicated to capturing the fashion of Black students. The framing of the “Black Style at Barnard” project is a curated fashion spread spotlighting Black students whose style stands out. It draws inspiration from classic yearbook superlatives that highlight a select few from the entire year, but in this case, it explicitly celebrates the unique fashions and creativity of these Black students shaping Barnard’s fashion scene. This initiative builds on the organization’s history of creative projects, such as producing merch and photoshoots for the Black student organization B.O.S.S. (Barnard Organization of Soul and Solidarity) and curating the “Style from Within” collection in collaboration with the Morningside Art Exchange. 

Black Style at Barnard started as a way to archive the ways Black students expressed themselves through their clothing, and this upcoming style class is a continuation of this founding vision. “This project for me is about celebration but also documentation,” Fasosin tells the Bulletin. “When things aren’t documented, they get lost in history, so I’m really intentional about documenting things, so we have something to look back to.” With this in mind, Fasosin envisions taking the documentation of this project further by eventually turning it into a print magazine to share on campus and using social media to broaden its reach.

Documenting and archiving play a crucial role in preserving cultural narratives, especially for communities that have been overlooked. Fasosin recalls noticing that a popular Barnard fashion account, known by the handle @barnardfits on Instagram, didn’t showcase many Black students, which motivated her to create a platform dedicated specifically to Black students and their styles. By building an archive of Black fashion at Barnard, Fasosin ensures that these expressions of creativity and self-definition are both celebrated now and preserved for the future, creating a lasting testament to Black presence and influence on campus.

Originally inspired by Vanity Fair’s ensemble shots of notable actors and actresses, Fasosin is preparing the launch of the first-ever style class project from the “Black Style at Barnard” collective at the end of April, showcasing the personal styles of around 12 Black students from both Barnard and Columbia. The project aims to curate fashion highlights from the year, focusing on a select group of students, particularly Black students, to create a visual archive that captures the current moment of Black style on Barnard’s campus while laying the foundation to document its evolution in the years to come. 

Photo provided by Tomisin Fasosin/Black Style at Barnard

To offer a firsthand look at the project in action, Fasosin invited The Bulletin to attend one of the shoots. Fasosin’s multidisciplinary talents were on full display with her adorning multiple roles as creative director, videographer, and photographer. Although these are skills she’s always had, she says working on Black Style at Barnard has “tailored” her focus on intentional storytelling through fashion and visual media.

Collaboration was a large part of the shoot, with the models pitching pose ideas and Fasosin implementing her personal spin on their ideas. “Collaboration is a central part of the creative process,” she tells the Bulletin. In executing this project, she enlisted the help of first-year Ezinne Okonkwo (CC ‘28) as an assistant and other friends to help with the photoshoots and interviews on other production days. 

Fasosin’s dedication to showcasing individuality extends beyond the photos; she seeks creative ways for the models to share their own narratives in their own words. “I wanted to let the models have a voice,” Fasosin explains when asked about her decision to incorporate short visual interviews. In these interviews, models are able to explain the different aspects of their outfits, what influences their personal style and the evolution of their aesthetic choices, and what fashion, especially Black fashion, means to them. 

“It grounds me when I’m creating,” she says. “It’s like I’m not just putting random pictures together. These are people’s lives, people’s stories, people’s memories, people’s styles. … It all makes it come together.” 

The difference in each model’s stories is not only caught in the video interviews but also the photos themselves. Often, Fasosin would pair two models with completely opposing styles and fashion choices together, which highlighted the range that Blackness is reflected through self-expression and dressing styles. 

However, Fasosin believes there is a common thread in all of Barnard and Columbia Black students’ styles: accessories. 

“Black people are very accessorized,” she says. “All of their styles were very them.” The accessories were spotlighted in these photography shots of the models, from their grillz to their rings to their belts to their nails — it was all a reflection of individuality and culture.

Photo provided by Tomisin Fasosin/Black Style at Barnard

Through this project, Fasosin has crafted more than just a visual celebration of style; she has created a space for reflection on identity, legacy, and belonging. For her, style is an intimate expression of individuality that reflects not only who someone is but what has shaped them along the way. “I really love this project because I think style is something people should take pride in,” Fasosin remarks, emphasizing the importance of honoring the experiences, cultures, and histories that influence one’s choices in self-expression. 

The “Black Style at Barnard” project seeks to elevate and preserve the diverse experiences of Black students, using fashion as a medium to highlight their contributions to campus culture. “It’s important to preserve the Black students here,” Fasosin asserts, underscoring the need for visibility and recognition in every facet of campus life. This call for visibility is especially critical in light of the declining percentage of Black students at Barnard, with Black representation dropping from 14% in the class of 2025 to just 9.5% in the class of 2028, especially amid the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse affirmative action. 

Looking ahead, Fasosin sees this project as a foundation for something that will continue to evolve and grow beyond her time at Barnard. “This is not ending with me,” she asserts, signaling her commitment to ensuring that future generations of Black students have a platform to share their personal narratives and style. This envisioning of the future of this fashion collective is the reason she brought on Okonkwo as her fashion assistant, someone just starting their college career, to envelop the younger students into the progression of this organization that she founded. In many ways, this project is about more than just fashion — it’s about legacy, documenting history, celebrating individuality, and fostering a sense of community that will endure long after the photos are taken.