Introducing The Student Body Collective

Last updated on Oct 14, 2022

By Myra Mulongoti, Arts & Entertainment Editor

The Student Body Collective (SBC) on campus, formerly known as the Student Body Boutique, has had a massive rebrand. 

Marketing Director, junior marketing major Gina Symes, gave some insight into the work that went into the rebrand. Symes assumed her role at the start of the fall 2022 semester.

“Our rebrand was the transition from The Student Body Boutique to The Student Body Collective. Since starting the boutique, it has blossomed into something more diverse. Our name had to change to fit this diversity, as we now offer our students far more than just clothes. We felt “boutique” no longer represented our brand, as it sounds expensive, old and overly sophisticated,” Symes said.

Symes went on to define the central message of SBC.

“The Student Body Collective is, at its core, “by students, for students.” It is the collective effort, creativity, and passion of its members, brought to fruition. Additionally, The Student Body Collective is ever-changing, just like our students,” Symes said.

The SBC store, which is a student-run business, is located in Hillwood Commons. Symes shared more information about what is sold in the store and what students can expect.

“Our store is made up of our clothing, dorm decor, accessories, and our “re-threads collection” (thrifted clothing). We have recently incorporated some exciting sustainable products as well,” Symes explained.

Along with the rebrand, SBC now has a new CEO: junior fashion merchandising major Anna Johnson. Johnson has big aspirations for the future of SBC while she’s in the role, and long after.

“We’re really moving towards the message of inclusivity. We want everyone to feel welcome here; to feel like they have something they could buy here, and to feel comfortable in the store. I think it’s for a new generation. We want this store to be relevant for all the future classes to come at LIU and to continue progressing our image,” Johnson said.

Johnson further described the core values of SBC and how she intends to further actualize them while she inhabits the role of CEO.

“Our three pillars are sustainability, affordability and inclusivity. And, I really want to work on the inclusivity piece. We have a lot left to do in terms of size, bringing in curvy clothing, and being representative of all different body shapes and sizes in our marketing. And eventually, I would love to have menswear in the store and unisex clothing, gender neutral clothing as well,” Johnson said.

However, Johnson explained that balancing the three pillars of the organization is not always an easy task.

“It is really hard but that’s my goal in my position. Eventually, I’d love to create something that’s for everyone and priced reasonably, but it’s tricky,” Johnson said.

In line with their sustainability pillar, the SBC makes a conscious effort to source the products sold in the store from brands that value sustainability and ethical sourcing of materials. Moreover, the “re-threads” collection at the store which is made up entirely of second-hand clothing also furthers the SBC’s drive towards sustainability.

Johnson shed more light on the work that goes into buying clothing for the store and how the SBC board navigates trends and personal taste.

“I think that each CEO that comes into the store has their influence on the overall vibe of the store. But in terms of trends, we–our buying team–do trend research before we buy clothing. We have a lot of fashion students on our e-board and we’re always doing our own experimentation with fashion based upon what we see on TikTok and what we see other people wearing. So, it’s kind of a collection of our general knowledge, as well as online information,” Johnson said.

The SBC store is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. They can also be found on Instagram (@thestudentbody_liu) for more information about their projects.