BYU pre-advertising freshman Fia Solis challenges herself daily to dress as a different celebrity or character. From Elton John to Dua Lipa, to Donna from “Mamma Mia” to Duckie Dale from “Pretty in Pink,” Solis draws inspiration from a variety of style icons.
Solis said she was motivated to make her time at BYU memorable and decided to start her first semester with the challenge of never repeating an outfit. After posting a collage of selfies at the end of the semester, she asked herself where she could go from there.
“I spent all of winter break making a PowerPoint. It’s over fifty slides, and I’ve preplanned every single outfit for this whole semester,” she said.
Solis’ passion for experimenting with fashion started in high school. As the drama club president, she said her involvement in theatre opened her eyes to creative self-expression.
She models her looks after well-known icons and said she channels their confidence in order to wear the more attention-grabbing pieces, but she makes it a point to not lose herself in the character.
“Even though I do want to try to embody them in a way, I think it’s important to maintain integrity in that I don’t try to hide who I am,” Solis said.
Her roommate Abby Richards said Solis “holds herself with so much confidence and doesn’t think about what people might say about her bold style. I love that she is not afraid to show who she truly is and that she will never change herself for anyone.”
Solis said she’s received positive feedback on her looks at BYU, but she’s wary of it becoming the reason behind her project.
“It is really nice when people acknowledge something that you’ve worked really hard to create or put together and if anything, it just makes me feel really grateful and helps me feel like I belong,” Solis said.
Solis is preparing to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She said she looks forward to having fun with her outfits as a missionary, but recognizes her focus will be on representing Christ.
Her friend Julianna Rivera said of Solis, “I feel like it’s really hard to put yourself out there so when someone actually does that it’s like, ‘OK, respect, queen.'”
Solis plans to keep challenging herself creatively both at BYU and after graduation. See more of Solis’ work on her Instagram.
