By
Yoali Rodriguez
Editorial Photography by
Annabella Mireles
Additional Photography courtesy of
Studio Siglio
Fashion is the language of representation, freedom and expression that craves the warmth of community.
Understanding the tongue, University of Texas at El Paso student Andrew Hughes, gave life to Studio Sigilo in 2023, an organization dedicated to fashion design and styling. Invoking a new era for UTEP fashion creatives.
After moving from San Antonio to attend UTEP and pursue Mechanical Engineering, to his surprise, Hughes found himself elected as president of a club that changed the university’s involvement in the local fashion scene.
“I have always really been into fashion and reading books about the industry. I was kind
of new to El Paso at the time, and it was when I was looking for clubs to join but no sort of organization already existed in that space,” Hughes said.
Hughes said he noticed El Paso’s hunger to grow the fashion scene with the rise of local designers and shows.
“My biggest goal became to bridge the gap between UTEP and the El Paso fashion scene,” Hughes said.
Before joining the organization, Vice President of Studio Sigilo and Business major, Penelope Terrazas, also felt uninvolved in college. She said there were no hubs to help her build her portfolio and reach her dream job as a fashion entrepreneur.
“When I entered school, I got really discouraged when I noticed that there was no fashion at UTEP,” said Terrazas. “As a kid, my mom always told me about fashion. She used to be a fashion designer, and she had a store here in El Paso called Deborah Cisneros.”
Inspired by her mother’s beginnings to pursue a career in fashion, once she became aware of Studio Sigilo, she decided to take a chance on Hughes’ vision to help him build the first fashion organization at UTEP.
Ever since she has been helping him encourage students in the organization to feel just as creatively nourished.
“This organization showed me that everyone has a connection to fashion,” Terrazas said. “It doesn’t matter what you’re studying, you can have a passion for anything, and I feel like that mentally opened the creative eyes of our members.”
Throughout its first year as an organization, Studio Sigilo crafted its first collection from scratch titled “Drifters Regalia.”
Terrazas said the collection was made of three pieces, incorporating everyone’s talent.
The first was a male white linen romantic flowy top, with a deep cut V-neck, and a collar connected by red ribbon. On the sleeves of the top, ribbon details can be spotted creating a split dimension between each.
The female pieces were made up of two dresses:
The first is a blood-red full-length hand-knit see-through dress with flowy sleeves.
The second was considered the showstopper of the collection. A satin burnt red mermaid gown with a tulle bouncy layer in the bottom. Some key features of the dress are the wraparound bow, which sits at the back of the waist, and a headscarf made up of the same satin fabric.
“We wanted to do retro/vintage meets modern El Paso,” describes Terrazas, “The male look we said felt like a Frank Sinatra-esque outfit. For our knit dress, we wanted to do something outside of the box, and androgynous. And lastly, the gown had more of that retro/vintage feel.”
Hughes said each member played a significant part in brainstorming the patterns, sewing, and styling the designs.
Studio Sigilo debuted “Drifters Regalia” in May 2024, at local boutique IM NOVELTIES’ “Fashion Show on Texas.”
The show was accompanied by other brands such as Fairway Collective, darkcastle club, Paranoid, and GAUCIN Couture. The organization watched its pieces strut the runway down Texas Ave. and also helped style parts of the show.
Former member of the club and UTEP Alumni, Sofia Alonso also believed in the passion everyone at Studio Sigilo brought to the table. Her involvement in the organization became significant for its flourishment, as she had a background in El Paso’s fashion scene.
“It was at the start of my senior year at UTEP, and I was experiencing feelings of senioritis, thinking ‘Did I do enough? Could I have been more involved?’” Alonso said. “When I showed up to the first meeting, I was very impressed by Andrew’s drive and his insight on what he wanted to bring to UTEP.”
At the time, Alonso was a professional stylist for the local brand GAUCIN Couture.
“The first thing that Andrew [Hughes] had said in the meeting was he wanted to do a collection and a show, and I said, ‘let’s do it,’” Alonso said.
After hearing Hughes’ aspiration for a show, she said she could not help but to jumpstart the project; part of her passion was to craft fashion shows and media in the industry.
Alonso said her time in the organization brought out the best of her skills. She considered putting the show together as the biggest triumph she accomplished (so far).
“It was my second time organizing a show independently without any big funding,” she said. “This experience helped me to elevate my skills as a creative because it made me understand it was possible to do a lot of things at once and bring people together to execute big projects.”
According to Alonso, the best part of the show was watching as all the members saw their collection close the show.
“It was a milestone,” Alonso said. “It sets the bar high for Studio Sigilo’s future projects and endeavors. It was great to see how many people were hungry for such a locally based event.”
Even though Studio Sigilo reached a big break in its first year, Hughes emphasized behind all the glitz and glamour, the true meaning behind the organization was community.
Hughes said he hopes to see the organization outlive his time at UTEP and remain a place where people can go and express themselves freely.
“The deeper meaning of the club was to allow students to collaborate with other people,” said Hughes. “To learn how to come up with design and just do stuff they wouldn’t necessarily be able to do within their curriculum.”
Hughes said he hopes to see the organization outlive his time at UTEP and remain a place where people can go and express themselves freely, regardless of their major or experience in fashion.
As Studio Sigilo enters its second year, they have begun to brainstorm new projects and are excited to see what opportunities the city will bring in.
As leaders of the organization, Hughes and Terrazas said they look forward to getting their members more involved in the local fashion scene and solidifying a space for UTEP students who are seeking opportunities in the industry.
Meanwhile, carving a fashionable mark in El Paso.
