Bleached blonde hair let down. A baby blue oversized sweater that matches her eyes, with the straps of a gray lace bralette peeking through, mom jeans and chunky white Fila sneakers. Eve Woorbel, College of Arts and Sciences 21’, sits next to me as I conduct the interview in a busy office. With a big smile on her face, Woorbel answers my questions with enthusiasm, showcasing her deep passion for fashion. 

Eve Woorbel became a model of the Off the Cuff fashion magazine her freshman year at Boston University. Woorbel talked about how joining this artistic community pushed her to turn from a shy kid to an outgoing, expressive, and creative young woman. 

Woorbel grew up with “three parents” as, she describes it. Her mother, her father, and her stepmother. Her father is a karate teacher and owns a karate school, due to this Woorbel has earned a brown belt in this martial art. Her mother is a software engineer who has taught Woorbel the importance of hard work and dedication in academics.

She double majors in political science and philosophy and religion at Boston University with the hope to pursue a law degree after she finishes with her undergrad. Woorbel has big dreams of someday becoming a diplomat. She is interested in individual countries, with individual societies and an intrinsic system. This dream job is also a combination of her love to travel and her interest in helping others. 

 From a young age, Woorbel found fashion inspiration from different outlets and used her clothing to channel her expression. She spent her late nights growing up watching “Project Runway” with her mother, which first sparked her interest in fashion. 

 In terms of her style, she has drawn inspiration from her stepmother. Her interest in fashion continued to develop as she would often go shopping with her step mom as a pick-me-up. “I would always look up to her for that. Her sister owned a clothing store in Germany for a while,” Woorbel said.   

Woorbel grew up as a shy quiet kid, focused on her academics. Lacking the courage to speak up and express herself through her voice, Woorbel turned to her clothes to showcase her personality. Her outfits reflect her mood, “ I noticed that the times where I have been the happiest in my life I’m better at making outfits that I actually care about and [am] not just going for comfort and chillness,” Woorbel said. 

She is known around her peers for having a very fashionable style, having a 90’s vibe,  yet still relevant to the type of clothes used today. 

Kendall Castaneda, a sophomore in the  College of Arts and Sciences, is a fashion enthusiast who admires Woorbel’s style.

“Her style is very versatile, not only will she will mix different patterns and textures together but she would also mix retro style clothes with modern styles. She does a really good job of matching eras of clothing,” Castaneda said.

Woorbel has become a shopaholic since she came to college because she now can simply order items of clothing to herself with just one click on the computer. Woorbel’s fashion is based on “fast fashion,” as she calls it.

“I find more inexpensive places to get a piece that is something that is not gonna last me forever, but it’s gonna go with this outfit every once in a while. I started shopping for individual pieces. For example one that I love is this yellow puffer that I wear all the time,” she said. That way, she can always stay on top of her fashion game without having to spend a fortune to always look good. 

 Woorbel started coming out of her shell and blossoming in high school. She joined theater and sang in a church choir, which foment her to become more outgoing. “I was very awkward, very academic focused when I was little. [I] still kind off am, but less awkward and more social and more involved in other outgoing things,” Woorbel said. 

The New Hampshire native never pictured herself as a model, however she had always been told “Oh my gosh! Eve you should model, you’re so tall and pretty” by those surrounding her. A late night talk with her freshman year roommate, in her freshman dorm in Warren Towers set her on the modeling path. Woorbel finished up the application and submitted it with low quality last minute pictures taken in the communal bathroom with questionable lighting, setting her faith into becoming a model. 

Woorbel is a model for Boston University’s only fashion magazine, Off the Cuff. After she received the acceptance email and headed to her first photoshoot, she was ecstatic. “I had the greatest smile on my face,” Woorbel said, reminiscing on that moment. 

Fitting right in the community, Woorbel speaks kindly of everyone working on the magazine, describing the working environment as a creative hub, where everyone fits in and is encouraging. She was so successful as a model that she was given two shoots instead of one her second semester. Modeling for this student run magazine has also opened new opportunities for her, where she has been contacted by photographer’s and other fashion influencers to collaborate.

She explains how fashion appeals to a diverse group of people because they all share the common goal to express themselves but also look good in the process. Off the Cuff  has been a conversation starter for her.

Off the Cuff has allowed Woorbel to connect with others. “ I met this girl a couple of weeks ago, she seemed super shy when I first met her, she was super quiet. She had a very dope outfit, and she just looked so put together. So I just asked her ‘Do you know Off the Cuff?’ and suddenly she opened up completely and became super warm and started talking about it,” she said.

The workplace at Off The Cuff is different than any other fashion magazine. The reason behind it is because everyone is there because they want to. Sarah Cummings, a junior majoring in graphic design and minoring in Film and TV, is the Senior Art Editor for Off the Cuff. Cummings explains how Off the Cuff “gives equal opportunity to a variety of skill sets including modeling, writing, styling, [and] photographing.”

 People from different majors, backgrounds, and passions come together to produce this one product. There is graphic design, public relations, film and tv, photography, makeup artists, stylists, and even a business side of the magazine that deals with advertising and marketing. 

“I met a girl who is biomedical engineering and is doing makeup for Off the Cuff, she is so cool, people have so many hidden talents,” said Woorbel. 

She talks proudly about the magazine. “It is awesome to flip through it, it looks very professional and it gives people a physical manifestation of their project. It is something we are very passionate about and not just doing it for a class,” she said.

 Being a model is not always pretty pictures and elaborate makeup. It is widely known that modeling comes along with body image issues. Woorbel spoke about the negative connotations associated with modeling and how that is not what modeling is about. She believes this concept of modeling should change. 

Her approach to modeling is that it is all about art and how it looks. She stands with the idea that a model’s goal is to make a vision come to life. “Modeling should not be about glorifying one body type… it should be all about creating for people and not just being narcissistic. It is expresion, it can be both the expression of the person wearing the brand and the expression of the design. If it’s supposed to be wearable then it should accommodate people,” she said. 

Off the Cuff has created a thriving environment for Woorbel and its creators. Producing a creative piece of art is the priority of this magazine. The executive board encourages their members to pitch in ideas and give input in the shoot.

 “It is very much all about being tight, super acceptive, and receptive of all of people’s ideas,” Woorbel said.

  Sydney Cairns, a senior majoring in communications with an English minor is a stylist for this magazine. “It is really a magazine about culture that seeks to ignite conversations among students in a way that is unique and creative,” she said.

The magazine’s photograph concepts explore and discuss different topics which are displayed through fashion. Woorbel’s favorite photoshoot is called Upside Down. The creative shoot involved Woorbel hanging upside down from a park in Cambridge. The shoot included elaborative reverse makeup, having false eyelashes and winged eyeliner in the lower lash line, orange eye shadow, and burnt red lipstick.

 As a prompt, the models are sucking on a bright red popsicle which creates an interesting contrast in color. The images were first taken and then reversed so the model’s hair looks like it’s floating. During this shoot Woorbel was rocking red baggy pants and puffy baby blue jacket.

 Khaled Sleiman, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, talks about Woorbel during her photoshoots. “She definitely puts herself out there, sometimes she takes risks whether it’s gonna work out on not,” said Sleiman. 

As a final note Woorbel reflects on the things that Off the Cuff has taught her, which includes new found confidence and a new passion she didn’t know existed. “Just [apply for] something you think you could never do, you never know what you can learn, and if you don’t end up getting it, you didn’t want to do it in the first place but if you do, you can learn new things about yourself.”

Her friend Castaneda agrees, Woorbel has a kind heart, “she is one of those few people who is walking sunshine.”