Fashion is more than just a pretty face. At least that’s what Uprising Magazine’s Editor in Chief Diana Hernandez thinks. According to Hernandez, the third issue of Uprising Magazine, which was released on April 7, hit many marks on diversity and uniqueness, as well as beauty.

Uprising Magazine is a student-run print publication that focuses on exposing fashion, art and culture through photos and articles in hopes of inspiring its readers. Since its formation in the fall of 2014, the publication has printed two successful issues, and its third is now available for pickup from various locations across campus.

Hernandez praised the hard work of Uprising’s team, saying that it took a village to get the publication to come together.

“The content for this issue was very meaningful,” Hernandez said. “It took a lot of hard work to come to life.”

According to Hernandez, this issue focused on the topic of culture, highlighting groups of people that walk on UNI’s own campus.

A couple pieces that Hernandez felt were particularly relevant were a story on the Black Lives Matter movement and another about the Women’s March. The article discussed recent demonstrations of feminist activism.

The models that Uprising chose for the fashion shots included people of many different sizes, ethnicities and genders. The front cover even sported a male model, which Hernandez emphasized was a big deal because men are becoming more and more present in the fashion industry — an industry that had been known to be female-dominant in the past.

Hernandez also mentioned that men are noticeably more interested in fashion nowadays, and that Uprising wanted to appeal to the male crowd of students, as well as the female crowd.

“Last year’s issue was great,” Hernandez said. “But this issue hit a lot of diversity and unique marks.”

Kennedy Elliott, creative director for Uprising, also commented on the need to produce publications that support gender fluidity.

“People think that this is a women’s magazine when it’s actually meant for everybody,” Elliott said. “Blending those stereotypes and supporting gender fluidity is a big thing in the fashion industry.”

Elliott said the outfits the models wore were also meant to speak particularly to college students, the magazine’s main audience. Many of the outfits were comfortable and sporty, which, according to Elliott, is very “in” right now with the younger crowd.

“We try to keep up with trends so we can give the people what they want,” Elliot said.

Brooke Twist, marking director of Uprising, said that the magazine has many ideas and goals already brewing for their next issue.

“We hope to release two magazines next year, one for each semester,” Twist said. “We also hope to start our projects a little earlier so we don’t end up rushing to finish.”

The team also aims to keep building members, stating that they will accept anyone, regardless of their majors or interests. They plan to add more positions within the organization so everybody will have set duties and so that the issue will be produced in a more organized fashion.

Although they are making some slight changes, the magazine reportedly doesn’t plan on changing their focus on the content of the magazine. Diversity and relevant trends will continue to be prominently featured in the pages of Uprising, and the members hope to continue discussing topics that are unique and interesting.

“When you think of Cedar Falls, Iowa, you don’t think about fashion,” Hernandez said. “But it’s here.”