“Fashion allows me to portray a different version of myself that changes day to day,” says Spring 2018 Fashion Section Opener Lucas Kerstetter.
Kerstetter volunteers regularly at Mount Nittany Medical Center and works at Urban Outfitters downtown. He loves disco dancing and listening to Fleetwood Mac and experimental house music reminiscent of Bjork’s album “Post.”
Photo by Ann Li, Assisted by Eric Shih
Born and raised in State College, PA, fashion has always been an outlet for Kerstetter to set himself apart.
“If I want to be more masculine or feminine I can simply throw on a different outfit, and suddenly it’s like I am a brand-new person. I like to dress the part. Above all else, it is all about the feeling I get when I put something on.”
Kerstetter is a junior at Penn State studying biochemistry and molecular biology with a minor in Korean. He definitely has a full workload, but he still makes time to show his creative side on his Instagram page.
“Everything on my Instagram is not really planned,” he says. “If I have an idea for a picture that day, I will create that image. Most of the ideas, if you want to call them that, are based off of small peculiarities I notice or pop into my head.”
As far as future fashion trends he is watching out for, Kerstetter is here for the extra fabric.
“I hope oversized trousers continue to make their rounds, but oversized denim I am on the fence about,” he says. “Now that I think about it, oversized everything is pretty okay with me. I’m loving pretty much everything Acne Studios puts out.”
Photo by Ann Li, Assisted by Eric Shih
Fashion remains one of Kerstetter’s passions in life as he continues to play with silhouettes and discover new styles.
“I love the concept of playing with self-image and the perceptions of others,” he says. “I try not to take fashion too seriously because then it isn’t fun. To me, it is all about just having fun and playing with different colors and shapes.”
Amongst his busy life, Kerstetter finds creative release in experimenting with fashion.
“I don’t have a lot of free time to spend time painting or drawing per say, so assembling outfits is a relatively quick way to display my creativity, or lack thereof.”
At the end of the day, Kerstetter never forgets the rebellious power of confident style.
“I like compliments as much as anyone does, but I really only dress for myself and wear what I like. My favorite pastime is when people tell me not to wear something, and then I wear it anyways.”
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Meet Valley’s Spring 2017 Fashion Section Opener: Janelle Bullock
