Emma Greene
Where aesthetics and economy intersect lies MASH Magazine, the newest addition to the University of Mississippi’s collection of student-run publications.
“Whether it’s through the lens of ethics, the environment, trends, market trends, MASH focuses on bringing business and fashion together,” editor-in-chief Taya Breda said.
MASH x Ole Miss combines business and fashion reporting to create a “mish-MASH” of thought-provoking, yet easily consumable content that both inspires and educates its readers.
MASH Magazine was brought to Ole Miss by Breda in the summer 2021. Initially founded at the University of Michigan by Willa Sobel, who, alongside Breda, is an alumna of the Kent Denver School in Denver. The magazine is also being published at New York University and the University of Southern California.
“I didn’t know what to join when I first came to Ole Miss,” Breda said. “I reached out to the founder of MASH at the University of Southern California to ask what it was and by the end of the conversation, we were bringing MASH to Ole Miss.”
In bringing the MASH brand to the University of Mississippi, Breda said that the decision was not taken lightly.
“I knew MASH had the potential to thrive here,” Breda said, despite the Ole Miss community and culture greatly differing from that of NYU, USC and Michigan.
In each of its four locations, MASH mirrors its social climate, striving to create content that is relevant and unique to the respective community.
The magazine’s first Ole Miss edition, “Homegrown,” focuses on the editorial team’s hometown styles, as well as the fashions of Oxford and the university.
“There are people from so many different places on our staff,” Sarah Ledbetter, vice president of strategy and marketing, said. “We pulled from everywhere in ‘Homegrown’ as an introduction to who we are and the things we’re interested in.”
Currently a team of 17 dedicated members, the group has recently expanded to include a vice president of finance and a vice president of diversity and inclusion.
“MASH at Ole Miss is so new,” vice president of design Kate Hopkins said. “We’re still working some things out, but like all new things I’m sure it’ll continue to grow and change and get easier over time.”
MASH welcomes new writers at the announcement of each addition. Students interested in writing for the magazine are invited to contact MASH via email, mashmagolemiss@gmail.com, or direct message on Instagram. Applications for additional roles have closed for the fall semester; however, the team plans to open applications again in the spring with dates to be
announced on Instagram.
