The Anchor Mag Makes its Mark at AHS

With a student body of almost 4,000, it is surprising that until last year, Arlington High School, located in Lagrangeville, NY, never had a fashion extracurricular. Gianna Tomasulo Padernacht, a junior at the time and one of my best friends, wanted to change that.

It was my vision to be surrounded by peers with diverse interests and talents who all can come together to create something incredible. And what is more incredible than a magazine!

Gianna Tomasulo Padernacht

In the fall of 2021, Gianna wanted a place for her and other students to be able to pursue their interest in fashion, so she teamed up with Angelina Galanopolus, another student at AHS and a talented designer herself and began working on what would eventually be known as The Anchor Magazine. Now, every month, they publish virtual issues of The Anchor, which consist of shoots, articles, creative edits and more. With so many students at Arlington, Gianna and Angelina make sure to utilize the talent and creativity of every member, from writers and photographers to hair and makeup.

The Anchor was a success from its first issue, creating community-wide buzz. The girls did not let everyone’s attraction to the magazine go to waste and came up with the innovative idea to organize the school’s first-ever fashion show, with Vice President of the Anchor, Angelina, as creative director. And so, by the spring of 2022, they got to work, planning all of the details.

By the time the fall rolled around, designers were finishing up their lines, the show was being promoted all over social media and people began to get excited. I, as the head of the writing department and host of the show, worked with the other writers to create the perfect playbill and script to present and slowly started counting down the days until showtime.

The week leading up to the show was hectic to say the least, but a week full of memories was made. As cliche as it sounds, being a part of something bigger than yourself is special. The moments leading down to the show were filled with the sounds of music blasting and laughter coming from the dressing rooms, the smell of hairspray and the craziness of people running around double-checking that everything was in place and ready to go. It was a celebration of creativity- and I must say- everyone outdid themselves.

Individuality and self-expression
is so important, and is often done through fashion. Fashion is art- it unifies communities and supports individuality, and this show did exactly that. It provided students of Arlington and the surrounding community the opportunity to express themselves and their myriad of creative expertise in a way that was so exceptional.

Angelina Galanopoulos

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As host of the show, I sat in the box in the back of the auditorium and was able to see the audience’s reactions to every piece and with every “ooh” and “ah”, I became more and more confident in the show’s success. The theme was “futurism” and designers had the creative freedom to interpret this however they pleased. It was a magical night and every member of the audience was transported to a futuristic world as models showed off the designs. If you were not able to see the show for yourself, check out The Anchor’s November issue, which is a look into the behind-the-scenes of the show, featuring many photo ops from the night!