Style Spotlight: Madison Wild

Photo Credits: @madisonxwild on Instagram

Fashion is many things. It is a form of art, a language, an outlet for self-expression, and a vessel for self-discovery. It changes with the times, influenced by culture, but it means something different to everyone. Madison Wild, a fashion influencer and Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, has made her mark on the world of fashion. She began on YouTube and transitioned to TikTok in May of 2020, steadily growing in popularity ever since. By sharing her love for fashion, Madison inspires her audience to try new things, be unique, exercise creativity, and express themselves freely, understanding that it is liberating to explore how fashion resonates with the individual. 

Madison describes her style as 'eclectic' with a touch of funk, but it also depends on other factors. 'I always want a part of me to look interesting and inviting, something that will start a conversation with someone.' When putting together outfits, she often chooses elements that don’t necessarily make sense together, but in an intentional way. 'Whether that's having a really put-together outfit and messy hair, or just thrifted pieces that look like they've been lived in. I don’t like to look super tidy.' She usually starts with a specific piece that inspires her or an overall theme. 'So if I'm trying to style something like a tutu or a ball gown, I try to find something that brings it down a little bit, like a sweatshirt or trying to tie in rain boots with the tutu, and I go from there.' The 'skeleton' of an outfit typically consists of shoes, a top, and pants. 'Whenever I find two of those that go together, I figure out how the [third element] can be a mix of the other two.' Usually, it still isn’t the 'perfect' look. 'That's where the accessories come in, whether that's a jacket, a bag, a hat, or just jewelry in general. And that will usually make it come together.'

Just as trends change with the times, Madison’s style has evolved over the years. 'I was kind of streetwear-leaning for a while when I was younger, which is so funny because now I’m the opposite of that.' As she’s gotten older, she has learned to trust her intuition when making wardrobe decisions. 'There was so much of me fighting that for a while and not thinking I was cool enough or that I'd be able to pull off certain things I wanted to wear.' 

For Madison, the COVID-19 pandemic had the biggest impact on her style. 'That was the first time that I really dressed completely for myself.' Isolation gave people the opportunity to express themselves freely and try new things without the pressure of others' opinions. 'I was playing around with clothes, with nobody else's opinions mattering, and I was truly able to see what I liked to wear when I was alone.'

Madison takes inspiration from various outlets, using Pinterest to collect images and curate boards for inspiration. But she also captures inspiration from her everyday life. 'I love Pinterest, but I will also take pictures of everything I see, whether that's something for sale on a website, an Instagram picture screenshot, or if I see someone in person, I'll write down the formula of their outfit and take note. I have all these albums and folders in my phone of different things I’m inspired by.'

Our clothes speak volumes, and in this way, fashion is a language. 'Our clothes say a lot about what we want to say to the world.' It is the primary outlet for self-expression. 'You get to choose whether you want to be approachable or if you don't want to be spoken to or noticed that day.' It is the first thing people notice about you, and it communicates without words. 'I really appreciate how fashion allows us to communicate things about ourselves without having to speak,' said Madison. It is a way of relating to others who share or appreciate similar styles because your shared interest in fashion often translates to other shared interests. So fashion makes identifying like-minded people accessible. We also have various social constructs that dictate what type of clothing to wear to certain events or in certain contexts, such as dressing up for a first date or looking professional for a job interview. 'It can be hard to understand that concept for someone who isn't into fashion,' explained Madison. 'They're like, oh no, I don't want my clothing to say anything about me, I don't really think about what I put on my body every day.' But the reality is that each time you conform to social norms for attire, 'you're already participating in that without even realizing.' But, as Madison emphasized, 'it doesn’t have to be limiting in that way either.'

Putting together an outfit is like creating a piece of art. 'I really never realized that when I was younger,' Madison admits. 'I used to not even think I was a creative person because I wasn’t good at painting or drawing or anything like that.' Madison has learned that styling a look exercises the same creative muscle that other art forms require. 'Creativity for me is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.' She explained that her fashion intuition strengthens each time she puts together an outfit. 'Your mind builds up a kind of library of silhouettes that go together or colors that go together.' And just like art, fashion involves the calculated combinations of colors and shapes.

When I asked Madison about what got her into fashion, she replied candidly, 'I can't remember a time that I wasn't.' She recounts a story her mother shared from Madison’s childhood. 'When I was younger and would get home from vacation, I would run to my dress-up box and put on all of my clothes at the same time…and I would just be sitting there, releasing this big sigh.' Madison has always been drawn to fashion in this way.

Madison finds most of her unique pieces secondhand, citing Etsy as her shopping platform of choice. 'Weirdly, so many of my most complimented pieces I've purchased from Etsy.' Although Madison has accumulated a variety of unique and eclectic pieces, her favorite item in her closet is much more sentimental: a pair of her mom’s shoes. They are red patent leather heels with a round toe and a little bow on top. 'They look very Miu Miu, but they were my mom's from the 90s, probably.' She tried them on frequently growing up, eagerly awaiting the day that they would fit her.

Madison’s go-to outfit combination is low-rise baggy pants or trousers– 'I'm always in some sort of comfortable pants that kind of feel like sweatpants,' paired with either a T-shirt or turtleneck, a pair of loafers, and a cool jacket. When I asked for her favorite accessory, she responded enthusiastically, 'I love rings; they just make things more fun.' For Madison, rings give her confidence, making her feel empowered. 'I just feel more powerful when I speak with a bunch of rings on my hands.' She also notes that rings are an easy way to elevate a look. 'You could just be wearing a hoodie or a T-shirt, and if you had your hands decked out in rings, it'd look like you did something with your outfit.'

The influencer’s biggest inspirations are surprising. 'It's always people I see in everyday life who are just going full out with their style.' She recalled seeing a group of older 'hippies' near her house wearing flamboyant outfits. This struck her with lots of inspiration. 'I love seeing old people with styles because it reminds me that fashion is also so much bigger than the beauty standard that's been pushed on us by the industry, that it's [strictly] connected with youth.'

Madison emphasized finding community as a support system that will encourage you to explore your wardrobe creatively and freely. 'Once we decide to start sharing those parts of ourselves, we find other people who are doing the same and who are willing to encourage us to do the same.' Connection is such an important and beautiful part of life. 'Connecting through fashion is so special; it doesn't have to be, you know, pretentious or competitive or anything.' Some people feel constrained by standards set in their hometowns. By being surrounded by a certain fashion sense in the place you grew up, you might feel obliged to stick to these norms. 'I've talked to a lot of people who come from their hometown or the area they live in and feel very bogged down by that and feel that they can't dress in a certain way [that’s different]. And I think even if you're not finding people that dress the same as you, just finding people who are willing to accept you for that [difference] is beautiful.'

Madison has advice for those embarking on their own style journey. 'Keep trying things over and over, and don't tell yourself that things aren't for you.' Curating an individual sense of personal style can feel intimidating, but it is liberating when you finally find the clothing that makes you feel the most you and the most confident. Madison shared that she saw what the people she admired were wearing but thought of herself as separate from that, as not being 'cool enough' to experiment with the same looks. 'That was such a weird belief I had for such a long time, that there was just like, this thing I wanted to be, but it was outside of me.' Give yourself the freedom to explore. 'I truly believe that everything in the creative world is ours to take and use if we want it. And there's no harm in trying something and not liking it and just moving on and trying different things.' Additionally, Madison said, 'staying inspired by things that are outside of fashion is super helpful.' This can be anything, from furniture to music or interior design, etc. 'Just pay attention to how specific things or people make you feel; that can translate so well into your sense of style…And I think style really is all about [feelings] and how it makes you feel moving through the world.' Since fashion is so communicative, it is important to feel good in what you’re wearing and also to be informed by things in the world. 'If you can cultivate an idea of how you'd like to feel every day and how you'd like people to feel about you, it's so much easier to do that with a broader sense of the world.' It is the collective accumulation of all of your likes and inspirations that will produce an original and sensational style. 'You can have an inspiration image of an outfit; you can create that exact outfit, but it's not going to be exciting or your own if you don't have other influences [contributing].' Lastly, Madison advises being wary of fashion trends. 'Don’t listen to fashion rules or follow trends too closely; take what you like and leave the rest.'