Santa Monica College's (SMC) yearly fashion show, "La Mode," will be held online this year as a result of COVID-19. When the pandemic hit the US in March, the fashion department closed immediately on March 14, according to Professor Lorrie Ivas.

When Santa Monica College (SMC) made the decision that the spring semester was going to be completely remote through the summer, some international students made the decision to travel back to their home countries whereas others decided to stay. International students in the United States now lead an uncertain future as SMC among other schools, announced the fall semester will be online and the US borders are still closed due to COVID-19.

COVID-19 has escalated more and more over the last few weeks, with more than 500,000 cases in the US and 1.6 million cases worldwide. Everyone is told to stay at home and practice social distancing to avoid spreading the virus. As we are moving into the fourth week of quarantine, people are probably beginning to feel the effects of isolation on their mental health.

As colleges across the country close their campus and switch to online format due to COVID-19, many students fear the unknown. International students face an even more unpredictable outlook as they grapple with the choice to stay in America or attempt to rush back home to familiar surroundings.

Santa Monica College’s (SMC) fashion department partners with Lucky Brand to prioritize and encourage sustainability among their design students with a “chop shop” where they use recycled fabric scraps to create fashion collections.