Mporium Expands Horizons with New Theme Wanderlust

Mporium made a drastic switch in theme this year, from Homecoming: Better Together to Wanderlust, a theme that encourages students to reach beyond Poughkeepsie and expand their horizons. Photo by Ava Battinelli '26

Mporium made a drastic switch in theme this year, from Homecoming: Better Together to Wanderlust, a theme that encourages students to reach beyond Poughkeepsie and expand their horizons. 

“We celebrated Marist [University] as a home and the community here last year. But for this semester, we kind of wanted to go beyond that and think, how can we stretch beyond the 845?” said Director of the visual team, Gabrielle Lloyd ‘26. 

From there, Wanderlust was born.

This semester’s theme also pays homage to Marist’s extensive study abroad program, which many students participate in and note as a favorite aspect of Marist.

“We felt that it would be perfect to connect all students to the scene, especially outside of the fashion program,” said Lloyd.

Aside from the items that are available to purchase at Mporium, various interactive elements bring the store to life. 

The interactive map, created through a collaboration between Mporium and the Study Abroad Office, invites students to place a pin and tag on the map where they studied abroad, where they would like to go or their favorite places.

Another interactive portion of the store called the Adventure Corner invites students to write down places that they've visited and advice for students studying abroad in the coming semesters. 

“I wanted to incorporate that portion into the store because I know that while Marist is such a huge study abroad school, I feel like a lot of people get caught up in the hype and don't really focus too much on how scary it actually is to be away from your hometown and your family for 4 months,” said Lloyd, reflecting on her study abroad experience in Paris, France.

“Including that portion in the store was really important to all of my team members, especially because a lot of my team members had just come from abroad,” Lloyd added. “So being able to pass on our experiences through that little journal is something that I was really proud of.”

Mporium also collaborated with Marist Sunsets, an account on Instagram, to create a postcard, which features a photo of the rotunda with a sunset in the background; a staple at Marist. 

Other new items include clothes, bags, jewelry and more. Mporium’s sales on opening day exceeded the record they set last semester. 

“This semester, we have a lot more product than we've ever had,” Lloyd said. “So, figuring out how to even display that much like a breath of product was definitely a struggle, but it also allowed us to be so successful on grand opening day.”

Opening day also featured a table outside the store where students could engrave their initials on a luggage tag to use during their travels, organized by the Events Team, led by Eliza Heiter ‘26.

To execute the theme, the Visual team got to work at the start of the new year and made mood boards from photos on Pinterest to visualize the type of decor they wanted in the store. From there, they sourced from places like Amazon, Michaels and consignment shops.

“We actually used Hyde Park Consignments a lot. We're probably their number one customer, the number of times we've gone there. We got a lot of our products from there because we wanted to have a vintage travel aesthetic for this semester,” Lloyd said. 

Outside of the store, the Director of the marketing team, Sofia Gaffney ‘26, and the rest of the team work to execute the theme on social media. 

The photoshoots that the team does every Wednesday is a huge collaborative effort. 

“I have everyone make their own mood board, and then we kind of all come together and make one big one, and that's kind of like our concept for each shoot. We've had a lot of fun this semester because it's very travel-heavy,” said Gaffney.

This year, the marketing team is expanding the locations where they shoot and collaborating with on-campus organizations, such as the track and ski teams. 

Gaffney is also in the process of building a Pinterest for Mporium, as it acts as a multi-generational hub for inspiration. 

With the grand opening set for the end of February, students only had a month and a half to organize, create and reveal their theme for the semester. 

“It's everybody putting all their hard work and effort in,” said Lloyd. “So all of us working together really brings the theme to life in a really short time.”