MEET VALLEY’S FALL 2025 FASHION SECTION OPENER: ALLISON TOCMO

With a fiery, red mullet that captures attention before they even speak, Allison Tocmo carries an unmistakable edge. Allison’s silver eyebrow and septum piercings catch the light when they laugh and their bold look is completed by the black rings in their gauged earlobes. Undeniable self-expression exudes from Allison as soon as they enter your line of vision. 

Allison is a 21-year-old third year film major who has always had a passion for creation. They are a self-proclaimed child of the internet, cartoons and anime. As a kid, Allison always loved art. They began with sketching characters and enjoyed creating their own. 

I always found it really cool how you could tell a lot about a character from the way they look or dress, so I started to translate that with how I look. 

Nowadays, Allison would describe their personal style as generally alternative, pulling a lot of inspiration from the early 2000s emo and scene aesthetics. There are so many subcultures and genres of alternative styles that they don’t like to limit themself by dressing in a singular box. 

The journey to total individuality and personal style was not one that came overnight for Allison. The youngest of three siblings, Allison was born in the Philippines in 2004 and spent the first eight years of their life there before moving to State College in 2011. 

They come from a Christian background, yet moved away from being a practicing member at age 13. The church Allison was a part of was not accepting of their blossoming queer identity. 

Allison’s mother comes from a traditional and religious Filipino background. Push and pull existed between Allison and their mother as they grew into their identity. First, their mother only wanted them to dye their hair natural colors when Allison wanted hot pink. Second, their mother was extremely against the septum piercing they now have. 

Fashion is so freeing for me. It’s a marker of identity and that is so important.

After their 18th birthday, Allison skipped first period and drove to the piercing shop. They finally received the jewelry they had been pining for. Allison managed to hide the piercing for about a month because the pandemic was still in full swing, and everyone’s faces were still masked. When Allison’s mother discovered the piercing, it was met with acceptance. Similar to the time that they cut and dyed their hair on their own during quarantine. 

Their mother used to have concerns about what others would think. Allison explained to their mother that it isn’t about what others think because judgment of character goes far beyond a piece of metal in someone’s nose. The combination of these and other similar experiences allowed for Allison’s mother to no longer worry about the modifications their child wanted to complete on their body.

Since middle school, Allison has been exploring themselves, both fashionably and personally. Their early teens involved an emo phase: lots of black, metal accessories and messy hair. In high school, Allison turned more to the indie alternative style that was blowing up online in the midst of the pandemic. They wore bright colors, mixed patterns and baggy clothes. 

Throughout the years, Allison’s style varied. There were many times when they would retreat away from their chosen look and decide that it no longer represented them. Some of this came from personality changes and some of it stemmed from fear of being different. 

You notice when you’re not looking like everyone else.

During these times of uncertainty while growing up, Allison turned to art. They always developed close relationships with their art teachers in school. “One of the most important figures out there for young, queer, alternative kids are the art teachers. They’ll always be there to support you.” 

High school was the time when Allison developed realizations surrounding their gender identity and began to understand it as a spectrum, rather than just a binary line. Currently, Allison doesn’t like to label themself as a singular gender identity. Fashion and identity also go hand in hand for Allison. 

“There’s a lot of femininity that I like and makes me feel power that I’ll pull from. I also take from masculine aesthetics too, because there’s part of that that also makes me feel powerful.” 

One of Allison’s favorite forms of self-expression is their hair. It is one of the easiest and quickest changes someone can make to their appearance. Piercings and tattoos are both expensive, as well as time-consuming with the healing processes. “A big influence for my hair comes from anime and the scene aesthetic. I just think it’s so much fun and one of the most recognizable things to change.” 

At Penn State, Allison has found community in alternative spaces. They have been a part of Delta Kappa Alpha, Penn State’s professional and gender inclusive cinematic society, since their sophomore spring semester. “Even if not all of the members are alternative in appearance, they’re alternative in mindset.” 

Now, as a junior, Allison has developed total apathy about caring what other people think about their look or style. As they’ve grown older and developed more responsibilities, Allison realized that there is plenty more to worry about in life than physical appearance. Beyond Allison’s found maturity, today’s heated political climate empowered them to come even more fully into themself. 

I’ve weirdly felt more emboldened to be like, ‘f that, I’m gonna be who I am.’

Fashion is a way that allows Allison to present externally; however, they feel internally. They describe fashion as a “performance,” and that is something Allison has grown to understand through their gender identity. Certain outfits help Allison align with the way they identify that day. “A certain silhouette that I choose may make me feel more masculine or vice versa, even if to an outsider I don’t appear it.”

“Fashion is so freeing for me. It’s a marker of identity, and that is so important.”

Allison’s fashion journey is not over, but rather just beginning. 

Related