Borderless Live Interview + Orttu Focus

Hey everyone!

So this year I wanted to really spread my wings in the launch of Agitprop. I have always been very much involved with the beauty and influencer conventions and I’ve been doing talks on LGBT at Summer in the City, Beauty and Business at Beauty Con, various conventions from Dallas to Berlin. I've been very fortunate to have had my work debuted because I don’t know that much about other social media influencers so I’m a bit unaware as to what’s going on? So it’s always quite a fun situation for me because I can be a sort of silent eagle and find out the tea from the people there. But regardless, it’s always been a fun type of thing to do because I love speaking to a crowd.

So one of the designers I wanted to partner with who kitted me out for this event was the phenomenal unisex brand Orttu who kindly set me this entire ensemble How gorgeous does it all look together!

So this year I was asked to do the usuals but I wanted to try out this new event, called Borderless Live. Now this is about travel! I wanted to meet some new brands and collaborators and I thought it would be a better fit this year. So we did an interview and I wanted to post it here because I thought it was a cute one, check out my bio and bit’s on their site + I hope you guys enjoy the tea!

How did you get into your profession?

I was approached by an editor from Dazed and Confused Magazine when I was in school who noted my natural androgyny, I was invited to cast for a cover shoot and the first McQ dispersion line from Alexander McQueen. I began to work as a model, walking my first London Fashion Week at 16 which led me to travel. I was always very insistent that I be involved in the creative side of things and would often redo my own makeup, which led me to do pretty creative editorial work. I wanted to develop my knowledge of makeup so I studied an MSc in Cosmetic Development and from then, I capitalized on the work I did pretty much organically as an early digital creator and merged the two worlds together.

I wanted to do something completely left of the field as I think that social media has become very dark + sensationalistic in the last few years, I've left my mark in beauty and I wanted to do the same in an arena that I've always been passionate about and so I started my own platform where I can show people the lovely places I get to travel to, the food I love to cook and more!

What is one of your proudest creator moments?

Being under the trans spectrum but having a comparatively unconventional experience, I always wanted to be defiantly myself in every aspect of my life. I think we've seen a very linear transition storyline in the media which is not at all reflective of most peoples journeys. For me, I presented as female through school and experimented with a masculine image as I reached my twenties so I've almost had the reverse of what is commonly shown, but being that through my work on social media has been profound to the people living in less tolerant cultures, who can see some light at the end of the tunnel. Something as simple as makeup that can shift the proportions of the features has impacted on so many more people’s lives than I could have dreamt of. I have almost daily messages from trans people saying how my work has helped them find peace within their bodies and that is truly the proudest thing for me.

How do you get into the creative flow?

I am quite guarded about my spirituality but for me, it's hand in hand with my creativity and when it happens, it happens. I can't force it at all. When the energy comes I take full advantage of it and try and make something, whether it's clothing, a painting, a sculpture, a song, anything. I channel it.

Which content creator would you like to switch places with for a day?

I don't watch really watch social media stuff so much as I follow things that I'm inspired by, like animals and underwater Instagrams. I do find myself watching David Attenborough clips online almost daily so it would be phenomenal to swap lives with him. I love animals and I'd love to do a show about nature. I have a dream of going to the Polynesian islands and documenting whales, hopefully, I'll be doing that in the upcoming future.

What is one thing you wish you had had or known when you first started out?

I was always very clued up on the window of opportunity with social media and I tried to capitalize on every aspect before it became overly saturated, so if I was to give advice to new people I always say get your business head-on and make your money now, because once this is over you're gonna be stuck. I started a secondary channel to share what I had built with creators like Novympia, Stef Sanjati and many, many more so I always tell my friends to get the money, be yourself and filter out words that would hit your Achilles heel, because you're going to get hate by standing out and it's better for you to have the benefit of blocking it before it starts.

Why should people buy a ticket to BorderlessLive?

I am hugely excited about attending Borderless Live because I've been so involved with the beauty world, I want to experience new creators and see how people have bridged travel. I've never found someone my age or who reminds me of myself, doing this type of content so hopefully, I'll get some advice from some of the other attendees that do that as a specialty.