3 Filipino American Creators on What the Fashion and Beauty Industry Needs

Does your heritage play a role in your creative process? Where do you draw inspiration from when it comes to being a fashion creator?
 
I would say it definitely plays

a role in the creative community I build and who I collaborate with. Filipino culture is all about family and, in general, community, and making sure to take care of one another. I’ve seen this openness and wanting to see people in my community—regardless of background—to create alongside me and succeed. For example, I have a good friend @adrianmartinn who is such a talented photographer. He’s also Filipino and like a cousin to me at this point. He’s my go-to photographer that I suggest because I trust him, love his point of view, and enjoy working with him. In general, I always try to look for opportunities for the people I love and trust because there is so much opportunity to go around and I want to be an advocate for those who may not always get their foot in that door, specifically people of color. For so long, we consumed a homogenous point of view, and it’s really exciting now to see different perspectives.
 
As someone who’s prominent on social media, do you feel it’s necessary to use your platform to speak up? Do you find yourself sometimes having to educate your followers on your background? If so, how does that feel?
 
I think it’s necessary to use social media to speak up no matter how big or small one’s platform is. Everyone has a platform, an audience. If you have 1 follower, 10 followers, or 100,000 followers, you have someone you can reach.

I think it’s necessary for us all to use our platforms because we’re multifaceted—or should be. We should be able to care about causes around us, if not more, as we care about the new it bag. We often share what we’re wearing, or what face wash we’re using, or what new restaurants we’re dining at, and I think we’re just as able to share what causes we feel passionate about or what we’re reading or what we care about. 
 
I don’t feel the need to explain to followers on my background. It’s not an option for me to have a platform and not use it in a way that I think will have a positive impact. I didn’t aspire to have followers, so I’m not worried about losing them when I talk about something I care about. I think it’s a shame that society has encouraged to care more about numbers than people.