Feature
Fashion Influencers
Serena Goh
TEXT BY KAT SMITH
PHOTOGRAPH BY JUSTIN LIVINGSTON
Fashion blogging as a profession has only really been around
for a few years. Most of the bloggers that you are familiar with
today got their start taking outfit shots in the mirror without any
hope of fame or promotion. Today, the scene is much different.
Top bloggers are appearing on magazine covers and designer
ads. They fill the front rows at fashion shows in New York, Paris,
Milan and London. Many of them are on a first name basis with
some of the most coveted designers in the industry.
In just a few short years, the field has become inundated with
hopefuls looking to score the goods and the readers necessary to
achieve superstardom. RSS feeds are filled with lifestyle, fashion,
beauty and design bloggers from every imaginable angle.
In all this noise, how is one to stand out?
This is a question that a few innovative individuals have managed to answer. In their own unique way, they are carving out a
path for themselves just far enough away from the norm to get
noticed. Their angle? They are not just posting pretty pictures
of themselves day in and day out, they are out to make a change.
They want to say something and they are willing to put in the
time and effort it takes to share their point of view with the world
and perhaps, change the way we think about fashion ourselves.
I set my mind to. So, when I fell into my day job I did just that.
Then one day while I was sitting down with a client who was
going on about how much he hated his job, I realized I didn’t love
what I was doing… No amount of money at that point could keep
me at the job, but I wasn’t quite ready to make that pivot into a
new career. The blog stemmed from that creative ceiling at my
day job and now, years later, I find myself waking up and creating the best version of my life and sharing it with a community.
Do you blog full-time?
My site is definitely a full-time thing, but I also like working on
multiple creative projects on the side.
What can’t you live without?
A strong support system.
What were you doing before you began?
I worked as a business development manager in the tech and
finance domain, basically on a daytoday I would manage relationships with many of the investment banks.
What inspired you to start your blog?
To be honest, when I moved to New York I had no clue what I
wanted to do. All I knew was that I work tirelessly at whatever
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If you could tell your pre-blog self one thing, what would
it be?
Maintaining a blog is going to be harder than you think.
If your audience could take only one thing from your blog,
what do you hope it would be?
I want to inspire my audience to explore. Whether you’re part
of the usual 95 grind or a creative type, never forget to explore
all facets of your life.
Has your style changed since developing your blog?
Definitely. It’s so funny to look back at those pictures of myself.
What are some of the challenges you have faced?
There are so many roadblocks, but if you have a clear focus,
you’ll overcome the challenges.
What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
My blog has always been [a] mix of food and fashion, and I have
a few big plans in mind. One would be to showcase more of what
I enjoy most: directing and photography.