- 1 week ago
The beauty influencer and "It Girl" sat with ESSENCE to talk about her rise to social media fame, her new Twisted Saints fashion line, and imposter syndrome.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00What's up, you guys? Welcome back to my channel, If You're New Hair. I'm Aaliyah J, and today is fashion history.
00:10First and foremost, you look absolutely amazing, but I'm pretty sure you don't need me to tell you that because you always do.
00:14You look great.
00:16Thank you so much.
00:17No problem. How's your day been going?
00:19My day has been going really good. I'm really excited to be here with you. How's yours?
00:24Thank you so much. It's been good.
00:25You know, I've just been filming a few things, writing a few things here and there, all in a journalist's day's work, but talking to people is like my favorite part of the day, so I'm very excited that I get to do that with you today.
00:35Yes, I'm really excited.
00:37Yes, for sure, and I first want to ask you about your love for style and fashion.
00:43What inspired your love of fashion, and what would you describe your personal style as?
00:50What has inspired my style and fashion?
00:54Honestly, this is going to sound really cliche, but I think it's me. I've inspired my style as of lately.
01:02I feel like as of recently, I've really, really, really found myself, and I've been doing a lot of self-work, and I'm like, why don't I express this on the outside?
01:11So I've really decided to do that, and I kind of put on whatever I want.
01:14I love that. I feel like it's really important to have that self-awareness, because I feel like beauty really comes from the inside out.
01:21So however you feel on the inside definitely should be radiated outwards, because then, you know, if you feel good, you look good.
01:27That's my thing.
01:28Absolutely. 100%.
01:30And then, how would you say that your life as an influencer, somebody who is in the public eye, has impacted your career in the industry?
01:39Whew. It's impacted my career so, so, so much in so many ways.
01:45And I'm not going to lie, being an influencer is not easy.
01:50So I think as of lately, I've just really been learning to adjust.
01:55And when things don't go right, it's because something else is supposed to go right.
02:00Ooh, that's a word.
02:02When something doesn't go right, it's because something else is going right.
02:04Yes.
02:05Yes.
02:06You gave me the word I needed today.
02:07That was the word of affirmation.
02:08Yes.
02:09I love it.
02:10And obviously, with being an influencer, there's probably a lot of things that people think that they know about you, but they don't.
02:17So what would you say are some of the most common misconceptions about being a social media influencer?
02:22And what are some of the craziest assumptions that you've ever heard about your own career trajectory?
02:27Oh, gosh.
02:29I think one of the craziest ones that people may think about influencers is that they're like mean girls.
02:36And I think that comes from just like the stigma around like beauty and makeup.
02:40You know, when you see someone polished or dolled up, you think like, oh, like she probably is just like so freaking mean and like stuck up.
02:48But no, like I think and I think also a lot of people used to really think that I was a mean girl, which I'm like the furthest thing from it.
02:56You're so sweet.
02:56I don't know.
02:57People used to really think that.
02:59I think now that I show like more of my personality online, so people see a little different.
03:04But before, when I just got into makeup and I wasn't really showing my personality, people used to really think that I was like mean.
03:11And like I said, the stigma around just makeup and fashion and trying to look your best, it used to really be that.
03:16But now we're all embracing it.
03:18So it definitely has changed.
03:20And then as somebody who's always on social media, you know, imposter syndrome is so real.
03:26So do you ever experience imposter syndrome as someone whose career is always on social media and in the public eye?
03:32All the time.
03:33I experience it all the time.
03:35And I've actually had to identify with it as of recently because, you know, like you said earlier, self-awareness is very important.
03:43And when it's times where I'm doing certain things and I'm like, do I deserve this?
03:48I have to remember that I do deserve these things.
03:50You know, I've worked really, really hard to get at this point and I need to appreciate those things.
03:56This is a blessing.
03:58Absolutely.
03:59And then when you do experience those those bouts of self-doubt or you find yourself comparing yourself to other people or other things, what are some ways in which you positively talk to yourself to assure yourself that there's one of one you and you are doing the best that you can possibly do?
04:15Um, I've been learning to make a list of things that I love about myself and I think this is very important and it's also important to do when you are looking for that self-worth.
04:32You know, like I said, I've been working a lot on myself and my self-awareness.
04:36So I like to make a list of things that I really enjoy about myself that have nothing to do with money or material things.
04:42Ooh, that's beautiful.
04:44I should start doing that too.
04:46Yeah.
04:46Because like I was just talking to my best friend about this the other day.
04:49It's crazy that when you introduce yourself to some people, sometimes the first thing you say is your title or your affiliations.
04:56So sometimes it's hard as millennials and as Gen Zers to detach ourselves from those titles that we have.
05:02And we don't really think about who would we be without this company or who would we be without this title?
05:07So I'm actually starting.
05:09Absolutely.
05:10You definitely, definitely should.
05:12I had to thank myself the other day because I'm like, you know what?
05:15I have so many other things to look at myself other than like my success.
05:19I have a voice that I actually use.
05:22When I don't like certain things, I voice it.
05:24And that's a great thing, you know?
05:25So you definitely got to appreciate those little things about yourself.
05:30And speaking of some not so little things, I want you to talk to me about your upcoming clothing line, Twisted Saints.
05:36Give me all the tea, girl.
05:38How did you get started with it?
05:40And what are you most excited about?
05:42So I got started with Twisted Saints.
05:45One day I'm like, you know what?
05:47I really love fashion.
05:49And I used to think that like my career was going to just go in a beauty direction.
05:54But when I really realized the enjoyment that clothes bring me, I'm like, wow, like I really want to make clothes for other girls just like me.
06:04So that's how I got started.
06:05Honestly, I just woke up one day and it was an idea and I just ran with it, literally.
06:10And what was the inspiration behind the name Twisted Saints?
06:14So the inspiration behind the name, like I said, I kind of woke up and this happens to me a lot.
06:20Sometimes I'll have dreams about certain things and I just wake up and I'm like, oh, my God, this makes sense.
06:26And it just sticks and I can't go anywhere else.
06:29So Twisted Saints, I don't know how, but and I can't even play back the dream.
06:33But I just know I've seen that word in my dream.
06:36And I woke up and I wrote it down on a piece of paper and I was like, this is it.
06:41Like, this is what I want to do.
06:43I think that's beautiful.
06:44Like, yeah, sometimes you just got to listen to your dreams and not second guess it.
06:47If that's what that's what God made you see, then that's what it is.
06:50Yes, literally.
06:52And then on your journey as a budding fashion designer, what have been some of the most difficult and the most rewarding parts of your journey so far?
07:01So one of the most difficult parts was, I think, finding a factory.
07:07I've got denied so many times at factories.
07:10Factories have the choice to either accept you or not accept you.
07:14And so I'm actually at the moment doing a relaunch of Twisted Saints.
07:19And that's because when I first started, I was doing a lot of fast fashion, you know, just ordering simple clothing from vendors.
07:25And it did not work out.
07:28And that's because when you order those clothes from vendors, they're actually ripping off other designers.
07:34And with my platform and me being a black woman, I cannot do that, especially because the clothing that I have bought, it ripped off another black designer.
07:42And I was literally torn.
07:44I was torn into pieces.
07:46I had to write the designers and say, hey, this before I launched, I had to tell them, like, this happened.
07:52I just found out that this was from your clothing line.
07:55I didn't know that this is what vendors do.
07:58And I'm literally torn.
07:59And so I just don't like that, you know.
08:02So I think the hardest part was closing down shop, trying to revamp, trying to find a factory, trying to find people to add to my team.
08:11I got a lot of no's from a lot of different places.
08:14And I finally got that yes.
08:15I almost gave up.
08:16But I was like, let me just keep going.
08:18Let me just keep going.
08:19You know, this is what I want to do.
08:21Let me just push through.
08:21So I finally got that yes.
08:23And that was really hard, you know.
08:27So.
08:28And then obviously, you know, beauty and style and fashion, though they're under technically the same umbrella, they're not the same thing.
08:36So what would you say are some things that you learned about yourself in the beauty industry that are going to help you in the fashion and style industry?
08:43So in the beauty industry, I have definitely learned that everything comes back.
08:52So back in the day, back in the 60s, the mod fashion, the mod makeup was really, really, really popular.
08:59And when I first started doing beauty and doing makeup tutorials, that was what was popular.
09:06The white eyeliner and the waterline at the bottom, that was very popular.
09:11So it made me realize, I was like, wow, like things just come all the way back.
09:15And then I started seeing it in fashion.
09:18And, you know, I'm young, so I didn't see many things come back.
09:22But then I started seeing it in fashion.
09:24And now we're at a point where we're all like embracing the 70s and the groovy style.
09:29And so I'm like, wow, like this will definitely help me.
09:32I'm happy I learned that a long time ago.
09:34And then what advice do you have for young, budding fashion and beauty influencers or designers
09:42who may not know where to start in their career, but they know that they have a voice and they want to use it?
09:46I would say, for one, be yourself.
09:51Being yourself in the era of social media where everyone has this aesthetic is very hard.
09:58Sometimes you're seeing everyone do one thing and it's a cool trend.
10:02And you may not even be thinking that, but you may think that you have to follow that because that's what's cool.
10:08But really, what's cool is you being yourself.
10:11And when you're yourself, you come up with trends.
10:13When you're yourself, you are the trend.
10:15So I would say be yourself.
10:18And I would also say start, start, start.
10:23If it takes you to sell one item, if you only have money to buy like five pieces for your fashion brand, do it.
10:34Start somewhere.
10:34You have to start somewhere.
10:36And if you don't start today, you're never going to start.
10:38And then going back to Twisted Saints, what are some things that we can expect from this launch?
10:47Where can we purchase it?
10:48How can we keep up with it?
10:50Tell us all the things that we can expect.
10:52So with this launch and with the entire brand, you can expect clothing with no boundaries.
11:00So you're going to see a little bit of everything.
11:03You're going to see a lot of color, a lot of patterns, a little bit of everything.
11:08I feel like my style embodies a little bit of everything.
11:11And I also like embody a little bit of like every era.
11:16So you're going to see that.
11:18And you're going to be able to purchase it online.
11:21It's going to be for women like me, Black young woman who want to feel and look luxury,
11:28but also want to, you know, spend a cute coin, save some coin.
11:32It's very affordable.
11:34It is very fashion forward.
11:36So I'm super excited to launch.
11:39And then my last question for you is aside from or in addition to Twisted Saints,
11:44what else do you have coming up that we can support?
11:47I have so much stuff coming up.
11:50So as of right now, I'm working very hard on my fashion history videos.
11:54I've been covering a lot of designers as of lately.
11:58I've been talking about how fashion started in certain areas.
12:02And so as of right now, I'm doing a lot of research on Dapper Dan.
12:06He is like the father of streetwear.
12:09I absolutely love him.
12:10He made it possible for Black people to be into luxury and fashion.
12:17And literally, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be doing this right now.
12:22Like he literally opened the doors.
12:23So I'm really, really, really excited about my fashion history segments.
12:28And I just can't wait.
Comments