Photographed by Jake Rosenberg | Styled by Kate Davidson Hudson | Written by Roxanne Robinson
The
GREATER Good
AN ACTRESS USES HER PLATFORM AS A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS.
Actress, social change activist and social media star Ilfenesh Hadera didn’t even think of deserting the Big Apple when last year’s pandemic saw many flee to the country. The Harlem native feels proud to be among the New Yorkers who stayed and, as she puts it, “Ushered the city out of its darkest days with their support of community and optimism for the future of a town we knew would rise again.”
The Godfather of Harlem actress was filled with pride when the people of New York “showed up to protest a broken system and a nation in need of deep reflection after the murder of George Floyd,” she recalls. “That is telling of the character and spirit of the city. We took to the streets safely during a global pandemic to join together and fight for our shared humanity—for the most part with love and in peace. I’m so proud to be a New Yorker.”
Don’t let your desire to get there first trump your desire to share accurate, unbiased information.
Surely NYC is similarly proud to claim Hadera, who uses her platform to advance such passions as ending big-game hunting or speaking on behalf of the voiceless, particularly those suffering the genocide in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
“Ethiopia’s Prime Minister suspended internet and telephone service in the region, leaving no way to get information to or from Tigray. The international community must tell the victims’ war stories and hold the perpetrators accountable,” she affirms. “[They] must feel the pressure from a world that was watching.
As helpful as social media is to help rally support, the statuesque beauty is still somewhat leery of the “influencer” connotation. She sticks with socially conscious brands that value inclusivity, are eco-friendly, and brands that make goods she likes and uses. “I don’t consider myself an influencer—financial compensation and trade are always nice—but I’m just happy to share places and things I’m a fan of and love,” she says. While she happily shares her favorites, she really only solicits donations for her parents’ non-profit organization, the African Services Committee.
She also warns of jumping on every social media cause or trend in the name of “performative activism” that goes viral in an instant on social—the blackout posts and black-and-white challenges, for example—and to question the trust of most of what is found on the internet. “Don’t let your desire to get there first trump your desire to share accurate, unbiased information.”
In this way, she relates to her Godfather of Harlem character, Mayme. “She’s practical, she isn’t ruled by her emotions and she reserves judgment. She understands that people are imperfect and recognizes the dualities of light and dark within us.”
This character is a boss, much like Hadera, who knew she wanted to be an actor in high school at the renowned Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan. “Knowing what you want to do is half the battle,” she says, “then all there is left to do is work your ass off.”
Forging
a STYLISH Path
A GLOBETROTTING INFLUENCER LANDS IN THE WORLD OF FASHION.
Tina Leung probably has a hefty balance in her frequent-flier account. That’s because the 39-year-old, who grew up in Hong Kong and Los Angeles, is one of fashion’s most in-demand content creators. With pandemic restrictions having eased in time for the haute couture and resort ’22 destination shows this summer, Leung dashed around the globe to attend events IRL, quickly making up for the months being benched in 2020.
Her feed tirelessly highlights a glam life lived in and for the love of fashion. But like many social media stars, this wasn’t her original endgame. She thought she was destined for a life on stage after getting her BA in Drama, Film and Television from Bristol University inUK, but found out quickly it wasn’t for her. “I realized that I didn’t want to do that, so I took a certificate course in styling at the Fashion Institute of Technology and began assisting established stylists at the same time,” she explains to LVR.
The best way, if styling is the path you want to follow, is to assist another stylist and, at the same time, do test shoots on your own.
“I definitely learned on the job,” Leung recalls, offering some time-tested advice. “The best way, if styling is the path you want to follow, is to assist another stylist and, at the same time, do test shoots on your own.”
Regarding her gold card-carrying influencer status, Leung says this wasn’t necessarily the plan either. “I never thought this would be my career. Instagram started as a fun app to post photos with different filters,” she says. “Every month, I would rush to the newsstand and flip to the back of all the fashion magazines to look at the editorials first,” she says, adding international publications were often two to three times more expensive and arrived late in Hong Kong. “I didn’t know at the time how to get there, but I knew I wanted to be involved in creating those images in the editorials.”
Eventually, her posts and social presence dominated her work, and she shifted organically to focus on digital content creation when she launched her blog, Tina Loves, in 2008. “I don’t think I have a click moment,” she says of her work. “I’m just very happy and grateful to be my own boss and to be excited every day to wake up and get going!”
She’s known for her eclectic tastes, and this quality spills over to her work. “I don’t like to be put in a box, and I do many, many things,” she’s quick to point out.
To wit, her latest project involves a coffee table book with Rizzoli on Bulgari’s latest high-jewelry collection called Magnifica. It’s slated to launch in November. “It’ll be unlike any other high-jewelry tome,” she relates, “as it focuses on the magnificence of both women whom I admire and on the jewelry.”
Striking a DIFFERENT Chord
A CONTENT CREATOR TAKES AN UNUSUAL, AND HIGHLY PERSONAL, ROUTE TO FASHION INFLUENCE.
Charlotte Groeneveld-Van Haren is no stranger to paying dues. When her blog TheFashionGuitar.com launched over a decade ago, Groeneveld-Van Haren’s closest connection to the fashion industry was a short stint in the marketing department at ASOS. She recreated runway looks with high-street brands (think Topshop, Zara, Mango) without financial support or partnerships. “I made it as aspirational for my followers as it was for myself,” she recalls.
Being willing to work on a shoestring budget, and at times for free, was not the Dutch-native’s original plan. She earned a Master’s Degree in corporate communications at the University of Amsterdam and interned in Singapore, intending to apply those skills to the financial sector. Instagram was just taking off when she launched TheFashionGuitar, moonlighting on the blog driven by a deep passion for editorials and fashion photography. “Without a fashion background or connections, I worked day and night to get a spot in the fashion space. Not once did I regret stepping away from the conventional route,” she tells LVR. After attending her first Burberry show, she knew she made the right decision.
About three years in and with babies James, now nine, and Stella, now seven, in tow, she and her husband moved to New York, where Groeneveld-Van Haren was welcomed by brands looking to partner with her. As she grew up and into her business, so did her followers. Eventually, she invested in her first designer purchase, the Proenza Schouler PS11 bag in dark green. “I still have it,” she says. “This is what I love the most, watching my fans ‘grow up’ and realizing dreams alongside me.”
As busy as her life has been — she calls starting a business and family at the same time an “insane combination” — the 36-year-old acknowledges none of it would have been possible if not for the support from her husband, parents and in-laws. “I did it because it came from so deep within me. I worked whenever I had my hands free. Slow and steady, I purposely showed my reality amid all the beautiful things and luxurious moments.” This, she avers, is what gives her feed relatability.
It’s not all sunshine and roses, she warns. “Nothing comes for free,” she notes of the shoes and bags she’s acquired from designers, as those are a form of payment. “I don’t own it all, nor would I want to or pretend to. I never started just to collect as many material things as I could. I started because I want to wear those gowns, photograph them and see them come alive, attend shows, meet designers.”
I did it because it came from SO DEEP within me. I worked whenever I had my hands free. Slow and steady, I purposely showed MY REALITY amid all the beautiful things and luxurious moments.
Recently, her posts revealed Baby Number Three is on the way. As chronicled on her IG stories, Groeneveld-Van Haren struggled to conceive and this baby’s IVF journey was well-documented. She detailed the nitty-gritty of the often painful and emotionally taxing quest to fertilize an egg. She was a voice of support for followers in similar situations and freely answered questions posed on her feed.
Her maternal leanings may have inspired the team at Baby Dior, which recently plucked Groeneveld-Van Haren for a Hamptons pop-up event. This gig included her kids, seamlessly blending both worlds. As if a new baby wasn’t enough to look forward to, she hinted about some exciting news coming for NYFW, adding another chorus for TheFashionGuitar and co.
CONSCIOUS Choices
A STEWARD OF SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IMPARTS A VISUAL SPIN TO HER MANY PASSIONS.
During NYFW in 2017, Marina Testino, a content creative director and “artivist,” had an eye-opening experience. The Peruvian-Spanish New Yorker and niece of photographer Mario Testino was a recent Parsons graduate when she took notice of how the event promoted endless consumption of clothes.
“Indirectly, the brands were pushing people to change outfits non-stop,” she observes. “I even felt peer-pressure by the industry if I wore the same outfit to three events in one day.”
She discovered fashion’s polluting nature and decided to focus her feed on creativity, innovation and sustainability, guiding consumers as well as brands through her content and social media challenges to take part in a dialogue centered around her passions for conscious consumerism. This also takes place through her self-taught art practice. “The conversation is on essential topics: climate change, sustainability, social justice,” she tells LVR. “Art is a universal language, which is why my awareness campaigns use color and a creative approach to address important matters—but in a simple way, instead of bombarding people with a problem and no solution.”
She founded Point Off View, a former sustainable fashion label that evolved into a digital agency focusing on nature and climate solutions via art and visual content, aided by her fashion marketing studies. “We communicate digitally and harness online as an alternative to carbon-intensive projects,” she explains. “The general principles of sustainability are becoming a part of popular culture globally. But when I started this five years ago, it wasn’t sexy.”
Clients such as Hugo Boss, Stella McCartney, DL1961, Emporio Armani, ISKO and Ruinart have engaged Testino to guide their efforts. “I believe sustainability is not about perfection, but progress. The way we communicate needs to be transparent, and sometimes with content, that’s difficult,” she opines. “But seeing big brands taking steps toward it gives me hope for a more sustainable retail future.”
I believe sustainability is not about perfection, but PROGRESS. The way we communicate needs to be transparent, and sometimes with content, that’s difficult. But seeing big brands taking steps toward it gives me hope for a more SUSTAINABLE retail future.
She cautions about how loosely sustainability is bandied about in messaging and on labels. “The truth is, there’s a vast spectrum when we talk about sustainable fashion—for example, employing sustainable production, reducing water usage, or using ecologically friendly fabric and ethical packaging,” she warns, noting the catchall can be counterproductive to the industry’s efforts.
In the meantime, Testino continues to lead by example, instilling change in the fashion and beauty realm with projects like the recent micro-activation for Plastic Free July with 5Gyres, an institute dedicated to the global movement against plastic pollution, and campaigns like #OneDressToImpress, which cemented her platform in 2018, and subsequent efforts such as #CarryOnSummer, #YellowLikeALemon, #WeSeaThrough, #UsefulWaste and #TheGreenRooms.
Code BREAKER
AN INFLUENTIAL CONTENT CREATOR’S GROUNDBREAKING MISSION IS TO MAKE TECH UNDERSTANDABLE TO YOUTH AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES..
Sinead Bovell’s presence on social media isn’t self-promotional. Rather, the young tech entrepreneur uses the tool to help amplify her mission of representing tech for the underrepresented. She breaks down serious tech issues, AI, and social causes in juicy tidbits on her Instagram feed. Did we mention she’s also a drop-dead-gorgeous model?
Bovell hails from suburban Toronto, born to parents of Irish and Guyanese descent. These days, she calls Brooklyn home, where she settled after getting her undergrad degree in finance and chemistry at Wilfrid Laurier University and an MBA from the University of Toronto. It was a solid path for someone academically inclined, on the way to management consulting, who loves numbers and problem-solving. Except that Bovell realized her goals were based on others’ ideas of success. “In my academic life to my early career, I never really defined success for myself,” she muses.
If we want our future with advanced technologies to work effectively for everyone, we need diverse voices in the room.
She found her groove once she became aware of “a massive tech education gap between those who code the future and everyone else.” Bovell attributes this to the revelation that information about advanced technology is incomprehensible to the masses. “There are only a few who talk tech, and social media is an incredibly effective tool to reach large audiences with minimal barriers to access,” Bovell tells LVR. There are even fewer women of color. “If we want our future with advanced technologies to work effectively for everyone, we need diverse voices in the room.”
A scroll through her feed is eye-opening to most. A big topic is the pros and cons of AI. The tech expert dissects it for the average person, making it less scary and confusing while advocating how this generation can also shape its ultimate use. Four years ago, she founded WAYE—Weekly Advice for Young Entrepreneurs—an organization that prepares the next generation of leaders for a future with advanced technologies, offering education and practical tools, especially for non-traditional and minority groups. Upcoming, Bovell is launching a WAYE Young Leaders Board, which will serve as a platform to share ideas on the future of technology.
She hosted World Youth Skills Day 2021 at the United Nations over the summer. “Young people have been resilient throughout challenging times, so I was excited to celebrate them and ensure public and private sectors prioritize youth skill development in the post-pandemic recovery,” says Bovell, who’s set to appear in a documentary about the future of work later this fall.
Bovell feels blessed to have a career that lets her share her knowledge and passions, although she admits it requires an ample supply of patience and resilience — and it’s not without challenges. “There isn’t a blueprint for this path or any instructions on what works,” she says. “You build your journey from scratch.”
Everyday CHIC
TOUTING A COMBINATION OF CULTURE AND FASHION PROPELS THIS INFLUENCER IN THE LUXURY ARENA.
Moving to Manhattan in February 2020 and celebrating a birthday on March 12th, just days before COVID-19 shut down the city, could have spelled disaster for many. But digital content creator Coco Bassey chalked it up to opportunity when she made the leap from Atlanta. “Honestly, I don’t think there was anywhere in the world I’d rather be than in New York City,” she asserts, noting the city’s walkable nature allowed friends to gather more easily or picnic by the water once the darkest days of the pandemic passed. Workwise, the digital shift from brands pushed Bassey’s content and profile into the luxury space with new partners including Dior and Roger Vivier.
Bassey landed in Atlanta for work after attending Illinois Wesleyan University for undergrad and Brandeis University for grad school. She spent formative years living in Prague and Berlin with her Nigerian diplomat parents, an experience that gave her entrée into so many cultures, so NYC seemed a natural fit. She was working in marketing for corporate tax and accounting software—about 180 degrees from fashion. But she picked up valuable skills. “The digital marketing skills that I learned there translated well to my new career,” she notes. She started a blog in 2013 with her sister Udee helping with photography (sister Kaye lives in Los Angeles and is also an influencer) and quietly built her social presence for seven years before giving up her day job.
The black community itself is very diverse, so it’s good to see them express themselves and cool to see how brands respond.
A Banana Republic campaign casting local creators was the first of what Bassey calls her pinch-me moments, as she realized she could parlay her unique social voice and perspective into a full-time career. Her uber-chic feed—Cocobassey.com—expresses what Bassey refers to as “elevated everyday pieces that have a twist, a little detail making them different from a classic silhouette.” This often means integrating some culture into her looks as well. “A good friend of mine makes a collection produced in Nigeria but with western silhouettes that I wear often.”
Bassey is excited to be a part of the shift focusing on black influencers. “There has been so much conversation on social media about what luxury looks like to black women,” she says, noting in the past it felt more like a box to fit in and focused primarily on hip-hop and street aesthetics. “The black community itself is very diverse, so it’s good to see them express themselves and cool to see how brands respond.”
Music, Model, MIX
WORLDS COLLIDE IN A MOST ARTFUL WAY.
DJ and content creator Pamela Tick loves to set the vibe musically and through her Insta-feed—which also manifests into the aesthetic of a modern Sixties lovechild. The Long Island native seamlessly blends her New York energy with a relaxed approach, thanks to the time she spent in Colorado, where she was an undergraduate at the University of Colorado-Boulder. “I immediately felt like I was in my element,” she explains. “It was comfy.”
Music has always been a passion for Tick, who studied psychology at UC-B. Playing guitar and making CD mixes was a form of expression that led to becoming a DJ. At the same time, she started expressing her love of fashion—albeit a casual, easy-going, natural aesthetic. “I had a knack for showing things that were me, like a body chain,” she recalls. A casting agent for Banana Republic contacted her around 2015 for her first professional modeling gig. One thing led to another, and soon Tick was working with DVF, Intermix, Shopbop and Aritzia, among others. And now, @pamelatick has some 70,000 followers on Instagram.
I had a knack for showing things that were me.
After teaching herself to DJ and finding a fellow jock to coach her, she realized pretty quickly how the two could become intertwined. Her first gig—an event for Digital Couture at Skylight Studios at NYFW in February 2016— led to becoming a fashion DJ working with Hermès and Coach, outfitted by the brands while creating the musical content for an event. Tick favors an old-soul vibe leaning toward Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and descendants, UB40, or any old reggae and SKA tunes.
Tick describes herself as timeless and practicing Wabi-Sabi, the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection, a trait she shares with husband Ryan Tick. She senses Studio 54 was in her past life, and she daydreams about having been a part of that. But as the couple is expecting their first baby by the end of 2021, re-creating that particular vibe may have to wait a bit longer.
One GOOD Turn
A FRIGHTENED FAWN NO LONGER, THIS BLOGGER’S BEAT IS CIRCULAR FASHION.
Christie Tyler started her blog, NYC Bambi, before she even intended. An avid TMBLR user, Tyler channeled her passion for photography and fashion into the platform and inadvertently turned it into a must-engage community of elevated aesthetes and fashion cognoscenti alike. Once she crossed the river from her New Jersey home to attend Manhattan’s LIM College in pursuit of a fashion business education, her chronicles morphed into her Instagram handle, NYC Bambi. “I was a deer in the headlights when I arrived, not knowing what I was doing or where I was going in the city,” she tells LVR.
She wasn’t studying photography at LIM; instead, over time, she developed a technique and an eye, looking to photographers Henrik Purienne and Jean Pierrot for their clean, minimalist vibes. The feeling spills over to her clothing taste, with Tyler citing The Row, Daniel Lee’s Bottega Veneta, Khaite and Sophie Buhai among her go-to style setters. Her professional influencer status eclipsed her LIM studies once she was signed by Wilhelmina three years ago.
She uses her platform these days to promote sustainability, whether via designers who practice it; through work with Vestiaire Collective to promote circular fashion, or with a new project in the works called Vollective, a “vintage collective” of one-of-a-kind items she sources herself. It mainly was household accessories but expanded into coffee tables and, coming soon, larger pieces. “Everyone loves a good vase,” she muses. “I love reiterating the idea of giving something a new life.”
That timelessness comes across in her blog and feed. “I want people to find calming inspiration, to be softly inspired,” she stresses. “I like that it’s a community of people who admire the same things—I don’t want to feel like I’m pushing something on anyone.”
I want people to find calming inspiration, to be softly inspired. I like that it’s a community of people who admire the same things—I don’t want to feel like I’m pushing something on anyone.
BE The Change
A BRAND-BUILDER EXPANDS HER TALENTS TO BUILDING AWARENESS OF DIVERSITY ISSUES.
Recently engaged Linh Niller Huynh had a leg up on creating her brand via social media. The 27-year-old Boston native worked in the digital space for a management agency representing brands through PR, marketing and sales. “Behind the scenes, I understood how to create a brand’s major talking points and aesthetics and clearly communicate what they are through a collection,” she tells LVR.
Still, this didn’t mean Niller took the easy route. She did shoots and penned copy on the weekends when she launched five years ago. “I did both jobs at the same time to make the transition,” she explains, underscoring the commitment required to become a digital content creator.
Fashion was the starting point for Niller’s namesake social media narrative, but an investment property expanded her vision. “I was doing a gut-renovation to make it a source of income. It was very hands-on, and interior design became a huge inspiration.” She blends the two worlds seamlessly in her feed, which consistently features graphic, clean images with a neutral palette of taupe, beige, black and white. (Think The Row). Even the occasional color subtly slips in. “You have to focus on something visually, or it will seem scattered.”
Now we don’t accept the same old norms of media, so I am excited to be a part of RESHAPING OLD SYSTEMS.
Lately, Niller uses her platform to inspire younger generations — something she says didn’t exist for her. “I didn’t see myself in advertising as a young girl, so it was hard to imagine being in that space,” she says, pointing out that models were required to be at least 5’9” and extremely slender. “As a petite Vietnamese-Cambodian Asian, I looked different—even from Asian models.”
Fortunately, she sees the tide beginning the change, especially the last two years. “Brands are starting to focus on diverse talent for advertising and campaigns. Those opportunities weren’t happening five to 10 years ago,” she notes. Keeping abreast of navigating the ever-evolving medium is one challenge that revs Niller. “Now we don’t accept the same old norms of media, so I am excited to be a part of reshaping old systems.”
The
DATING Game
RELATIONSHIP ADVICE AND ADMISSIONS FROM THE FRONT LINES.
A bad breakup is the reason Arianna Margulis’ alter ego Instagram ButLikeMaybe exists. The savvy Michigan native turned a universal theme—getting dumped—into a wildly popular page marked by her charming doodles in 2016. The self-taught Margulis chronicles 30-something single-girl adventures in the big city, baring her emotions in her feed. “It’s not super refined, but that’s what makes it relatable. I use it to get my anxieties out.” In fact, “anxiety” is a regular character in her sketch commentary.
Hers was a whatever-it-takes-to-make-it-New-York-story: living paycheck to paycheck and sleeping in a bunk bed in a shared studio apartment, while working at Ralph Lauren as a window dresser. “After hours, I was the elf who worked all night moving things around,” she reveals. “This was my real school. The people I worked with helped shape my New York City life.”
A fairytale romance, complete with a whirlwind weekend to meet the parents, resulted in a not-so-magical moment in Central Park. Instead of proposing, he ended things claiming the relationship was distracting him. “It was like a movie moment,” she recalls. “I said, ‘I never want to see you again’ and hailed a cab, cried for about two minutes, and then said ‘Nah.’”
Everyone has experienced similar things. I had guys write, too, as both sides of the fence weigh in, Margulis admits, I haven’t always been the victim, I’ve led people on, too.
As she channeled feelings through the feed, she actively sought followers. A friend who worked at Cosmopolitan put a post on its Snapchat, and she got 20K followers in one day. She DM’d other funny creatives and celebs, which would get reposted as her feed grew. Soon, clients as varied as Dior, Browns London, Franzia wines, D.M. Brut sparkling wines of Brazil and others were booking her to create content.
The feed was also the makings of But Like Maybe Don’t?, an advice book about embarrassing dating scenarios published by Penguin Random House in February 2020. “It poured out of me like I was telling a friend,” Margulis says, adding, “I gave a talk at the Strand thinking no one would come, but it was packed. That was a humbling moment.”
Considering she was getting DM’d for dating tips, it shouldn’t have been surprising. “Everyone has experienced similar things. I had guys write, too, as both sides of the fence weigh in,” she says, admitting, “I haven’t always been the victim. I’ve led people on, too.”
The statuesque blonde who favors Nineties minimalism—jeans, a bodysuit and boots—no longer shares a studio or fluffs store windows. Her New York dream is fulfilled, despite a brush with serious cyberbullying resulting in legal action. Margulis had never expected to become an artist but knew something big was in store. “I’m not sure if ‘she’—the cartoon—will ever grow up,” she ponders. “Will I?”
