Henny J

Henny Jonasson is a model from Sweden who’s been interested in fashion her entire life, “Fashion means everything to me. As it pretty much is my entire life”. I have to be honest and say that I am a little envious since she’s living the life I dreamed of as a young girl. “My interest in fashion began the way I believe it does for a lot of young children, in my mothers closet”.

“When I wake up in the morning, the first thing that I usually do is to check the weather app on my phone”, why do I never do this? Henny continued, “After that I base my clothing on the mood I am in that morning […] What I always want to express with my style is an effortless feeling of femininity”.

“I think the reason people first started to get interested in fashion and why people still keep getting interested in fashion is how easily you can express yourself […] That is the reason I think a lot of people find fashion such an important part of their everyday life, the need to express themselves”, it’s certainly a need everyone has but I’ve never realised that’s why I dress the way I dress, to fulfil a need.

“The worst thing about fashion is how blind we are to how much it actually impacts our environment”, I smiled reading this, pleased to know that this is soaring through the fashion world. “Right now fast fashion is the second largest polluter in the world, and somehow we seem to turn our heads and look another way”, this must be frustrating, working in the middle of it. “Do I really need these jeans for £5 that will most likely break in a month? Or can I maybe afford to invest in a really good pair that will last me literally forever?” Hopefully, with more inspiring women like Henny taking a stand, clothes might stop being viewed as disposable goods.

Henny looking stunning in my favourite pictures of her from Stockholmsgruppen

Carin McCormac

Carin McCormac has been one of my biggest inspirations over the last couple of years, she works at ATP Atelier in PR and Communications and has her own blog. I couldn't possibly put into words how much it means to me that she agreed to be featured here, her style is perfect to me, she dares to take that extra step with her outfits, creating pieces of art. Some might think it looks a little crazy, but that's the way I like it, “I try to mix items that are a bit unexpected. Like a washed out army t-shirt with diamond earrings […] There’s a day-to-day struggle between the tomboy and the Beyoncé in me.” 

“Oh my God, I'm so tired... What looks cool?”, is how Carin describes her morning struggle and I can't do anything but smile and nod agreeing.

Carin’s interest in fashion started as a teenager, a similar time frame to me; I remember what my own room used to look like, and still does from time to time, when I spent an unending amount of hours going through my closet, “The best (and worst) part of your teenage years is the endless number of looks you go through”.

The reasons Carin ended up in fashion are quite simple, “It’s an industry that’s always interested me. But I think I’m more interested in the process where clothes or accessories turn in to fashion and why, rather than the actual collections and clothes”. Fashion is an incredible tool for storytelling without having to say much and I guess that's why I'm trying to put it into words with Why Fashion.

“It’s what unites us, but also what separates us” rings so true in my own personal relationship with fashion, for years finding my own style was a huge stress factor for me. She further explains, “Because, besides our words, it’s the way we express ourselves. We go through all these stages in our lives, where we have different styles and aesthetics. We use our clothes as a mean of communication, to show others what music we’re in to, what politics we stand for or to show economic wealth. It concerns all of us”. 

“The best thing for me is that it's fun. It sounds SO banal, but it gives me such joy, inspiration and food for thought”, is how Carin describes the best thing about fashion and I definitely agree. When I manage to put together that perfect outfit or if I see it on someone else, I just can't for the life of me stop looking or smiling.

Fashion is no longer just what you buy, it’s you telling your own story and I find Carin McCormac's story incredibly inspiring. Thank you Carin, for being you.

 

 

Some of my favourite outfits by Carin

Maggie Xie

When I started this blog my intentions were to find out why people were so absorbed with the fashion industry. Little did I know that within one month of my first post, I would be in contact with Maggie Xie. She is a Surfacing Artist at Guru Studio in Toronto and has an impeccable sense of style. I find that she manages to combine the classics with statement pieces making it look effortless and that's exactly how I envision my own style. When she answered my message I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to ask her some questions about my biggest passion. 

She told me she couldn't remember when her interest in fashion began, except that it started while playing with dolls as a girl. I could definitely relate to this and got a little nostalgic, remembering how I carefully dressed my Barbie dolls depending on who I wanted them to be. Then Maggie continued, "When I get dressed in the morning, I become who I really am that day". It seems like most people, including myself, are different versions of themselves every day. 

"Community is definitely something fashion provides", Maggie stated. Sometimes I forget about this, studying the negative effects of fashion. It really does bring people together and she expressed this in a lovely way, "Fashion means that I can find friends without saying a word, one look says it all". I think this is extremely important to remember, because a sense of community is essential in life. Another thing that she told me that I want to remind you of; how empowering fashion can be, and what you actually can communicate with your style. 

What I was also pleased to hear was how aware she was of the sustainability issues in fashion. Maggie does her best to support local brands and she donates or swap her old garments. She also pointed out the importance of investing in your wardrobe, rather than buying into the trend of unsustainable fast fashion that has soared over the past decade. Maggie Xie, you really inspire me.

 

Maggie looking amazing in some of her favourite investments

The First Insight

I got the pleasure to ask Ayfer, a fellow business student, about her interest in fashion. She told me it all started when she was in secondary school. She started noticing her older sisters experimenting with their styles and since she looked up to them she tried to imitate them until she found her own. She told me how she always prepares her outfits carefully the day before to make sure she feels comfortable getting dressed in the morning. Whether she wears it or not depends on her mood in the morning. She told me it's all about communicating your mood and feelings to others.

I asked her to explain fashion in one sentence. This she could hardly manage, but she said something that I can't stop thinking about. "Fashion is a state of mind which people seek to reflect by combining accessories with different outfits". If fashion is a state of mind it would certainly explain how it turned into the industry we see today. She also touched upon the subject of how consumerism affects us in terms of fashion, how people now seek to express themselves through fashion in a society where standing out is essential in order to be seen. 

When I asked her to describe her own style, she found it to be a very difficult question. However, she did put emphasis on going for outfits that are unsold and trying to use what you already have in your closet in different ways. I thought this was a point well made, being concerned about the sustainability of fashion. Another thing she pointed out was how fashion gives you the possibility to be whoever you want to be (or feel like) for the day, but with the consequences of people judging each other on a daily basis. In spite of this, fashion is a big and important part of Ayfer's life, it's a way of expressing who she is.

"Fashion is a state of mind" - Ayfer

WHY

Welcome to my first ever blog post. Here we will together discover the truth about fashion. I, myself am an enthusiastic fashionista, but from time to time I can't help but wonder why. Why do we dress the way we dress? What are we trying to tell the people passing us in the street? These are some of the many questions I will try to answer for you. All this hysteria about fashion, is it worth it? In my own opinion the answer will most likely be yes, since I will probably refuse to change my mind about my biggest passion in life. However, I do want to know what's on everyone else's mind to simply understand and have a better answer to the question why.

This is me posing away in the street just like all fashion bloggers do. Don't get me wrong, I think I understand why; I love the spotlight, all eyes on me in my outfit I picked out carefully way too early in the morning. It is fun, I feel interesting, like other people think I have something out of the ordinary to tell them. But that's just my opinon. I want to find out what all of you think. My search for the answer to the question "why fashion"? begins this week, here in Glasgow.