I often sit and think of the right words to describe how I feel; all that ever comes to mind is BLESSED.
Women’s History Month has been full of amazing opportunities. To start, I partnered with Scotch Porter (a men’s grooming company) which led to a feature in Forbes (inserts emoji shocked face). The day after the feature, I hopped on a plane to Austin for the 2018 South by Southwest Film Festival where I spoke on a panel about mainstream media and ungendering fashion. It’s truly a blessing to have a platform that inspires society and culture.
South by Southwest (SXSW) continues to break barriers and create diverse panel groups for everyone. For the third year in a row, Anita Dolce Vita (Editor in Chief of dapperQ) has moderated a queer-style panel. This year’s topic was Boyfriend Jeans & RompHims: Ungendering Fashion. We discussed the challenges that individuals in the LGBTQ+ community face due to mainstream media’s misrepresentation of gender-fluid clothing and the intersection between gender, ethnicity, and equal pay.
I spent the duration of the trip attending panel discussions, brand activations, networking events, and exploring the downtown area. While walking down the infamous 6th Street, I stumbled upon a Panasonic activation full of innovative brands ranging from food to fashion. The best part of the activation was meeting Takumi Iwamoto, the designer of Kisaburo Kimono, and learning about the history of the kimono. In case you didn’t know, the kimono is loose robe worn as a formal garment in the Japanese culture. Traditionally, the garment was only worn by men, but Takumi’s collection is unisex – opening the door for gender neutral fashion.
Some additional highlights were: finding a fresh juice bar that served acaí bowls, a complimentary brunch at the W Austin (thanks Lauren 🙂 ), and attending the Chi keynote panel and meeting Lena Waithe.
SXSW was a great experience.
What do you think?