For today’s post, we talked to a friend and aspiring fashion designer, Flora Medina. She is a current student that loves to surf, sing, and do theater. One of her main inspirations for creating is her very own father. She says, “he’s an architect and a musician and has always brought art into my life in whatever way he could.” Not only have visual and performing arts been a constant outlet in her life, but the communities she has found through theater and playing music have helped shape Flora into the creative individual she is today.
Being a feminist is also another huge part of her identity. She stated that “being a feminist definitely transitions into my work because I don’t like to work with traditional norms and standards, I like to create what I like, and what I think truly expresses myself and those around me.” This led to a conversation about beauty norms and standards, especially with regards to being a young female. She said that beauty norms “are always in my head and impact the way that I see myself and others. I think it’s especially hard as a woman of color, because female beauty standards are so skewed towards white features, as a person with darker skin, and curly hair, it can be really hard to feel beautiful when I in no way resemble the women my society tells me are beautiful.” She explained to us that in the future she would like to see beauty standards “expand to include people that haven’t been able to see their beauty for what it is” and generally have more people feel comfortable embracing their own beauty.
We then dove further into her aspirations. Flora says that she wants to be a designer because she is “really drawn to the strength of nonverbal self-expression.” She additionally noted on the beauty of being able to express oneself without words and have others interpret it. Design helps Flora “create things that foster self-love and love for others.” She hopes that her designs will one day help people find their true self and feel comfortable in their own skin. To spread her love and knowledge for fashion she runs a fashion-themed Instagram account, @floraamedina. She says that it can be stressful as hell because she wants to “be able to create as much as possible and share that work with others, but it is really hard to pursue while also being a full-time high school junior.” While her account brings her joy, she was very open to the fact that it can also be hard on her mental health when she’s having low moments. She admits that running this account sometimes makes her feel like she can’t do enough of what she’s convinced others she can. Even with the pressures of balancing this account with school and mental health she greatly appreciates all the love on her posts and says followers can look forward to more illustrations, mood boards/collages, and fun projects in the summer!
One of Flora’s very own designs featured on her account
On a less serious note, we were curious to see what some of her favorite and least favorite trends are in her fashion-forward opinion. She decided that her favorite trend at the moment is “ugly” clothing because it “disregards the traditional human figure and rejects societal norms and challenges you to see things in a way that goes against everything you once thought you knew.” And for least favorite, she was set on camo cargo pants. This is not because she particularly hates the print or the physical garment, but doesn’t truly understand the hype around the piece.
We’re thankful for Flora’s insight and would urge everyone to go follow her account right now!! Once again, her handle is @floraamedina!
HIGHSTRUNG 