Kayla Seah: My heart will always be with fashion
Konstantin Vulkov: What is your daily regime? And isn’t it tiresome to be always elegant, classy, chic. How do you achieve this?
Kayla Seah: My daily regime changes from week to week. There is very little consistency in this job, you have to be able to adapt to whatever environment you are in that week. It can be tiresome to always be put together, but then there are also days where I'm sitting at my computer, with no make up and no heels answering emails all day...it creates a good balance between the two.
Konstantin: In a way, the name of your site says it all - not a regular, not a standard fashion blog. You have fashion, decor, health, travel - but which section is your favourite?
Kayla: My heart will always be with fashion. I grew up being obsessed with it, I went to school for it and have always worked within the fashion industry. It's the one subject I know the most about and feel the most confident in.
Konstantin: What is your media menu? What kind of blogs, magazines, newspapers you regularly follow?
Kayla:
Visual inspiration: http://www.thecoveteur.com/
Visual inspiration: http://www.thecoveteur.com/
Style trend reports: http://www.whowhatwear.com/
Food inspiration: http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/
Newspapers: http://www.businessoffashion.com/ + http://www.nytimes.com/
Konstantin: What to do you think about online shopping and how the online shops could manage to incorporate the analogue and cozy atmosphere of a regular analogue shop on the street?
Kayla: I absolutely love online shopping. With online shopping you have the time to go back and really visualize if you want that piece...I have obsessed over pieces for a week, returning to it every morning with my cup of coffee at my desk. I think online shops have adapted and improved immensely to accommodate the online shopper, you can now watch videos of the garment moving on a model, look at every angle of the product and sometimes get a closer view than you would in person!
Konstantin: If you are opening a shop, what would be the first item you would like to stock?
Kayla: The perfect biker jacket. Everyone need ones, everyone is always looking for one.
Konstantin: Tell us about your first years in the fashion industry. You took a loan, right?
Kayla: I took a loan and moved to New York for a little while, taking my first baby steps into the fashion industry. I worked at an online platform StyleLikeU, where I learned the ins and outs of starting your own blog from passion and a desire to change the way people looked at the industry. I had little side jobs at Vogue international and other online platforms as well. It was the most valuable time for me because it sparked an inspiration that still comes through to this day.
Konstantin: You have Italian roots and Chinese roots on the other side. How important is the provenance for you?
Kayla: My roots are incredibly important to me, my parents raised us with a large focus on our cultural traditions. The way I look doesn't necessarily scream Italian or Chinese so my background has always been quite the conversation piece. I find it fascinating listening to what people think my nationality is.
Konstantin: You are working in a fashion industry that is changing every day. Are you old-fashioned in something?
Kayla: I appreciate magazines still. I absolutely love the online world, but there is nothing like sitting at a cafe with a cup of coffee, reading a Vogue.
Konstantin: Do you like to push boundaries in your blog? What kind of experiments are you making?
Kayla: I like to evolve and always push myself, but I think it's important to stay true to your brand.
Konstantin: Your favourite summer song?
Kayla: Dim Sum - High Love
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Kayla Seah is the creator of Not Your Standard (www.notyourstandard.com). Born with Italian roots on one side and Chinese on the other, being monocultural was never in the cards for Kayla Seah. Even while she was completing a four-year degree at one of North America’s top fashion schools in the most diverse city on the planet, her hometown of Toronto, she couldn’t resist the urge to expand her horizons. The $5,000 loan she took out to learn the ropes of a rapidly emerging online fashion industry in New York City in the summer of 2010 was one of the best decisions of her life.
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Kayla Seah is the creator of Not Your Standard (www.notyourstandard.com). Born with Italian roots on one side and Chinese on the other, being monocultural was never in the cards for Kayla Seah. Even while she was completing a four-year degree at one of North America’s top fashion schools in the most diverse city on the planet, her hometown of Toronto, she couldn’t resist the urge to expand her horizons. The $5,000 loan she took out to learn the ropes of a rapidly emerging online fashion industry in New York City in the summer of 2010 was one of the best decisions of her life.