Fast Fashion: The Podcast Experience from WhatRUWe

Between the two of them, Rashima and Mary have had their fair share of relationships. Their ups and downs have guided them through many decisions, where they have confided in each other’s honest opinions about finding love and how best to hold on to it, all while not losing yourself in the relationship. As partners in crime, nothing is off limits in this honest episode. Rashima, no stranger to dating apps, and Mary, on the contrary, not having any experience with meeting lovers on apps, bring just the right balance to this topic and just enough real world experience to add color to what’s really good in today’s dating scene. Make sure you are connected to us on social media @candidcreatorpodcast and keep up with our YouTube channel, Candid Conversations, while we are busy curating more amazing interviews and concepts for our next season, coming at the beginning of 2019. Thank you to all of our listeners for a wonderful season, and keeping the creativity flowing! We truly appreciate y’all. And to check out all the work Rashima puts in for WhatRUWearing, make sure to follow @WhatRUWearing and@PRGirlSeries as well as some of her amazing editorial here.

The first thing we will say is that there was no shortage of surprises during our conversation with the incomparable Brandon Breaux. Without pouring all the tea, we’ll tell you that we learned about his passion for dance (you’ll have to listen to find out what kind) and how music facilitated his introduction and contribution to the creative community. With the organic membership Brandon had from day 1 to the best of the Chicago creative community, opportunities to enter in the world of design, are never far behind. We learn that as a kid, Brandon always loved to draw, and took a lot of interest in the visual aspects of design, where figurative work gave him the ability to portray people, the human condition, and tell stories through his art. Brandon told us about his drive for learning, and how taking classes developed skills that he never knew he had! You won’t be able to stay out of your feelings when you hear him about the moment he become a well-known and influential visual artist within the creative space. His story about how he collaborated with Chance the Rapper will blow you away!

From the moment we sit down with Colin, it is clear how passionate he is about his craft. A craft that he has been passionate about from a young age. We learn what an early love for graffiti gave him, as an artist, both positively and negatively and what he might do differently if he could go back in time. From an education perspective, Collin graduated with a degree in fine arts from the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which was the beginning of his unique ability to combine art and music the way he does today. And when asked about his past to present relationship with music, the answers might surprise you. Let’s just say Mary and Colin connected on their past love for EDM and their current love for Hip Hop. And like any true artist from Chicago, he has his own Chance the Rapper story. We loved meeting him and getting to know him during our conversation. Follow Colin on instagram to be the first to hear of new releases and know where he is performing next, and check out his site for more information on his music, art, videos, and his shop!

It’s clear from the moment we sit down with her that Mollie is a veteran in the makeup scene. Mollie reminisces with us about the days before the apocalypse of YouTube makeup tutorials, beauty gurus and bloggers. When the struggle was real! Finding inspiration and figuring out what your artistic aesthetic is, or could be, was not as simple as going online to see what everyone else was doing. In a time where makeup and brands are evolving to be more inclusive and diverse, we had to get Mollie’s perspective on Rihanna’s Fenty and other brands that have made it easier for women of all shades to have access to fun, high quality makeup and why the hell it took so long!?! Her answer is everything! Despite the current status of everyone thinking they are a pro because they have 2 followers and people, in general, being able to teach themselves with tutorials, Mollie continues to evolve her skills and her brand, delivering innovative looks and face-beats like we’ve never seen before. She’s the real deal! To check out all of her gorgeous looks, follow Mollie on Instagram. And to see the full portfolio of her work, check out her website.

Like most artists, Louis has always been an artist- ever since childhood. So, it was an easy decision to go to school at Columbia College to study design. It was there that opportunities stated to present themselves to Louis. A first of those opportunities, being a chance to showcase his artistry in, of all places, a barber shop. In addition to his artistry, Louis shares his love of installations with us and what building something of that magnitude means to him and what he hopes it means for the audience he is curating it for. And as if all of that was not enough, he has had the pleasure of creating for the likes of the Soho House, NBA, Just Don, Nike, and Def Jam Recordings. We are so happy for and proud of Louis for all he has already accomplished and all that he plans to make a reality in his future. Make sure to go check out Louis’ newest work, a Vinyl Sculpture titled “Elevate". To catch him at his next exhibition and to find out more about Louis and the artistic brand he is building, follow him on insta, and check out his site right now!

Sean was an aspiring sports broadcaster before he decided to make podcasting his full time job. While at school, the reality of the competitive nature that broadcast journalism made him realize he needed to find another avenue that still fulfilled his love for sports. During his search, Sean started at a marketing firm, and later went on to work for CBS sports. This man LOVE sports, can you tell? Although he was surrounded by a concept that he loved, he felt out of place within his corporate work environment. We dove deep into why Sean decided to go the entrepreneur route to start podcasting full-time, and why creative freedom is important to him. We had so much fun talking about all things podcasting, we couldn’t forget to play a game involving Sean’s dope fashion sense! Make sure to listen to Sean’s podcast, No Ketchup”, with new episodes out every week, and give him a follow on Insta to peep all his amazing fits and funny videos of him covering, you guessed it, sports events!

From the moment our conversation began with Luke, it was clear that we were in the presence of one of the sweetest souls around! He walked us through his childhood and his journey to find is personal sweet spot in the music industry. Dabbling early on in singing, drumming and song-writing, by the age of 17, he had already been a member of 2 bands, drummed for Blue man Group and had developed his own genre-bending sound along with an impressive fan base. Seemingly a “Jack of all Trades”, the next logical step in his progression as an artist was to attempt being a solo artist- and let us be the first to tell you, he is kicking ass at that too! During our conversation, Luke drops knowledge on how he approaches being a solo artist and the lessons (so far) he has learned from the experience. Luke currently has two EP’s available titled, Colors and Aside of Love. Prepare your emotional heartstrings for his explanation around his Colors EP, what inspired it and what it means to him. To keep up with Luke and know where to catch his next show, follow him on Instagram. And to become an immediate fan of his music, listen to both Colors and Aside of Love on Spotify and Soundcloud now.

Any idea we had going into this conversation about how glamorous the TV life might be got eliminated the moment we sat down with Lauren. During our conversation, she talks to us about the first job she got after graduating from school. As a broadcast reporter in Houston working extremely long days that didn’t stop at the weekends, in order to be competitive in her space, Lauren describes the amount of hustle she had to put into her career. She dropped facts on us like how most reporters apply to over 100 stations before even hearing anything back- and in some cases, the feedback can be ‘we already have a black female reporter’. Cringe! But through all that, our girl grew some thick skin and it gave her the courage to move around and do that job in many different cities before realizing her passion was no longer in the tragedy that can be broadcast journalism, taking advantage of the opportunity to host Chicago’s Best during the course of this past year, making her new work day routine something for anyone to envy: hair, makeup, good food and great drinks?!? Sign us up! To connect with Lauren and find out how to catch her on TV, check her out Lauren’s Instagram. Chicago’s Best airs weekly on WGN-TV Sunday nights at 10pm, and there’s also an app that fans can download where you can discover featured restaurants in your own neighborhood!

Talking to Maaly, we learn that as a kid, he loved cartoons and animation and that this love was what sparked his interest in design of all kind- graphic just being one. Not really knowing what he wanted to do or what visual arts was fully made up of, Maaly decided to do it all- and well, at that! With his organic love for drawing, painting and digitalization, he became comfortable with the notion of not being boxed into any one thing- and man are we here for it!?! In addition to being able to successfully work as an independent artist, Maaly continues to live his best life by being involved with "After School Matters" where he teaches graphic design and visual arts to his students. We truly feel super lucky to have known him before our interview and are looking forward to seeing where life takes this artist. Make sure to follow Maaly’s instagram where you can keep up with him and all the dope shit he puts out, check out “Kommon Wealth The Podcast”, and check out his website to hit him up for all your graphic and logo needs!

The deeper we dove with her, the more we fell in love! Tatiana writes her own music and taught herself how to play guitar. From there, she started producing beats, exploring different genres of music, as well as adding an element of Latin fusion to her style. Mixing the love of her culture with her musical talents, Tatiana released her first single fully in Spanish, “No Me Encuentras”, which made big waves in the industry and, more importantly to Tatiana, with the people who love her music. She’s loving the response, and the fact that people can really connect to her music and heritage. We can’t get enough! Check out Tatiana’s Spotify and Soundcloud to listen to her new EP, Toxic, and connect with her on Instagram so you could support her at one of her upcoming shows!

From a young age, Symone couldn’t shake the fashion bug and found herself interning for many fashion brands. In describing her journey to LGS, we learn that after moving to L.A. to take a job in e-com, she realized she wanted to find a balance between a professional career and fashion as a hobby. But then quickly realized that in order to do that, she needed to immerse herself in the fashion industry. Though she knew Chicago was not as much of a fashion mecca as L.A., she moved back home and continues to prove that your location doesn't determine your success.    To feed your fashion habit, stay connected with our girl Symone on Instagram as she shows off the latest fashion to hit the racks! And make sure to check out @luxurygaragesale if you’re boujee on a budget!

Sovren explains, initially being from Pittsburg, but now living and thriving in Chicago, what it feels like to be a part of the creative community of Chicago, which largely is made up of amazingly talented people that the world doesn’t know about yet. Being a part of this creative environment, Sovren’s music and fashion sense are unmatchable. Sovren gives us his thoughts on old hip-hop vs. new-hip hop, and explains how people forget about the sub-genres that make up rap itself. It’s unlimited! And don’t worry, we did not miss the opportunity to talk about his ‘fits. We tell him how we love the fact that he’s not afraid to merge colors of all sorts, and mix textures that make our heads turn and backs BREAK. Check out Sovren’s Instagram to see the fits that we can’t get enough of, and follow him on SoundCloud to listen to his dope tracks, and to be the first to know about new music.

Kristopher has gotten a lot of buzz and love from the creative community, including Vogue, for his first ever jewelry line. In our conversation with Kristopher, he reminds us of our childhoods as he walks us through where his inspiration came from for his latest collection. We learn how designing almost came 100% natural to him and how he has evolved as a designer beyond using his god given talents to learning his craft. He gives us the run-down on how he creates the pieces, what the marketing process has been like and some insight on what it feels like togain popularity and how he is dealing with it all. This is just the beginning for Kristopher, and we can’t wait to see what he decides to create next. He’s the real deal! To cop one of Kristopher’s pieces, check out his website, and make sure that you’re connected with him on Instagram so you’re the first to know about what’s coming next!

Wait…is it our season finale already!? We couldn’t think of a better way to leave you guys off before we come back next season with surprises, upgrades and things you won’t be able to believe, than to have a candid, unfiltered AF conversation about some of today’s most controversial and hottest topics with one of our most favorite people. In this steamy episode, Mary sits down with non-other than the founder of WhatRUWearing, Farissa Knox. As many of you know, not only did Farissa start WhatRUWearing, which is responsible for this podcast, daily fashion, style, beauty + creative editorial and web series’ like PRGirl, but she is also the founder of RLM, a media advertising agency and holding company. Farissa’s entrepreneur career is going on a decade and she is just getting started. In addition to building companies, being a content creator and a self-published author, she is a pro at being 100% authentic and that is why we have to grab her every now and then and turn her mic up! We sat down to discuss relevant, important, and controversial topics, because well, WE CAN, and we feel that it is crucial and necessary to be able to listen to other people’s opinions, and teach others in the process. In this episode, we touch on diversity, including beyond race, try to tackle the difference between girls having a “Hoe Phase” and an “Exploration Phase”, and talk through what it means to be selfish, in life and in relationships. Check out our season finale now and make sure to stay connected to us on social media as we do the equivalent of a day to night outfit change and meet ya’ll out later. Thanks for the continued support! Be back soon. Stay tuned!

In this week’s episode of FFP, we sat down with fashion designer, Chelsea Carter, the head designer and creative director behind Alex Carter. The brand and her clothing have been featured in Vogue, Verluxe, Kiss Magazine, Chicago Social, Off Kilter Magazine, as well as on SZA (dying). Her designs and personal hairstyles are breaking through the competitive fashion landscape, one statement accessory and piece of clothing at a time. Chelsea sat down to talk to us, ski pant-overalls and all (they’re just as cool as they sound), about what influences her, and what it means to be an emotional designer. She took us back to her early teens to reminisce on when she first started designing, and how she knew she was meant to go into an artistic career. Her art teacher noticed her effortless and distinct style, and gave her a helping hand by suggesting she go into fashion design. She filled us in on why she thinks it’s a good idea to “fly under the radar of gender” in the fashion world when it comes to picking a name and aesthetic for your brand. We also got a real education around why independent designers charge what they do for their work, sometimes in the $200-$300 per piece price range, and how little they are actually profiting. Check out the whole episode to hear how Chelsea got that bomb denim ensemble on SZA for the Grammy’s earlier this year and make sure to follow her on Instagram to keep up with her crazy life. If you want to rock one of Chelsea’s designs, take a look at her catalog on her website!

In this episode of FFP, our girl, Alina Tsvor, a renowned Chicago based photographer, stopped in to chat with us about her successful career. She specializes in portraiture, commercial, lifestyle, travel, storytelling, and social content. She’s accomplished so much already in her career, and she’s only getting started. We get to learn what is was like working with some of the amazing clients she’s shot for, like Adidas, J. Crew, Nike, Chicago Bulls, BMW, Beats by Dr. Dre, Bacardi, and so many more. Our very own Mary Mel started off by bonding with Alina over their shared Russian backgrounds, and how it has shaped them and their work ethic. Alina told us about her family, and how her photography career started with the first camera she was ever gifted. We learned what it is about photography that continues to keep her in love with her passion. And with some of the controversial changes taking place in her industry with so many models accusing male photographers and directors of sexual harassment, we had to make sure to get Alina’s reaction to it. She is open and honest with us about her personal experience with the controversy and how it impacted her personally. This is just the beginning for our Alina, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for her! Make sure to keep up with her on Insta, and check out her website to see the many campaigns she’s shot for!

We’re coming at you with another exciting episode that you don’t want to miss! Our good friend, Sir the Baptist, paid us a visit straight off his international tour. Sir is a hip-hop and R&B recording artist, producer, songwriter, and a huge philanthropist. He’s labeled a holistic lyricist, and is proving himself as a chaplain in the modern rap culture. Humble as can be, our guest takes us back to the beginning of his musical journey, revealing the fact that he was homeless, living out of his car at a moment in his life when he was trying to bless the world with his talent. We find out how he found his way out of that reality, and how he used (and uses) music as his outlet for speaking about things that matter to him, and preaching realness to all who have the desire to listen. He told us how important spiritual currency is to him and what it means to him. Sir calls himself an “urban monk!” He dives deep into his definition of what that means and how the urban monk knows how to dig into the most important things without being aggressive, all while “wearing some fly kicks” ;) Contrary to what some may think, his music isn’t focused on religion, but more so focused on the reality of people and spirituality. We dug deep into what it means to be an independent artist and the power he sees in signing with a label. Since Sir went on tour with Jay-Z (UM YEAH), we HAD to ask the first thing that came to mind about Queen Bey and oh yeah… what it was like touring with Mr. Carter himself. And you guessed right, it was unbelievable. As if the journey and success he has had so far in the music world is not enough, Sir is coming out with an exciting new project which is a short film called “God Is On The Way", a powerful story of a woman involved in sex trafficking overcoming her odds to find love. We cannot overstate how amazing this man is! Make sure to follow him on Instagram where you can check out his music, and take a look at his website so that you can catch his next show!

We’re coming at you with another good one, guys! A new type of creative made her mark on our show this week. Essence Taylor, a new face on the modeling scene making big moves in editorial and on the runway. We first met Essence at the Sheila Rashid show this past winter where Essence was modeling Sheila’s amazing new collection and we were so captivated by her beauty. Timing could not be more perfect for her right now. As we sit down to talk with Essence, she is fresh off of doing jobs for J. Crew, Walgreens, and Vogue Italia! Ummm…YEAH. Essence graced us with stories from her childhood and we learn what took her from Ball State University, bringing her back to Chicago. It was never a real question in her mind whether or not fashion was the route she wanted to take, so once back in the city, she pursued fashion merchandising and marketing, opening the door to modeling opportunities, giving way to the blossoming career she has now. As a dark-skinned Black woman, Essence tells us some of the hardships she faces (still) in the modeling industry. We get to live vicariously through Essence listening to her describe what it’s like seeing her face in ads and in magazines- spoiler alert: something close to amazing. Essence’s career is only getting started, so make sure to follow her on her Instagram to keep up with her. We are looking forward to saying we knew her ‘when’ before she’s a staple at NYFW, modeling for Balmain!

New Episode Alert! Lyricist, teacher, and musician, Matt Muse, stopped by our studio to enlighten our lives and it is safe to say, we’ve completely fallen in love with his sweet personality and his passion for music. Matt grew up in a household full of music. His parents wanted him to stay busy by learning how to play the piano and singing in the choir. Matt croons for us as he acknowledges that not only did that push towards music keep him out of trouble, but it introduced him to his passion. He’s proud (and rightfully so) of how raw and genuine his raps are and follows it up with a perfect blend of confidence and cockiness that you can’t help but agree with. Although he is aware of the motivation that can be invoked by his lyrics and the work that he does with his poetry students, he doesn’t consider himself a motivational speaker. He is an artist- and a great one at that! And as if his credentials couldn’t get any better, we learn he is an alum of Donda’s House, the nonprofit created in honor of Kanye West’s mother that supports young, aspiring artists of Chicago. Before we let him go, he dished about his next (secret) project, and spit a few bars from his favorite, unreleased song! We had a wonderful time getting to know him and his motivation. Now press play! For more information on Matt, his music and how to keep up with his performance schedule, follow him on Instagram and stay in touch with us. You are not going to want to miss him.

Get ready to kick back and laugh with one of the funniest, vibrant, and hardworking women in the event planning industry, Ciara Jibri. She’s a fashion publicist and event coordinator, as well as one of our good friends. We were so happy to sit down with Ciara to learn more about the platform she recently started, Haus of Mimosa, which is a bi-monthly networking social event to “simply connect people from all walks of life.” Ciara is always on the scene. If there is an event, Ciara is there, and workin’ it. Born and raised in Chicago, we get a feel for how much passion Ciara has for her city. Attending Columbia, Ciara pursued a degree in fashion marketing and management. And as if it wasn’t cool enough that she has carved out the perfect space for herself in the fashion industry, she comes connected, as we learn the secret sauce. Hint: SHE GETS IT FROM HER MAMA! Like many of us, it took Ciara some time to figure out exactly what she wanted to do in fashion. We learned in this episode that it was being booked as a model that set the direction for not just where she is now, but where she described seeing her brand going in the next few years. If you are looking for that last bit of confidence to pursue a career in fashion or build your own brand, Ciara gives us advice on how to make that a reality, the types of people to surround yourself with and the kind of mindset you need to have- all while gushing over her man’s talent, who also happened to be in the studio during our interview to support his boo! Can you think of a better way to spend the next few minutes than listening to this conversation?!? For tickets to Ciara’s next Haus of Mimosa event, click here, and make sure to look out for her fashion show, POISE, on April 15th! Follow Ciara on Instagram, as well as H.O.M so you can keep up with her and her crazy life!