MR: What has been the biggest struggle for you in your career? AM: Finding my own voice and being myself was hard at first. From about 16-years old to 18-years old, I was living in LA doing a lot of modeling and acting. When you’re being told what to do instead of doing what you want to do, finding yourself and your voice is challenging. I was trying to find myself in LA and I looked at all these influencers for inspiration — a lot of my friends are photographers and influencers, but I think I finally found my own voice in New York City. Part of the problem was that I was always in a relationship. I had been involved in a relationship since I was 15-years old. When I became single I think I was finally doing the things that I wanted to do and after two years of living in New York, I had been single for almost two years. That’s when I realized how important it was to not have anyone influencing me because influencers cannot be influenced. This is a concept that really solidified for me while traveling alone. When you’re alone it’s easier to approach people and be approached. I’ve made so many new girlfriends. They’re from all over the world. The lone travelers always find the lone travelers. One day, I made friends with this 50-year old French woman from Paris. She was in Vietnam for work. She saw me taking photos and she asked me if she could follow me around for the rest of the day so we went to all of the markets together. We still chat and email. She sent me a picture of her cat the other day.
Do you think it’s a privilege to work for yourself ? How does it make you feel? AM: I think it is definitely a privilege to work for myself. I could never go back to working a nine to five job and I will work as hard as I have to in order to keep it that way. I've tried working in offices a few times but it just isn't for me - I outgrow companies really quickly and get bored. I like to be in control and I have big dreams so working for myself allows me to pursue those passions.
MR: Who are some of the artists who are working with you on your silk line? Does the silk line have a name yet? Can we follow it on Insta? The silk line is called AM but I'm making my website and social handles AM Club (@a.m.club) because it's kind of a
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collective or club of artists. Also everyone who purchases a piece becomes part of the "AM Club" because they are supporting the arts in a way. My artists get a percentage of profits as well as various organizations such as the Elephant Nature Park. Being able to donate money to organizations that make a positive impact in the world is exciting for me and I hope more brands continue to do this because it gives fashion so much more purpose and meaning. So far I have designs from Billy Chevannes (previously Ronald Slabbers) from the Netherlands, Bruna Sirqueira from Brazil and Michael Crampton from NYC. I'm continuously looking for new people to collaborate with, but I'm so excited to be able to create high quality pieces that can be worn various ways or framed as art in their homes.
MR: Tell me about your tat. AM: I got my triangle tattoo on my 23rd birthday in the West Village last year. It means a lot of things to me and I had wanted it for years. To me it symbolizes a few things. I was born on 3/3 at 3AM so 3 has been my number since day 1 — thanks mom. I also consider myself "tri-coastal" because I am constantly traveling between LA, NY and Miami and they happen to form a pretty sweet triangle on a map! Triangles also symbolize creativity, culmination and manifestation which all mean a lot to me because I like constant reminders to keep pushing to the top of my goals. ■
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Being able to donate money to organizations that make a positive impact in the world is exciting for me and I hope more brands continue to do this because it gives fashion so much more purpose and meaning.
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