Age is Anything but a Number: How Art Influences Youth Fashion
/By : Amari Hurst
I believe that we are influenced by three things in our life: People, Surroundings, and Interpretation. New Orleans is a world of arts, that welcomes creativity and individuality. This generation may lack many things; however, fashion isn’t one. We are at the age that expression plays a huge role in “who we are” and “who we want to be.”. I do strongly believe that “age is anything but a number” because if you let the arts guide you, you can do anything you set your mine too.
Daisha Milan Calliet // Dai aka Dai Dai aka Goon
Who are you?
I’m a 17-year-old girl floating somewhere between wanting to soar and being unsure of life beyond the stability of the ground. I am a poet and proudly refer to myself as ' Where Angela Davis meets Maya Angelou.
What is your art?
My art forms are visual art, poetry, and photography.
How did you find a love for your art?
I’ve always been a creative soul. I had been drawing and painting since I was young, when I was seven I even had begun sketching out designs for my own girls’ clothing brand, but as I grew so did my art. Poetry and Photography are two areas that I learned to love.
How does your art play a role in your fashion sense?
My art is all very expressionistic and vibrant, it reflects my experience and me as a person, so it would only make sense that my style is just the same. My style is usually a vibrant mix of pieces that I was drawn to and decided to pull together. My visual art style is abstract and usually mixed media, so it's a lot of different things pulled together to create a common vision. I think that also describes my style perfectly. I can’t define my style; it’s simply a representation of me: beautiful and complex.
What do you want people to know about the kids of the arts ?
I think each person has their own individual style because, like art, fashion is all about self-expression. You should dress for yourself, wear what you like, and be comfortable with your own looks. Us art kids are just doing what we love whether anyone else is watching.
Amaya Johne
Who are you?
I am Amaya Johne' Cannon, born and raised in New Orleans. I am an ongoing youth who seeks for opportunity to increase my knowledge. I strive for success by chasing my dreams and believing in myself. Also, perseverance and dedication is who I am. I am a youth who enjoys spending time investing and practicing my craft.
What is your art?
Fashion design is my art and I found a love for it by attending school where uniforms weren't required. This allowed me to express myself through clothing since the age of seven. I got involved in sewing classes, internships with local designers, and NOCCA for theatre design. Ever since, my focus has been on fashion design and styling.
How does your art play a role in your fashion sense?
My art plays a role in my fashion sense because of different ideas I come across in the fashion world on the daily basis. The history behind fashion also plays a role in my fashion sense. I like a lot of vintage clothing from the 90's to give my style a bit of an edgy but original look. Most of my clothes come from a variety of different places but I mainly shop at thrift stores. Fashion design helps me to shape my style by me staying updated with what’s trending and from there, I put a bit of my flavor into the looks to make them different and unique
What does it mean to be young and productive in the arts?
To me, being young and productive in the arts means freeing your mind with creativity and positive thoughts. It also means to express yourself however you'd like.
How do you feel as if you're constantly achieving it?
I'm constantly achieving the goal of being young and productive by investing in what I love to do. I love fashion and it allows me to put thought and creativity into my clothing. Learning the history of fashion creates room for me to understand the roots of it and to understand where it came from. From learning the background, I invest in my craft and create/ design pieces of clothing that I think people will like and feel confident about.
What you want to be left with the reader when they finish this piece?
To whoever is reading this, I believe your goal can be reached by believing and investing in your creativity and chasing your dreams.
The thing about the arts is there is no right or wrong because you take a little from everywhere. Being from New Orleans makes it 10x easier to express yourself with the help of your art. I choose Daisha and Amaya because they demonstrate over the top fashion based on what they take away from the city, the people, and how they interpret it.
