Petra is an artist/photographer who captures the female experience - from sexuality to femininity - and focuses on teenagers in particular. What I love about her work is that she portrays the reality of growing up as a female, but does so with the most dreamy, pink tinted visuals.
Ashley Armitage
Ashley is one of the first fashion photographers who really caught my eye. Her instagram account, @ladyist, showcases her fantastic work in which she photographs the reality of being a female, such as pubic hair and tampons. She doesn't filter femininity, which I find so refreshing in a world where all girls are made to feel ashamed of their body and the hair that grows on it. Ashley is using photography as a medium to diminish these social constructs, in the most visually pleasing way possible.
Tavi Gevinson
Tavi started her fashion blog, The Style Rookie, at the mere age of 11 proving that age does not define success, as her blog blew up and became very successful, so much that she now has her own magazine - http://www.rookiemag.com/ - where she focuses on subjects such as feminism and the effect of pop culture on young people. I really value her hard work and entrepreneurship from such a young age. She is really a lesson in not waiting for opportunities to come to you but rather to go out and grab them yourself.
Leandra Medine
Leandra really inspires me as a businesswoman in fashion. She is the brains behind the well known blog, https://www.manrepeller.com/, which wonderfully mixes fashion with a little bit of satire. I really love how she has brought a fresh, witty and almost mocking outlook on fashion. Leandra inspires me in terms of finding a niche and making it into a huge success.
Jess Farran
Jess is a recent University graduate who studied Fine Arts in Photography. I discovered her work on The Messy Heads website and was immediately in awe of her stunning photography style. She dabbles in fashion and sexuality photography, and her aesthetic is so dreamy and futiristic. Although only relatively new on the scene, she has been extremely successful and has won many awards. Her skill of creating original and individual pictures whilst still sticking to a particular visual is really inspiring to me.
Mika Francis
Mika is a fashion/lifestyle blogger and youtuber who combines her love for fashion and spirituality in her enviously, amazingly edited videos. Showcasing her bold and daring style in lookbooks and on her instagram, she preaches self love and acceptance and constantly inspires me to seek more from life and express myself unapologetic ally through my clothing.
Adwoa Aboah
Adwoa is the new fashion 'it' girl, featuring as the cover girl of the new Vogue cover, which has just changed editor's. She is refreshing as a model and I really appreciate the fact that she uses her platform for good. Adwoa has created an organisation called Gurls Talk (@gurlstalk on instagram), which is a place for girls to be honest and real, and feel like they can talk about anything. It is empowering and encouraging - I'd definitely recommend following them.
Estee Lalonde
I've followed Estee's blog and youtube channel for a long time, but recently I've been loving her rebrand and change of content. In recent years she has used her fashion blog to address issues like feminism, and has become an educated, articulate and down to earth voice for the blogger industry. Her podcast, 'The Heart of It', has been such an amazing venture out of her usual work, and discusses subjects from makeup to strength, keeping it light-hearted and interesting.
Who are your favourite artists in the fashion industry? Let me know!
Much love,
Orlagh x
