8 DAYS | 35brands on your socials. Are you starting some kind of
online fashion business?
I started an online portal with a friend, who is from the
fashion industry. It’s Curatedition.com and pronounced
“Cura-dition”, with a silent “T” and “E". We wanted it to
be a very curated place, with a unique voice. With social
media, a lot of people post things like, oh, this is nice,
that is nice, without a real voice. So we wanted to gather
industry experts and people who are brilliant at their jobs,
to lend a voice. Like someone who is more in tune with
fashion to give their take on fashion and what’s going on.
I guess you’re trying to build something that can
eventually make money?
We wanted to give a real voice to this social media thing.But in the long run, we want to run the website like a
business. Digital is growing. Our very first campaign with
YSL Beauty — yes, it was paid — was good. We are really
happy with the results.
We saw that — you did a fun video, which was on your
Instagram, and posted about the brand on your socials
and turned up at the event.
Yes, and what was exciting for me was the freedom to
do this video. I conceptualised and produced it and it did
really well. The YSL people told me it generated a lot of
interest, and they got many calls from people who were
interested in their event and asking about the video and
talking about it. They were really happy with it. I’m happy I
got a chance to create some interesting content.
You were never one of those celebs who were big on
fashion, per se. You’ve always had quite a laidback style.
So why the move into fashion?
Yes, but this is something I’m interested in as well. I’m not
known to be the fashionista or so dressed up all the time.
If anything, I think I’m the most laidback actress ever, and
if possible, I’d try not to wear make-up, but this [fashion
portal] is still an extension of me. I’m not like [crazy about
fashion], but when the time comes to attend events, I feel
it’s my job to bring out the outfit and the feel of the brand,
and for me to wear the outfit and not have the outfit eat
me up. Curatedition is an extension of another aspect of
me. And yes, we have plans. It’s not for the fun of it. It’s
not about, let’s try and see where this takes us. This is a
business. We hope to take it to another level, for sure.You are known as a social media queen, with 1.4 million
Facebook followers, and one of the most number of
Instagram followers for a local actress. Is this something
you want to build on?
For my social media, there are some paid and sponsored
posts, but I only take on projects I can relate to. It’s about
being true to myself. I’ve rejected quite a few clients and
things that are not suitable for me and don’t apply to my
lifestyle. I don’t like it when someone’s entire account is
just a commercial thing. In the beginning, Instagram was
a platform for me to talk about my feelings. Before that,
we only had media interviews to express ourselves. Social
media was very liberating. I don’t want to lose that. If
whatever I get, I post, it loses that value for me.Now that you’re on your own, wouldn’t the income from
social media be even more important? After all, each
post can be worth thousands of dollars. It can be more
than a side income.
Considering the number I reject, maybe not! (Laughs) I
don’t know how much others are earning. For me, it’s
comfortable. But I don’t want to make social media my
means of survival. I still want to grow my production
company. I want to base my success on work I can
produce, rather than just post on social media and earn
money. Things are moving so fast. If you don’t have things
that ground you, it’s hard to say that for the next 10 years,
you’d be safe. I’m never gonna be satisfied with where I
am — I want to grow. People are afraid of getting out of
their comfort zones. But if you don’t, there won’t be new
challenges and you won’t grow.
Social media used to be fun, for people to share photos
of what they’re up to, but it’s become a serious money-
making business for some and that takes away some
of the fun. People buy followers ’cos it gets them more
business. There’s now a lot of social media fatigue.
For me, it’s about maintaining the integrity of your posts.
It’s so easy to say yes to everything, ’cos it’s a lot of
money. But I’m very selective. But, yeah, you don’t know
what’s real anymore. Every single post is sponsored, and
worse, have cut-and-paste captions. If clients wanted me to
only use their captions, I would reject the project.
We also see you building an image as a fashionista,
attending Paris Fashion Week and wearing designer
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WILL SAY,
“YOU’RE JUST AN ACTRESS, WHAT CAN
YOU DO?” BUT THERE IS A LOT MORE
I CAN OFFER. I GUESS I JUST WANT TO TRY.
I’M NOT AFRAID TO FAIL.