S02 Episode 79 | AGNES MULJADI, THE VEGAN BALLERINA
In episode 79, Kestrel welcomes Agnes Muljadi, a Los Angeles based vegan ballerina, actress, photographer and celebrity blogger, to the show. Agnes has been the face of an array of brands including Amazon, NFL, Starbucks, Reebok, Toms Shoes and Kind Snacks.
In this chat, Agnes shares insight into what her life as a ballerina looks like, and how she became vegan, basically overnight.
"My naturopath told me immediately you have to become vegan today, and I just became vegan. I literally became vegan in a day." -Agnes Muljadi
Kestrel also asks Agnes about her position as a social media influencer. As influencers continue to take more of a headlining role for brands and their marketing platforms, Kestrel is always curious about where and when authenticity will rise to the top.
If an influencer promotes a food product, and never actually eats it, can we tell that? If they push a pair of shoes that they would never actually want to wear, are we going to be able to realize that, as outside followers? AND, if an influencer has a socially conscious approach to their lifestyle, how do they pick and choose which brands to work with?
Agnes believes that there is a dangerous line to walk when it comes to building the right partnerships and maintaining your authenticity with your audience. She believes that if you stay truthful to what you believe in, the partnerships will come.
Here are a couple of the people and ideas Agnes brought up throughout this chat:
Pea Protein, a vegan protein supplement
Alessandra Ferri, one of Agnes's favorite dancers; she is defying the "age expectation" in ballet
NYC EVENT ALERT
Wear Your Values, hosted by Remake + The Oslo Freedom Forum
Thursday, September 14th, 2017
Thoughts from Remake's founder Ayesha Barenblat on her hopes for the event:
"Too often the 60+ million mostly women who make our clothes, the human hands behind our fashion, are a forgotten in the glamour and glitz of fashion week. Our immersive art, film and VR tech hope to bring her back into fashion revelers consciousness in a way that doesn't paint her as a victim. But instead as the fierce, hard working girl boss that she is. So first and foremost we want NYC fashionistas, emerging designers and press to remember and celebrate the end maker. We want consumers to come away inspired and wanting to be die hard fans of the conscious fashion brands we are celebrating. We want the emerging designers coming from FIT, Pratt and Parsons to be inspired to design with intention. And we want press to not just write about the next pretty collection, what Kim Kardashian is wearing to the shows or fashion's fleeting attempts at activism be it supporting the ACLU or Planned Parenthood. We want press to instead connect the fashion world to the women who bring our fashion to life and to shine a spotlight on designers who are embracing transparency and addressing human rights in the industry. These "woke" designers are the ones we should be celebrating because the future of fashion has to be conscious".