Delving into Life and Fashion: A Conversation with LifeofRGR
As a young person navigating life and the fashion industry, Rish recently graduated from UC Berkeley studying Economics, Data Science, and Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. She moved to New York to intern in fashion and lived out the Devil Wears Prada dream!
Her youtube videos feel like listening to advice and the most fun life experiences from an older sister, giving off an impeccable vibe. She’s been home, enjoying the calm, prepping for a Europe trip with friends, and like many of us, figuring out what’s next!
R: You documented your semester off in New York and everything from working in fashion to the stories and little pieces of your life made the vlogs super wholesome! But, off-camera, what was it like living in a new city doing something you’d always wanted to do?
RGR: There were a lot of smaller frustrations in my personal life and in the working atmosphere that I never really got to share on the internet but I don’t think I’d ever share. The job that I had was a job that I’m so grateful to have had and I know that a million girls would kill for it (love the Devil Wears Prada reference) so I don’t know how I landed it but at the same time, by the time I was done, it felt like I wasn’t being valued the way I should’ve been valued for the education that I had and the way that I was being treated solely due to the fact that I was younger than everyone. People thought they could treat me a certain way because of that and because I was already halfway out the door after I’d said I’d be going back to school, I was an easy target. I wouldn’t change anything because I definitely learnt a lot about work and culture from it, but little nuances like that are something that I never shared on the internet but definitely happened.
I think even while navigating New York, I started vlogging after I’d properly set in apart from the little tiktoks that were very romantic. During the first few months, I was adjusting a lot and I felt very alone. This was the first thing I’d done alone without anybody my age. It didn’t feel like going to college but by the time I’d properly settled into the city and started projecting my life on the internet enough I had also made some really close friends and had people to rely on. So I think work frustrations and the loneliness in the beginning is something I never really got a chance to project online.
R: What inspires you?
RGR: Honestly, I don’t know! It comes in spurts of inspiration where sometimes I’ll be on track knowing exactly where I wanna be and I’ll be very inspired to get to that goal and figure out what’s next. Like right now, I thought I knew where I wanted to be so it’s a matter of finding that inspiration and something that clicks. Once you’ve visualised a path it’s a matter of just working to get there. I can’t say there’s any one thing that specifically inspires me but once I do find that, I’d like to hold on to it and work towards it.
I think the biggest mistake is getting inspiration from something someone else wants for you or what other people have said you should do. Sometimes, you realise after it’s too late that it’s something someone else wanted and not completely for you. What gets you inspired should come from you and not from latching on to what someone else whats.
R: Who would be your dream person or brand to work with?
RGR: Either Casablanca or Ami Paris. Both of them are slightly newer but they’re both menswear brands but I personally think they have a lot of potential, especially Casablanca! The way that they release collections and they use social media is something I really like.
R: What’s something you’d like to tell people who are just starting out in fashion or unsure about it, or something you wish 20-year-old you knew when you were starting out?
RGR: Something I knew but is good to reiterate is that in the fashion industry, it’s very hard to get your foot in the door. Once you do, you develop momentum and you’re very much a part of it. But getting your foot in the door is almost like joining a very exclusive club.
For a long time, I wondered why there was no transparency in the fashion industry - it’s hard to know where to start compared to many other fields - I think a lot of people don’t know the different areas of fashion they can work in, even I didn’t when I started. But after working in the industry, I think it’s on purpose. The people that make it, make it, but nobody teaches you how to be a part of it. You have to learn on your own, kind of like the survival of the fittest. It’s something that’s gatekept for a reason, and the people that do work in the industry don’t wanna lose their opportunities to other people because it moves so fast. Opportunities are so easily taken as well, and it’s such a competitive field so I think that’s why there’s no transparency.
However, once you do make those connections, it’s a lot easier to move on from there. So however you have your foot in the door, that’s the really hard part, and then you know you’ve moved on into having connections and being a part of it. You have to work until you make yourself unexpendible in the position that you’re in, and then you know that once they can’t get rid of you, you’ve got your foot in the door.
R: That’s amazing, fashion as an industry seems wonderful to work in.
RGR: Fashion, as an industry, is wonderful in the sense that it’s very glamourised. Most of the people who work in fashion don’t actually work with design and production. For some of the others, it could be more like working in an editorial, for example, but they’re still a part of it. While working with a proper designer or at a design house, a lot of it is glorified which is unfortunate but true. The parties and being around clothes all the time is fun, but it’s only like that most of the time if you’re in a very specific position.
R: What’s your favourite part of being able to connect with and impact so many people from all over the world? Any fun stories you’d like to tell?
RGR: My favourite part is actually 2 things.
I used to be incredibly indecisive. I now know that being decisive is something I need to learn so I’ve become more decisive but with social media, having people at your fingertips to give you an opinion is my favourite thing in the entire world. Whether it’s choosing an outfit or wondering how to react to something, I love being able to post and getting instant feedback with just the click of a button from thousands of people and it’s definitely helped. I think one time, my friend and I got into an argument on a road trip about how boys have nicer underwear for when you’re just starting to go out with someone or whether they just don’t care about that. So I posted, and so many people responded! All of my guy friends swiped up and agreed and I’m so glad that I get so much feedback so quickly.
The other thing I really like that’s fun, and I haven’t done it in a while but one time I made a bold statement that I was only ever going to go on Instagram live when I was absolutely plastered. And since then I only go on Instagram live when I remember when I’m absolutely plastered and it’s the most fun thing ever to have so many people watching you as you’re just having the time of your life and there’s people also talking to you on the internet. I recognise usernames and it’s fun to just have them pull up when you’re having a good time.
A funny story about having access to so many people is that one time there was this boy I was going out with and we had a little scuffle and I posted about it on my Instagram later. I narrated the story on 2 different posts and he was part of a blog post I’d put up and he’d comment on my Instagram every now and then. I never mentioned any striking details about him but if you really did your research, you could figure out who he was. I described details you’d have to know him to know, but it never crossed my mind that maybe somebody else could recognise it as well. I had 3 girls DM me after saying they’d been out with him and they were sorry it happened to me. They were telling stories about what he’d done and the girls he was going out with and I was like, this is really funny but thank god I found out!
R: How did younger you feel about the readers and followers when you first started off with the LifeofRGR blog?
RGR: I honestly still can’t put a visual to how many people read it. If I was standing in a room and was able to see the number of people that read my posts, that’d probably put a better picture in my head. The only thing I do get a visualisation to is when people will send me massive texts responding to my posts and that’s when I’m like if this got this much of a reaction out of you, I did my job. If it at least did that for one person I did my job right and I’m so glad I get to share it with the world! But I’ve never been able to visualise the actual number of people. Every now and then there will be a few people that’ll bump into me on the street and tell me they love my blog posts but one time somebody DMed be and they were at a bar with a friend and wanted to read it together at the bar. The bartender came over, could see the phone and asked if they were reading the blog post and they all started talking about it and I didn’t even think so many people read it so for that to happen is amazing.
R: So with social media in general, there’s always this pressure for people with a large following to maintain perfection or a ‘brand’ that the audience is used to. Sometimes it can be hard on people’s mental health to have to create the content. So, how do you feel about that and does it affect you?
RGR: It definitely affected me once, but I’ve developed this very clear mindset along the way that social media is a very saturated place. You can get so lost in it that you’re just comparing yourself to others and there’s no reason for it because you don’t know the whole story.
I love taking photos of my friends so a lot of my content is just me putting together videos of other people. I don’t want pictures of myself, honestly. I get them taken every now and then, like if a friend captures a candid, but I’ve never gone out and done a photoshoot. When someone does snap a picture of me that I like or if it’s a picture that conveys a lot of emotion, I post it. Somehow it’s gained a following but I’ve learned over time that there are only two reasons you should ever be posting on Instagram and it’s either to make money - if it is then you do you and take it!
However, if you’re not doing it to make money, it should be a post that makes you happy to share. If you’re sharing something just to impress other people, show off, or to gain followers, it’s just a waste of your time. You might as well live in the moment and do what makes you genuinely happy. Going into it with that mindset has basically formed where I am on social media. I have a tiny corner of the internet that I enjoy and am very grateful to have, and wanting to work in the fashion industry has always been my goal.
I don’t ever want to be so active on social media that I get labelled as the ‘influencer or content creator that ended up working in fashion’. I like that I have this corner of the internet and preferably I’d like to keep it there, and I don’t mind it growing but I’d want to be known for fashion because that was my goal.
R: What’s next for you?
RGR: Honestly, I don’t even know, I’m just riding with the wave. I’ve been home for the past month with my grandparents, playing cards, just enjoying life in the moment. It’s like when you’re young and can’t keep track of the days of the week during the summer and you wake up and have absolutely nothing to do because I literally have zero obligations and do not have to report to anyone and I love that feeling, but at the same time in the back of my mind I’m so restless knowing I don’t have a ‘next move’ or ‘next step’ or something I’m working at right now, but I’m learning to enjoy sitting in the calm. I’ll be in Europe with my friends for the rest of the summer, and then, life wise, I’ll move back to New York. Career wise, I think I have a feeling about where I wanna go but I don’t wanna jinx anything, so you’ll just have to keep an eye out!