The Chase Urban Creators are digital creatives who create videos, photos, articles, and social stories about topics such as urban music, lifestyle, creatives, and society. It is a diverse group of young people looking for a platform for their passions and to sharpen their skills.
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Positioning yourself as a fashion journalist at 23. How did you get there?
Last year I graduated in Journalism. During my studies, I joined the online magazine Enfants Terribles, where I got the opportunity to write opinion pieces, and I immediately learned a lot from that. Afterwards, as an intern at Knack Focus, I mainly came into contact with more classic fashion and learned to write critically. Currently, I am still very involved in fashion and I have a part time job at Snipes Streetwear, who have also offered me the opportunity to grow into their Event and Blog Team afterwards.
But fashion has actually been in me since I was a child. I always got hand me downs from my parents, but once I got a bit older, I started following brands and designers in magazines. When I was five, I got a CD by Missy Elliott, so music has also always been an important part of my life.
People ask how I still have time to go to the Charlatan. But those are exactly the moments when I get inspiration.
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You are very active on social media. How important is that for you?
Next year, I will do the postgraduate program in Digital Storytelling At KASK through Chase. Since I think Facebook is dying out, I mainly focus on Instagram country Tumblr. I only use Facebook as a calendar for events. From my own experience, I notice that Facebook is trying to keep up, but is falling behind. In addition, it is also harder to achieve reach.
With Tumblr, the most recent and biggest problem is the new policy regarding adult content. I find this difficult to deal with: it goes so far that even photos of a leg are tagged as explicit content. Quite a lot has been removed from my blog and many friends have lost almost everything on their blogs. On Tumblr, you try to create a beautiful blog: you think about what you post and in what order. Now all of that no longer makes sense.
Young people feel more comfortable on Instagram because you can do what you want there. There is a lot of “fake”, but there are also many users who can express themselves and show who they are, because you completely choose how your page looks.
After Instagram, a new social media platform will definitely emerge that will hopefully be very interesting again. Many of my photos on Instagram are analog. In the digital era, you just keep taking photos again if the first one does not work. With analog photos, the images are sometimes blurry or overexposed. Precisely because everything on Instagram is so fake, I thought: I am going to shoot on film, and whatever is on the photo, that's what it will be.
How does being an Urban Creator for Chase fit into your path?
For me, Chase has been a way from the very beginning to write about all my passions. Concrete assignments include the weekly fashion “what drops,” which actually take quite a lot of work to produce every week. People ask me how I still find time to go to the Charlatan, but those are exactly the moments when I get inspiration.
I also regularly write list articles and opinion pieces about fashion. At the moment, I am working on one about PVC in the fashion world. Fashion and music are closely connected, and that's how I got into the world of hip hop. For Enfants Terribles, I wrote a review about Masego and Why G. At Chase, I can now also write about Dutch speaking artists, which is something new in Belgium.
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How do you deal with negative feedback from your readers?
I actually find it quite nice when people feel personally attacked by articles, because that means they took the effort to read them. People often underestimate what it means to write. I recently wrote a streetwear article where I mentioned six brands, but some people reacted by saying I had overlooked so many others.
I cannot write an article about the “124 streetwear brands.” Maybe that specific brand will be featured next month. When I write an article, I do not have contact with those brands, but I look up all the information myself. If I receive constructive criticism or fair comments, I definitely take that into account for the future.
Which experience has stayed with you the most?
At Hip Hub Hooray, I got to know the entire Chase Limburg team. My assignment was to do street style coverage at the festival itself. That way, I was able to write both a fashion article and a review. It was the perfect combination to get to know everything and everyone.
In my first year of Journalism, I never expected that in the year I graduated I would already be writing for different media and meeting people who have had an important influence on me. So yes, I am proud of that. For example, I got to interview The Black Eyed Peas for Chase: as a child I would have dreamed of that, but now it seems like something small. Maybe one day I'll be able to interview A$AP Rocky.
You have had quite a busy year. What are your goals for 2019?
I would like to find a permanent job in journalism, that is my clear goal for 2019. And I also want to get more involved in the Dutch hip hop scene, especially across the border. That music appeals to me more than Belgian hip hop, everyone there is friends and collaborates with each other. Video is also one of the digital skills I want to develop further. I work together with Bavo Goossens, who makes a lot of videos, and I would really like to learn how to shoot and edit documentaries. I would also like to get to know international brands. Through friends, I meet other people, and that is something I especially want to keep working on in 2019: networking.
What are your tips for young people who also want to get started as an Urban Creator?
A few tips I can give to other young digital creatives are mainly: persevere. I think it is important to already start writing while studying, to do voluntary internships, and to do more than just “school.” If a company asks you to do something, do it. The first time I went to Paris Fashion Week, I just went there on my own and figured everything out myself. I learned much more from Knack, Chase and Enfants Terribles because they already have a readership.
Young creators should definitely not be afraid of anything digital. Learn how to edit, take photos, and work with software. And get your driver's license. Also, don't be afraid, artists don't bite. And finally: read up well on your topics.
Interview and photos by Joke D'Hooghe.
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