BL8K Talks: Priscilla González, LATAM’s Fashion Trailblazer

No gatekeeping, confidence and dedication. How one woman  changed the way fashion discourses are taking place in Mexico and Latin America. 

It’s my pleasure to introduce you to fashion commentator and trailblazer; Priscilla González. 

Have you ever scrolled through TikTok and come across a video that you immediately saved, liked and commented on? Well that’s what happened when I stumbled across the user @priscillastyles. (This is your que to go follow her and you can thank me later.) It’s been 2 years since and I still remember how enthralled I was by her voice, her fashion insights and most importantly by the fact that she was a young Mexican woman freely and openly speaking her mind about fashion like no one's business. She immediately became my go-to fashion source and yesterday I had the honor to sit down and talk to her. 

In true Gen Z mode I sat down on my desk and sent Priscilla a Google Meets link, as Priscilla joined the meeting the nerves kicked in - panicking, sweating, shaking -  I mean, after all, I still can’t believe I got to talk to someone I admire so much. But as soon as we got talking all nerves went out the door. A surreal experience as I am used to seeing her on my screen but this time she was talking back to me! 

She was rocking that effortlessly cool, off-duty look wearing a suede bomber jacket and silver hoop earrings which matched perfectly with her short blonde hair and icy-blue ombré tips. Looking perfect and ready to talk about how following her passion and practicing consistency led her to build one of Latin America's largest fashion communities. 

Naturally I asked her about how she got started. How did you go from being a marketing graduate working in marketing to becoming a full time content creator with over 800,000 followers?

The answer was sweet and simple; “betting on yourself.” During the pandemic the world adapted to new changes and so did she. “During the pandemic I got the chance to go back home and reevaluate my career path; where I came to the realization that what I was doing wasn’t aligned with my purpose. Although it was scary I couldn’t ignore my desire to create content anymore.”

Inspired by a video she saw on TikTok that said something along the lines of “do what you know you are meant to do”, changed Priscilla’s mindset and got her thinking. What did she want to do? Easy; “become the person I know I am meant to be.” 

“I didn’t want anyone else to experience what I did, I wanted to be a part of the ongoing change inside the fashion industry and be a voice that stands behind everyone who wants to join.”

Creating a space where she can start engaging conversations about fashion was the intent. So she dropped everything, she literally quit her job, and focused on getting those conversations started. 

I think I told her over a hundred times during the interview that the magic and significance her TikTok platform holds goes way beyond fashion. Excuse me as I get a little bit personal now. Fashion in Latin America, like in every other country, isn’t just one concrete idea or practice. It sadly gets lost between the ideals of elitism and conformity, becoming a space where progress isn’t encouraged. So when Priscilla popped on my screen 2 years ago it blew my mind. Seeing a Mexican woman talk about fashion in such an eloquent, factual and captivating way made me realize how badly we were in need of someone like her to be at the forefront. 

Here is where it gets personal. For so long I’ve been feeling sort of hopeless regarding my future in the fashion industry and I, more often than not, blame it on my background thinking that if I was born somewhere else I’d have more opportunities. So Priscilla, to me, became this beacon of hope that helped me snap out of my wallowing and into realizing that; yes I am a women, yes I live in Mexico and yes the fashion industry over here isn’t as progressive as in other places but that isn’t a limitation, it’s an invitation into creating something new where we create the change we so desperately seek. Just like Priscilla did. 

Priscilla established a space where fashion was the main focus and therefore started gaining a following based on trust. My question here was; what goes behind creating your content?

I can’t think of any research I conduct that doesn’t involve Priscilla. So I was obviously very curious to see who she turns to. “I love scrolling through Pinterest for archival collections and my go-to publications include Dazed, Vogue, Interview and Vogue.”

In a world where one can endlessly scroll through a million videos in a day, Priscilla’s formula of curating fun, engaging and educational videos broke the mold.

“Content about fashion should be fun, educational and a conversation starter. Like I always say in my videos; I am not a dictator and my opinion is based on research and experience. I want people to use it as a starting point and from there create a bigger discourse.” 

I asked her if she ever felt sort of intimidated by the feeling of not being good enough or prepared enough. 

“Not really, I mean I’ve come to understand that if I do my research and add in my opinion with the intent of creating sort of a snowball effect where people will see my content and they’ll either learn from it or use it as a way to further dig into a topic then it’s all good.” 

And she is not wrong, too often we stop doing the things we are passionate about for fear and that was not an option for her. Like she said at one point; “building something requires more than passion, it’s about discipline and not giving up.” 

What have these two last years been like? 

This question brought up a bunch of different anecdotes and reflections. Which gave me a better understanding and deeper admiration for her work. (I’ll say it once again I’m her biggest fan) It’s never easy to put yourself out there and hope for the best but that’s what she did and like she said;

“It might sound cliche but staying, amidst the ups and downs of the rollercoaster that is working in social media, will eventually amount to something great!” 

Having purpose and intention is definitely a driving force behind her work, “I always aim to create content that is either entertaining, like my videos where I rate celebrity /red carpet/ runway looks, or talking about how the industry works, about things people might not know about it or even demystifying fashion myths!” 

That is what makes her content so compelling, her feed is a crash course on Everything You Need to Know About Fashion. As a TikTok fashion commentator, Priscilla relies on her community, without it there is no point in creating anything. 

“I absolutely love connecting with my community on a daily basis, through stories, by reading their dms and by truly creating a sacred place guided by sorority where everyone gets to have a good time and hopefully get inspired to follow their dreams.” 

You are a major game changer inside Mexico's fashion industry, how do you envision Mexico's future in fashion?

“I would really like to see Mexico positioning itself as one of the big 5 fashion capitals in the world. We truly have everything needed to accomplish that; we have the talent, the dedication, the textiles and the most beautiful landscapes in the world. I obviously feel extremely proud to see Mexican creatives thrive internationally, but I hope, even though it’s going to take time, that Mexico will become a place where such talents are recognized and supported.” 

Priscilla set the path for LATAM’s new fashion trailblazers, one where everyone has a voice. Is it easy? No, but don’t give up as life has a really cool way of working itself out. “One of the biggest highlights of my career so far has got to be my interview for Vogue Mexico” a story straight out of a movie “before starting TikTok I applied to different jobs, including Vogue, and got rejected, now they reached out to me!” (You go Priscilla!)