Immigrant told how to become a famous fashion blogger in New York from scratch
'30.09.2018'
Source: Sputnik Azerbaijan
The first Azerbaijani fashion blogger Gunel Ismayilli does not regret her moving to America, since in the new place she has achieved popularity in her chosen profession.
The life of the first fashion blogger of Azerbaijan, Gunel Ismayilli, better known as Iblondee, completely changed after moving to New York, where she began to cooperate with many global brands. Blogger told about her success in the USA in an interview Sputnik Azerbaijan.
- Gunel, how did you become a fashion blogger?
- In fact, everything is very easy and simple. Once I was told: well, where do you want to be a blogger? But I replied that I would become him, and became. It seems to me that this was the best challenge for me, as blogging has changed my life very much. And all the fun began with this.
- Have you considered blogging as a serious and professional activity from the very beginning?
- I am a perfectionist, so I don’t know how to do anything at random. Before blogging, it was impossible to find my photos on the social network, because I was afraid of the camera and did not like to be photographed at all. I think I started it to prove something to someone, and then, when I saw the reaction of people, the number of subscribers, I realized that it was mine. Of course, it was very nice that I was interesting to people.
“Fashion blogger several years ago was a new concept for the Azerbaijani fashion industry. What is it like to be the first fashion blogger to represent the country?
- At the beginning it was very hard, especially when it came to cooperation, I had to explain to people who you are and what blogging is. I was the first to monetize it and extract income. I think it helped me that I received an education in business and marketing. Glad I never gave up.
- How do you currently assess the development in this area and your colleagues?
- To be honest, I almost do not follow what is happening in Azerbaijan. I just have no time. I cannot fail to recognize that which has always noticed meaningless competition between colleagues, which should not have been. Every blogger has his own content and his own feed. No one is a competitor to another, since we are all different. In New York, we have everything differently, we help each other with the content, share company contacts, give advice.
- Can everyone become a fashion blogger?
- I believe that if you have a sense of taste and you lead an interesting, active lifestyle, you will be interesting and people will reach out to you. Blogging is the ability to share your experience with others.
- What qualities should a fashion blogger have?
- Creativity, sociability and ability to convey their thoughts to people. Well and, of course, style is important and you need to have some kind of zest.
- Do I have to have a lot of money to be stylish?
- Oh, it's all nonsense. In general, I think that the main thing is a sense of style, then a person will find something fashionable in second-hand stores that will be millions of times better than any clothes on which he spent half a wallet. The main thing is desires and good taste. Well, and, probably, "eye-diamond".
- You were very popular in Azerbaijan, why did you decide to move to America?
- We all need to grow in life. Moving for me was a kind of career growth, the desire to start everything from scratch, to check myself. The last year in Baku was just a cage for me, so I threw everything and left.
- How has your life changed after the move?
- Has changed a lot. I am “before moving” and “after moving” - two different people. I stopped communicating with acquaintances and friends with whom I had communicated before I moved, and started everything from scratch. There was no one next to me in New York except my dog. A year has already passed since my move and I have very good friends, acquaintances, I also cooperate with many companies.
Now I feel comfortable, and most importantly - I feel that I am at home. I will not trade it for anything. When like-minded people are near, then you start to grow - this is exactly what I was madly lacking in Baku, that is, the support of people who understand you perfectly well and are there because they value you as a person, and not for some other reason. New York has taught me a lot, and I am grateful to him. Appreciate every day spent here.
- It is always much more difficult to move abroad than at home. What successes have achieved in America?
- To advance anywhere, you need to be sociable, be able to make new acquaintances, and just be a good person. I am very grateful to all the companies that gave me a chance to work with them in America. In my portfolio at the moment such famous names as Ole Henriksen, Urban Decay, Guess, M. Gemi, Pamella Roland, Christian Cowan, Banana Republic, Intermix, Rag and Bone and so on. The other day I was doing a project for the US Open and NASA, which for me, of course, was very strange, but pleasant. Also soon, for the third time I will take part in Fashion Week in New York. Previously, even I could not even dream about it.
- How do you manage to stand out among hundreds and thousands of other colleagues, given that in New York there is a lot of competition among models and bloggers?
- Work, work and work again. The more you invest in something, the more you get as a result. I stand out, probably, because I grew up in the United States, because I lived there for a long time before returning to Azerbaijan. In this regard, I understand the local mentality very well. To all this, despite the fact that I am Azerbaijani, it is very similar to American women.
Plus, I'm very interested in photography and I shoot all my blogger friends myself, which gives me a different perspective on the content I create. I don’t deny that there is really a lot of competition here, so it seems to me that it’s best to be yourself and try to create the best content, and not copy someone.
- What would you advise beginner fashion bloggers?
- Be yourself. Nowadays, it is very difficult because of social networks in which we see ideal people with ideal lives, but we do not understand that this is all an illusion, there are no ideal people and we all have our flaws. I think it’s just necessary to understand, accept and make your chip out of it by creating content that you yourself would read with pleasure.
- When are you going to return to Baku again?
- I don’t know in Baku yet, but not soon. I have a very busy schedule for the next year, so I’ll think about it later.
