Bursting onto the fashion scene and causing quite a stir is Alex Acero, the creative bombshell earning buzz through his uplifting media outlets.
Now living in Paris, the talent has spent years nurturing his penchant for fashion, placing his prowess at the forefront of the next wave of style aficionados and blending influences derived from his time as a buyer which propelled his fondness to deepen his practice on digital terms.
“What I think about influencers is that they should first do something or have the talent to influence others through that” he reflects. “It has turned from something fun and playing dress-up into a full-time career. As far as connecting with a lot of people at one time, it hasn’t become something normal for me yet, and I want it to stay that way.”
Eager to find out all we could, we caught up with Alex to unveil early beginnings, buzzy moments, and the ethics behind his practice…
All right, let’s click rewind and go back to the beginning – fancy telling us a little bit about yourself?
I’m someone who has always loved and been fascinated by fashion and beauty. I love to laugh and have fun. I’ve also always dreamed of having something of my own, so my entrepreneurial spirit is something I devote a lot of time towards, to creating things, taking care of them and feeling that sense of excitement and achievement about the whole process.
Your ‘gram looks wit and fun, rich in dream-like moments. How did you dive into the fashion world?
I started to use Instagram to express my passions and experiences. It took me some time to realize that everyone wanted to be the same on social media, maybe myself included. So, I took the opportunity to express who I really am, what I like about myself, my personal style, beliefs, and experiences. Although I started as a buyer, Instagram was my entry into the fashion world in terms of sharing content to a wider audience and it all continued from there.
You’re a buyer and influencer. How do you intermingle both practices? Is it important for you to have different creative outlets?
Yes, I indeed started as a buyer and my love for fashion and lifestyle developed into the content creation side where I share a bit of both and everything else through social media. Through being a buyer, I feel strongly about sharing and working only with brands I like, and that I would wear as I feel organic content is best for my profile. Your personal style is what makes you unique, so you should never compromise it. Being a buyer also helps me understand the business aspect of the industry and not just content creation.
Talk us through how you’ve seen the media change since you began. Is it weird to be revealed to connect with the entire planet, in a way?
When I began, the “influencer” term wasn’t really clear. People were really confused about it, even though they were following and enjoying content, no one really knew how it worked as it was a new job category. Nowadays, what I think about “influencers” is that they should first do something or have the talent to influence others through that. It has turned from something fun and playing dress-up into a full-time career. As far as connecting with a lot of people at one time, it hasn’t become something normal for me yet, and I want it to stay that way. It can be a bit daunting when you see how many people are interacting with you globally, but I like to see it as just sharing what I love and sharing my honest opinions with friends. I guess that’s the magic behind it.
Fashion nowadays has increasingly evolved in relation to crafting to be ethical-sustainable. We’ve seen many taken that road. What’s your take on that? What’s been your highlight so far?
We all have to make an effort to help the planet we live in. I, of course, try to be as ethical as I can through my purchasing and lifestyle habits, I always try to recycle at home and mainly avoid mass-produced fast-fashion. I am also really interested in the ways brands are becoming more sustainable through their creative process of using scrap materials, reducing wastage and even unique ways of organically dying fabric. A highlight has been seeing some of the big brands incorporate this into their DNA in the likes of Stella McCartney and recently Burberry not using real fur anymore.
We saw you’re well-acquainted in high fashion – what’s been the craziest thing you’ve experienced? What’s your main aim with the business? Who do you look up to in your industry? Enlighten us with what’s yet to come…
Well, I think we all go too crazy for the things we love and that we’re passionate about. For me, the craziest thing about fashion is how fast it goes. I do every fashion week each year, from ready to wear men’s and women’s, and also couture twice a year. That’s seven fashion weeks! Sometimes it’s crazy to realize everything you have to process in one day where you have four shows because it’s not only about understanding the collection, but it’s also about the way you’re going to share that day on social media so people can see what’s going on and also inspiring people in the process. Let’s not forget to choose your outfits, doing your content, and on top of that, you have to find time to eat and take care of yourself. My main aim is to stay true to who I am and hopefully inspire some people to do and share what they love, and not be afraid to take fashion risks and be themselves and have fun! I have always admired the work of Franca Sozzani, Diana Vreeland, and Fabien Baron. As Carrie Fisher once said: “Take your broken heart and make it into art.”
As far as what’s coming next, I can tell you that I’m very excited about a project I’ve been working on with my sister and business partner for almost two years, it’s still very confidential but will be revealed soon!
