A Note from Ruby Veridiano, Our New Fashion & Style Editor
My beloved Pinay sisters,
Throughout my whole journey, I always knew that you were at the core of my purpose. As an immigrant Filipina-Chinese woman who grew up in America, I yearned to see a reflection of myself in the country I would adopt as my home. I was hungry for role models who looked like me, to show me that I too, could dare to pursue top-tier, A-list excellence despite a humble upbringing.
So when Stephanie asked me to be a part of the growing movement of Hella Pinay, I knew that I had to join her in joining this worldwide sisterhood, to hold up a mirror to one another, and show each other the true power of our reflection - with style & grace.
You see, when I first arrived in the United States, I was determined to be fluent in the language of America through my clothes. As a ten-year-old who wanted nothing more than to fit in in my new country, I attempted to disguise my ‘fobbiness’ by dressing as ‘American’ as I could. I would try and copy my older cousins’ Unionbay flannels, their Converse, and their baggy, TLC-inspired jeans paired with baby tees. (Much to my dismay, the latter never looked right on me.)
I became obsessed with fashion and style as a means to define my new Filipina-American identity, while using it to outfit my confidence. I somehow understood early on that clothes served a purpose far greater than ‘vanity’. Rather, it was a powerful way to express ourselves, and how we want the world to address us, before uttering a word. As women of color, it is vital that we take control of our narrative, and this narrative extends to the armor we choose to cover ourselves within our daily lives.
But the clothes we choose to empower ourselves are also connected to the human hands that made them, many of them women who look just like us. As I began to learn more about the fashion industry, I learned that 80% of the people who make our clothes are women, many of them coming from South East Asia, and whose voices are suppressed and disempowered in their own working lives.
I realized that if I was truly serious about empowering women, I (literally) needed to wear this commitment on my sleeve.
So as your new Fashion & Style editor, my approach to fashion coverage will be rooted in my personal mission to use ‘Glamour for Good’- to empower us, to uplift us, but to also champion consciousness in the fashion industry. While the subject may be fashion and style, you will also receive a lot of ‘Ate Vibes’ from me, as I am also eager to share my greatest lessons in pursuing my highest self, and my journey to becoming an immigrant for the second time - this time, in my new adopted country, France.
You are my raison d’etre (reason for being), and I look forward to growing together.
With Love from Paris,
Ruby
Ruby Veridiano
INSTAGRAM - WEBSITE
PRONOUNS: SHE/HER/HERS
Ruby Veridiano is a fashion changemaker. She is a writer, fashion correspondent and speaker whose work focuses on connecting the dots between women's empowerment and socially-conscious fashion, as well as promoting diversity & inclusion in the fashion industry. She is a contributing correspondent for NBC News, NYLON Magazine, and Mic.com, and has interviewed designers Anna Sui, Vivienne Tam, and Prabal Gurung, among other multicultural designers in the fashion industry. Ruby has worked on the social responsibility team of the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) Group in Paris, where she worked on global diversity initiatives. She is a proud Filipina-American from California now living in Paris, sharing her ‘glamour for good’ approach to life & style.
read next
follow us
