Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Luna Avila. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Luna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
Kind of a funny story, I decided to graduate high school a year early in 2019. I was seventeen years old, crying in my bedroom and holding my cat, with not a single ounce of ideas on what I wanted to become. However, I knew one thing. That I love clothes, I love making outfits, dressing up, admiring other individual styles on the street. I remember looking up that same night, with my closet sitting right in front of me. So, I began telling everyone I was thinking of going into fashion with not an idea on how I was actually going to do it. It was honestly a mixture of delusion and confidence on my end. People kept telling me to move to New York or Los Angeles, but at that time, I was seventeen with no funds lol! I was over at my best friend’s house, talking with her mom. She of course asked me what I was thinking of doing after high school graduation, as people do when you’re a senior in high school. I then replied: “I was thinking something in fashion?” Immediately her mom was like “Oh my gosh I know the perfect person!” Connected me with a local Orlando fashion stylist, and from there I thought I was instantly going to do whatever fashion people do. That wasn’t the case, I waited on her response, days passed, weeks passed, and even a few months past. I checked my messages everyday and started to develop false hope. I vividly remember it being a Tuesday, I just got out of work and was about to drive home when my phone popped up. It was her, saying “Are you free this Saturday to assist on a shoot with the Orlando Magic?” What the?! The way I freaked out was crazy.
From then on, her and I instantly clicked and she began to hire me as her assistant. Still to this day I assist for her, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Throughout the time of being on set, I began to meet more creatives in Orlando. Started collaborating with photographers and began to style models from Orlando’s Modern Muse Agency on my own. It really began to become my own creative business. Little did I know, I wasn’t going to make any money the first few years on my own. With creative careers, you obviously need a portfolio. At the time, I was hustling with various photographers and working on collaboration projects, in order to gain the paid projects. By 2021, I had my launched my own website domain, instagram and began to finally get paid for dressing up real life barbies. Is it fun? Absolutely. Is it glamorous? On the outside. When I tell people that I work in fashion, they immediately think runway shows, designer everything and cocktail parties. Which is all true yes. However, you also have commercials, productions, private clients. Sometimes you’re shopping for twelve hours at a time without a break because the client keeps switching up what they want. You have to deal with keeping track of all your receipts from every single store you pull from, and don’t get me started with the amount of math you have to do! You also have to build-wardrobe racks, a styling kit, reliable relationships (which in the fashion world, is very difficult to come by). These were the kind of circumstances I had to learn throughout my time in the industry, at such a young age, it really drove me mad sometimes. I love working in fashion, but at the same time, I have a hatred for it. The emotions I feel with the fashion industry are quite complicated. I believe fashion is supposed to be an industry of creative, fun, punk rock, no rules kind of art. But in reality, the business aspect overshadows the creative. Which makes it difficult sometimes for us creatives to actually create. Trust me, there were plenty of times when I was thinking of quitting fashion. However, although I am one person, I knew that I could somehow reshape the stereotype of the fashion society. A society where you can be yourself instead of stuck up, where you could thrift your purses instead of buying new designer, where you could be free without anyone’s judgment. That’s when I knew that continuing in my creative business would be a worthwhile endeavor. I don’t really have any logic when it comes to succeeding. I just keep telling myself that everything will be okay and that I will always find a way.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Hi! My name is Luna Avila, I am a local Fashion/Wardrobe Stylist based in Orlando, Florida. I got into the fashion industry by getting connected, talking to everyone I know and mutating the network. The fashion industry definitely tests your discipline, especially when we talk financially. I know it sounds cliche, but I just kept going. I kept doing everything I could with the resources I had, I guess I’m just curious where I would end up.
I offer a variety of services, I don’t do the same thing everyday! Commercial/Production Wardrobe, Personal Client Styling, Fashion Show Backstage Dresser, Fashion Boutique Pop Ups, Virtual Styling, Family Photos, Model Portfolios, the whole sha-bang! The full list of services is located on my website at lunaavila.com
The problems I solve for my clients is the feeling of authentically being themselves. We are surrounded by the same black tank top and jeans, when in reality we should all embrace the color, the patterns, the textures that clothing has to offer for your personal style. What sets me apart? Dang-I guess the fact that I like to have fun lol! I’m not a fan of how stuck up people are in the fashion industry, I was always told from people that they feel comfortable around me, that they can be themselves around me. I feel blessed to know I give off that kind of energy to people, because in the end, as Depeche Mode says “people are people.” I’m most proud of the fact that I continued on after all the judgment, long days, unpaid work and how many people underestimated me. Especially because I started in the industry at 17 years old.
The main thing I want potential clients, followers and fans to know about myself and my brand, is that we’re going to have fun with it and we’re going to get it done. Hard at work and hard at play baby! Adulthood, bland clothes, not feeling like yourself is depressing, boring and downright dystopian. The least we could do is play dress up and feel true to ourselves!
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Oh baby, there’s a whole list of things I think non-creatives will struggle to understand about a creative’s journey. First of all, not getting paid for weeks (sometimes months) after a project is a big one. As a normal working human gets paid weekly or biweekly. Word of Mouth is huge, the more people you know, the farther you will go, and the better leeway for opportunities. When working with companies who are very corporate, it becomes so much harder to actually create due to the limitations of the brand. Unfortunately, business overshadows creative. People have become so obsessed with making it profitable instead of just creating something beautiful. A lot of the times, creatives can go through ten various emotions per day on average, there’s quite a lot of random thoughts in our brains: “What we need to create next, who do we talk to for a certain project we want to do, when will we get paid?” We live in a world where creatives aren’t seen and heard-so my best insight for non-creatives is to appreciate, have patience, and to just support art.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
When you have the opportunity to completely be free. It’s so simple yet so effective.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lunaavila.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avilaluna_/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luna-avila-984637161/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thelunaavila
Image Credits
Kartsie Photography
Brian Carlson
Victoria Wall Harris
Kristen Weaver
Anna Frolova
Wayne Denny
Alicia Ifill
Marc Tousignant