Ashton Michael

Ashton from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.

“Always remember that a big slice of humble pie is best with a shot of whiskey, sarcastic smurk, and realness.” Ashton Michael

occupation: designer

Ashton was born and raised in East LA, where he was a child actor, growing up on tv and movie sets. Today, the bow tie tattoo on the front of his neck, and his “Dali” moustache exclaim the dramatic, “dapper dan” in him. However, don’t let his highly visual appearance fool you, as today, Ashton is all about focusing on the background artistry, “behind the scenes.” With his partner, Marko Martone, they are center stage as the founders of The House of Infinite Radness, where performers experience a 360 in fashion and beauty styling, head-to-toe, including access to Ashton’s own “glamourized, ghetto punk” clothing line. Ashton says, “give me a treatment, give me a…

Diane Naegel

“I wanted to be anything but what I was. I think that over the years being exposed to blogs, to different people and seeing different types of beauty has really helped me own [my own beauty].” Diane Naegel

occupation: jewelry designer

What has happened, that even in New York City, when Diane wears a black ’30′s cocktail dress with a cocktail hat, people are yelling at her, “it isn’t Halloween?” It does makes you question why we are so dulled out as a society from caring about our appearance and expressing our uniqueness. And why do we need Halloween to let loose or to care about how we leave the house? “It was really strange to me that the place that is supposed to be the pinnacle of style, glamour and indivduality, that someone in 2010 would find it really weird to see someone dressed in evening attire with…

Sorcha O’Raghallaigh

“My mom always said, ‘if you’re feeling down, get dressed up!’” Sorcha O’Raghallaigh

occupation: fashion designer and illustrator

The entire time Lily and I were interviewing Sorcha I kept asking myself, how would someone this creative get a job these days that would satisfying to her, short of being a designer of haute couture? Sorcha says that during her childhood in rural Ireland she “never really wanted to be in the real world. I always wanted to be in dresses. We had a trunk at the edge of our beds, and I would always look through it for dresses and prance around in them all day.” Sorcha’s mom’s motto, “if you are feeling down, get dressed up,” is something she has taken to heart, as everything she wears and designs is rich with memories and meaning. “Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind,” for its exploration…

Samantha Pleet

“I do a lot of research before designing a collection. I’ll immerse myself in the reading of amazing books, watching films, and drawing lucidly… It’s a really enjoyable time. It’s a time of searching.” Samantha Pleet

occupation: fashion designer

In high school, Samantha sat at the theater table, next to the kids at the “Star Trek” table. Presently, she lives in Brooklyn, a long way from home, by Oak Road in Philadelphia, with horses and a peach pit style diner known for their banana splits. There is a fairy tale sweetness and clean Americana novel, feel glittering beneath Samantha’s urban edge, in her signature Madeline meets Hasidic-style hats, high waisted shorts, jumpers and shrunken blazers. The seeds of her bringing fables to life were in the cafeteria at school. Today, she says, “I like to take influences from books, films, characters and history… my clothes tell a story.” When…

Tatum Mazzilli, Rocky Mazzilli and Louise Michielsens

There are three separate videos for this post.

“Thank you for my roots and then thank you for being here to translate it into what I feel is correct. Everyone is free to do what they want, but I still think that your identity today comes from your childhood. It always goes back. It’s like a tree.” Tatum Mazzilli

occupation: artists and designers

I have been waiting for a year to go to London and meet the the other three quarters of already featured, Tiziano Mazzilli’s ultra talented family. His daughter, Tatum (after Tatum O’Neill), his son, Rocky (after Rocky Balboa), and the mother of his children, Louise Michielsens. This family could be the emblem of what I believe is 21st century thinking: both tribal (rooted) and futuristic (breaking norms) in thought and self-expression. They work together, respect each other, have become stronger from…