"Someone needs to jump up and lead the revolution," says Tasya van Ree. And we would follow her anywhere, with her Georgia O'Keefe-meets-Annie Hall, earthy, stereotype-free radiance. Tasya makes a white T and jeans ethereal by pairing them with her signature fedora and fingers drenched with rings (Gucci, devil horns, menacing skulls, and a piercing turquoise creation on her pinky). Born in the Hawaii city, Mililani, Tasya never adhered to authority. "In school I wouldn't listen to the instructor. I'd sketch and draw while he taught." Pure emotion between people is what inspires Tasya. About gender, she told us that she tries to achieve "a balanced state of mind, integrating the masculine and the feminine worlds, and existing on a different plain from preconceived notions, where you break certain rules to bypass the normal."  In her "Japanese poet outfit" (a Dries van Noten embroidered blouse, an Opening Ceremony swing-belted jacket, and samurai pants), Tasya is a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic who is obsessed with symbolism and dreams. She blends horses and women in her drawings because "women have qualities that are similar to horses and vice-versa," and a line from a  Pablo Neruda poem -- "I love you because I know no other way to love" -- is tattooed on her arm.  Tasya says she was raised knowing that when shit happens you have to roll with it. So when our free-spirited heroine had a difficult breakup, she read, took long walks, and realized, "You don't have to have a romantic connection with somebody to be a part of their life. You can have other connections with that person and then it becomes a stronger bond than it ever was." Tasya's mantra: "Love freely -- even if it's painful, it's worth it." Yes, mindfulness, NOT mindlessness… we're down!

xo, Elisa & Lily

Video edited by Paul O'Brochta
Shot, interviewed, and photographed by Elisa & Lily