PROJECT #BEYOUROWN BOSS : CAMILA MELENDEZ

In our third installment of our 6 part campaign, we present Camila Melendez to talk about what it means to her to BE YOUR OWN Boss in the 21st century.

My name is Camila Melendez I was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Kitwe, Zambia. I’ve been currently living in Paris studying Styling and Creative direction in Istituto Marangoni. Apart from being a student, I am a freelance stylist and photographer on the side, I’ve always been inspired by the arts with the desire of turning my ideas into reality and that’s what I mostly do when I have an idea for a photoshoot, or put a concept together.

One of my main inspirations for getting into fashion was my aunt, she would always dress up and put accessories together and make herself look so chic, to be honest that’s how I started to dress up, following her example and choices of accessories and how she would pair everything together would really get me into wanting to be more stylish and look more into fashion. I decided to choose Paris because I feel that it is truly the capital of fashion, even the lifestyle and the way people dress on the street never disappoint me, especially during fashion week.

I think the most challenging time for me throughout my womanhood was figuring out what I really wanted to do in my life. Sometimes it’s a bit hard when you graduate from high school and are encouraged to get straight into university. I was only 17 years old when I finished high school and had to make a decision of where I was going to go next, I had too many ideas on my mind of what I wanted to be I had to decide on one quick, and as I look back I feel that I was not mature enough nor had experienced much, to know what I wanted to be. I knew at one point it was fashion but I just didn’t know what direction in the fashion industry I would take. I think I needed to grow more as a person and have more experiences in my life in order to know what direction I really needed to take, and when I moved to Paris I found my motive and a new direction and so I started my studies here to be a stylist and creative director.

To me, BE YOUR OWN Boss means, that there are no limitations to your ambition and pursuing what you want in your life. It Is about believing in yourself and knowing what you are capable of, knowing that you can get anything that you want if you strive for it. I believe that if you believe in yourself, you’re capable of getting anything that you want, obviously, nothing is going to be perfect while you pursue it, you will have ups and downs but if you get through them, nothing will ever come in between and stop you from doing what you want.

Instagram: @camilamelendezzz

Website: www.camilamelendez.com