Clementine Lea is a social media influencer, fashionista, and entrepreneur that has her feet firmly planted on the ground. A full-time high school student she manages to balance schoolwork and content creation while, at the same time, creating designs for her online store. I was able to interview Clementine recently on her life and her plans for the future.
When did you get interested in fashion?
I’ve always been interested in fashion since I was little. I feel like as a girl I’ve always thought that having a good and clean style is so important. It’s always fun to get dressed up and go out looking good. Fashion itself is also very interesting and I love watching the new trends every year.
Do you have any aspirations to be a fashion designer?
I am working on creating a new line for my store and that does require some fashion designing. Although I love it, I wouldn’t consider it as a career just because it is a very tough and competitive industry.
What prompted you to open up the fashion boutique on your website?
Many fans were asking for me to create merch back in 2020 and I started off with only merch but now I shifted from that. I have a variety of clothes that don’t pertain to me but are all my style. I wanted to create a cute trendy shop where all girls can buy clothes they will feel confident in.
As a content creator how do you handle negative comments on your social media?
It’s very difficult sometimes but I look at it in a positive way now. If someone I don’t know takes time out of their day to comment on what I do, that just means I am doing something right. It keeps me relevant, and I just tell myself that they don’t actually know me for who I am so it shouldn’t matter what they say.
A lot of Social Media apps have filters to make everyone look almost perfect. How do you feel about the use of those filters and the negative effect they have on teens and their body image?
Filters that change facial features are so damaging to a girl’s confidence, and I personally relate to that. Once I put on a filter and then take it off, sometimes it lowers my confidence because I get used to a version and image of myself that doesn’t actually exist. It also creates an unrealistic standard for girls in general.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In 10 years?
In 5 years, I will be a junior in college, hopefully at SDSU studying marketing and in a good relationship. In 10 years, I will be working for a trendy brand doing their influencer marketing.
How do you use your platform to inspire others? Are you involved with any charities?
I try to post relatable content as much as possible and show aspects of my life that make me happy such as traveling, discovering new places or attending cool events. I have been involved with a large cat rescue in LA called Perry’s place, heaven on earth since 2018: my family and I started with fostering kittens, and we recently moved to their enrichment program where we regularly visit the sanctuary and help socialize cats that are waiting to be adopted.
What’s your ultimate dream job?
Right now, I am actually thinking of doing influencer marketing for a living. I have the experience of being an influencer working on campaigns with brands and I’d love to work for brands managing their influencer marketing campaigns and helping source & manage their creators, as well as organize cool events!
