The Social Outfit is doing good and making us look good. The sustainable brand that is made by refugees, "turns fashion into an opportunity" and helps to provide training, jobs, and community for refugee and migrant women. For their first Winter capsule collection, the brand has partnered with actress, musician and 10 Magazine Australia cover star Ayesha Madon. We spoke to Ayesha about the making of the campaign and what it means to her to be a part of The Social Outfit's story:

Tell us about your connection to The Social Outfit and what it means to you to be the face of this campaign?

As a woman of Iranian/Indian decent with immigrant parents, getting involved with the Social Outfit felt like a no brainer. I saw my parents and Grandparents go to unimaginable lengths to secure an income and build a life here for me and my siblings so I truly am of the belief that immigrants and even moreso refugees have a tenacity that is unstoppable. The refugee crisis has been a cause closest to my heart for some time now so I just feel very grateful that I get to be even a small part of something that provides such great integrative opportunity through art.

The Social Outfit do incredible work especially for women. What are some challenges you’ve faced as a woman in the industries you work in, and what have you learnt about yourself through these moments?

I think being a woman either on set or in the studio has really forced me to trust my instincts at all costs. I do believe in the magic of women’s intuition and I think a lot of the time we get overlooked and underestimated in those male dominated spaces. A trend I see a lot is overqualified and under-confident women being overtaken by over-confident and under-qualified men. So I think it’s important to bet on ourselves and dare to be assertive even if we’re then labelled as bossy or bitchy. I think I’ve learned that my assertion is a strength and an asset and that my creative input is just as valid than the men in the room even if the way I’m regarded sometimes leads me to believe otherwise.

The final season of Heartbreak High has just been released. How are you feeling as this chapter comes to an end? How has being part of the HH phenomenon changed your life? What’s been the best part?‍

I mean it’s a hard thing to sum up. This show has undeniably changed the trajectory of my career and introduced me to fans globally which still feels surreal. But more than anything it introduced me to my now best friends in the world who I spent 6 of the best years of my life with. A truly unique experience that I think I’ll feel a deep sense of nostalgia for forever.

You worked with a fab team on set of this campaign. Tell us about the day and the clothes you’re wearing? What music was playing on set?!

You know it’s always gonna be a good day when Peter Simon Phillips is at the helm. It was such a fun day with a whole team of industry front runners (including my best friend and stylist Tori Knowles) and every single look actually made my jaw drop when I put it on. Like so elevated. It was kinda eye-opening in showing me that you can prioritise being fashion forward and chic whilst being sustainable and socially conscious. Knowing the story behind how the clothes were made also added to the creative vibe in the room I think. It felt more passionate than other shoots.

Speaking of music… you’re also a very iconic rising popstar. Which song of yours would you choose to soundtrack this collection? And tell us what you can about the music you’ve been working on… :)

Wow I’m flattered haha. I think “Supervision” off my latest EP for sure. I literally wrote it about regaining my creative confidence as a woman of colour in the music industry so I feel like that’s empowering one to soundtrack a very empowering collection. However there were a few looks on the day that did lean into the early 90s vibe of my next body of work that I’m releasing this year. I think it’s the best music I’ve ever made and fashion has played a major part in informing the sound as well which is something that I’ve never experienced.

Do you have a favourite piece from the collection?

It was all so cute and I feel almost blasphemous choosing this item given how gorgeous all the more tailored looks were but as per my street style obsession I was so in love with the flannelette look and you will definitely catch me repping that in the future.  

What’s something important to you right now, something you’d like to use your platform for?

I think it’s really hard to just choose one cause with everything going on in the world at the moment but on the subject of refugees and the increasing number of people having to flee their homes I would urge the western world to please not dissociate from the humanity of people from countries and cultures we don’t understand and to continue to stay engaged in the news cycle, put pressure on our governments to protest the new death sentence law and war on Palestine and the Middle East, to vote with refugee and asylum seeker policies in mind as a priority, keep speaking out online and to donate what they can to the increasingly dire refugee crisis. It feels helpless but money talks and every dollar, every conversation, every email or expression of protest and outrage moves the needle. See HERE.

What’s next?

I shot a couple projects last year including Dune Prophecy so I definitely won’t be disappearing from the acting world any time soon but at the moment I’m focussing on writing and finishing off my next batch of music to release this year. Despite it feeling like a kind of dire time to be creative, as I get older see more and more the impact of art on culture and society so I do feel a sense of responsibility and empowerment there and I finally feel like I have time to fully realise my musical vision so I feel really driven about the coming year.

thesocialoutfit.org

Creative Director Peter Simon Phillips
Photographer Arvin Prem Kumar
Stylist Tori Knowles
Hair Pete Lennon
Make-up Nicole Thompson