Essential

Allysha can describe her style in one word: essential. “I just try to look nice without going overboard or wearing redundant items,” she says. “Be comfortable and presentable, you are working after all. Look at Phoebe Philo’s or Camilla Nickerson’s workwear. It’s simple. They look competent, confident and elegant — who wouldn’t take them seriously?” Allysha works in fashion, and says she can’t imagine herself doing anything else, although she says she might become a teacher one day. “If I had the brains, maybe I’d be a chemist or astrophysicist instead. Maybe then my life would be of better use to society. I can’t cure cancer by selecting sweaters. Or can I? One thing’s for sure, I’m donating my body for science, full stop.” World-changing or not, Allysha enjoys working in a close-knit group of creative, dedicated people, exchanging ideas to produce good work. She gets her ideas and inspiration from books, which she says work better for her than the internet. “If you look online, it’s a bi-product of previous images and the more you see the same thing the less you get to create something fresh.” Perhaps that’s why Allysha’s also a big fan of Björk. “She’s incredibly knowledgeable about music and nature, creative, and works really hard. She doesn’t stop working on her material, even when she hasn’t released an album in four years. So it’s no surprise that she always breaks boundaries when she puts one out.” Allysha’s a fresh graduate but has had plenty of experience in the fashion world to tell her that it’s “super important” to be resourceful, think on her feet, and be willing to put herself in all situations. “A whole group of people rely on you, and you’re going to have to juggle so many things especially when you’re starting. It just needs to be done, so don’t take it personally. After a while it becomes a reflex. Focus, and don’t aim anywhere else except to create a compelling image and tell a poignant story.” As an image-maker and storyteller, it’s highly apt that one of Allysha’s favourite quotes comes from Brian Eno. “We must make new stories all the time, it modifies our own sense of who and where we are.”