Quenlin Blackwell for the Cover of MERDE 7

Photography: Jasmine Rutledge @jasminerutledge

Styling: Brigitte Shokouhi @brigitteshokouhi & Makayala Pirghibi @makaylapirghibi

Makeup: Eden Symone Lattanzio @becomingeden

Hair: Fitch Lunar at Opus Beauty @fitchlunarhair

Manicure: Sreynin Peng at Opus Beauty using Apres @sreyninpeng

Production: Molly Apple @mollyroseapple

Styling Assistant: Larissa @larissasquared

1st PA: Tatyana Cooper @tatyanacooper_

2nd PA: Aubrey Salita @4ubreysalita

Shot at Metahaiku Studio, DTLA

An interview with Quenlin Blackwell in Print:

MERDE: Tell us about how you became a ‘creator’

Quenlin Blackwell: I grew up with two much older siblings, and no one to talk to except my mom, so I started talking to my webcam and uploading videos to YouTube when I was 13. Then I went to vine during the vine era and started going viral.

M: How do you market yourself as a creator?

QB: I’ve never thought about myself as marketing for anyone or anything. When I became an “influencer” I didn’t know I even had to market myself in some type of way. I just keep doing what I do and it’s working. I live my life with the intention of just trying not to mess it up, it’s real-time manifestation. People say I have rebranded myself recently, and I really haven’t been branding myself at all, people are just seeing me age on the internet across multiple platforms. 

M: You were quite young when you left home for Hollywood, what was that experience like and what were your survival tactics?

QB: I  left home when I was 17, I grew up in Dallas Texas. I realized when I got to Hollywood that it’s just a bigger version of high school. There’s cliques and the popular people, all the survival tactics from high school apply to Hollywood business. I apply this fake it til you make it mentality. People like their ego stroked and don’t want to be questioned so the way I’ve survived is being easy going and sticking to myself. I’m all about solitude, sometimes it turns into isolation *laughs but I’ve focused on building my own sanctuary, sticking to my cats and my house as a source of grounding. I’ve never been someone to have a clique or big social group, I have friends I’ve gathered along my entertainment career who work on their passions. It allows me to focus more on the person I want to be in the future rather than trying to conform to this high school mentality of mainstream Hollywood. 

M: What is your relationship with fashion and the fashion industry? And What does it take for a brand to really catch your interest?

QB: My relationship with fashion is rooted in self-expression. I view clothes as a means to express my personality. How you move, how you speak to people, what you wear is all an avenue to show who you are. When I was young my mom would take me shopping at fancy department stores where the rich people went that we couldn’t afford, but she showed me to touch the fabrics and feel the weight of the fabric and what quality materials were. I like to be sold a dream. I like well-made clothes not this fast stuff. Some of my favorite brands right now are Tank Air, Araks Lingerie, Miu Miu - I like the attainable cool girl who is fire. 

M: What are your toxic consumerist traits?

QB: I’m definitely a shopaholic, but I wouldn’t say it’s toxic because I’m not following trends and buying fast fashion brands who’s dupes get shittier and shittier in quality. It’s not made to be worn more than once, it’s trash. I’ve built an archive in my closet, I love vintage and thrift, I’m wearing this 90s t-shirt. I’m a total history nerd. If you ever feel lost, there’s always an answer in history. When I was an LA newbie, I became obsessed with cults. I was addicted to 70s cults and I used to scour eBay for dresses worn by women in cult classics like The Source Family. *Laughs, they were in terrible and awful situations, but they looked incredible. I would literally buy toddler t-shirts and vests from Source Family that were falling apart. I moved on from that phase of my style, and now I’m obsessed with The Real Real.

M: Have you ever said no to a commissioned project that didn’t align with your creative and humorous integrity?

QB: I could have made so much more money than I have now if I dropped my morals for a quick dollar.

M: How do you navigate the digital space as an artist as it becomes more and more consumerist focused? 

QB: My method is not to be on it 24/7. You’re constantly bombarded with people on social media who seem like they have the life you’d love to live, but they also have a community outside of their phone. A lot of these ‘influencer’s 3-million-dollar homes are actually just empty spaces. I go into these people’s homes and I’m like, ‘does anyone live here?” My goal is not consuming anything except the comfort that I have created around me. Like I said, my home is my haven, and people that are always on their phones trying to get the next best thing often forget about what’s right in front of them. 

M: What kind of future do you imagine for your career? And what are your reflections on your journey thus far?

QB: I would love to be an actor. I’m also working on making clothes, music and podcasting. I want to extend every possible version of myself, and have everything I have in my head come out into actualization. I actually decided in the fall of 2022 that I wanted to start a sober journey. I felt like my brain hadn’t been on for the last 3 years. It was taking so much of my soul power away. I think about it like if you’re a radio, when you drink, it turns your volume down. I don’t even drink coffee or smoke anymore either, I’ve removed anything that influences my wavelength. Now I feel like I am in it, I am here, I am present. I’ve been open about my eating disorder recovery as well online, I was at the recovery center that she’s at on that Netflix movie “To the Bone.” But I see substances as an escape from reality, while my eating disorder was more of a last thing I had to grasp when feeling lost or out of control. The best advice I could give, which I gave myself in recovery was just ‘‘girl go outside, put down the phone, and meet people.”

M: Fuck/mary/kill: tank tops, khaki pants, sunglasses.

QB: Kill Tank Tops, I can still wear a cute baby tee or bralette. 

Marry Khaki pants, but like baggier cargo style.

Fuck Sunglasses. 

Clothing Credits:

Cover:@lauraestradajewelry

LOOK 1 | Vest & dress @tiaadeola, Heels @newbottega, Lip jewelry @lauraestradajewelry

LOOK 2 | Two piece @aslan.world_  via @GZV_CREATIVE, Necklace @TataPR Boots @JEFFREYCAMPBELL 

LOOK 3 | Fish dress @jw_anderson, Boots @charleskeithofficial, Earrings @costolostudio

LOOK 4 | Dress @tiaadeola, Heels @dior / @voulezvous ,Earrings @muddpearl 

LOOK 5 | Ed Hardy Pants @edhardy / @voulezvous, Bra @beverlyhillslingerie, Heels @WINDOWSEN Earrings @jxwelsbyjazz, Gloves @aslan.world_ / @GZV_CREATIVE

LOOK 6 | Jacket & skirt @mimchik_, Heels @ap0cene, Earrings @RKCOMMUNICATIONS

LOOK 7 | 2 piece & coat @groverradstudio, Boots @charleskeithofficial Earrings @newbottega