“You Have a Vision, See it Through”

Elysia began in the fashion industry as a model. She was living in China at the time, going to school for business and being mixed race, she was very “exotic” over there. She did print ads, runway and even had speaking lines in a soap opera! When she moved to Pittsburgh, she continued to work creatively within the community but found herself thinking more about how all the pieces of a fashion photoshoot work together to make a compelling editorial or campaign. Leveraging her foundation in modeling, she started learning about all the other skills required to produce a photoshoot such as moodboarding, concept development, art direction, styling, make-up artistry, photography, post-production, design layouts, etc. Through these experiences and about a decade of trial and error, she has been extremely fortunate to work with countless creatives throughout the city! 

Today she has quite a few titles….among them Executive Director for fashion non-profit, Style412, and in her own personal line of work, she describes herself as a “fashionpreneur” specializing in brand strategy for emerging fashion, beauty and wellness brands. This is where she gets to integrate her passion supporting the local fashion industry with her professional skills in visual strategy, creative direction, content creation and experiential production. The most recent work in her portfolio and Instagram feed is devoted to this aspect of her creative life, www.elysiapandapgh.com

What motto do you try to live by?

Several years back I was told by someone “you have a vision, see it through.” To this day, these words have never left me and echo in the back of my head, especially when I’m facing a challenge. It’s not really a motto but these words are so powerful and encouraging to me.

Who are some of your biggest fashion inspirations?

As an entrepreneur, it would be unforgivable to overlook the accomplishments of Anna Wintour. Say what you will, but I largely admire her ambition and progress in reshaping the conversation around fashion through Vogue. She’s unapologetically who she is and I love that. 

The creative within me is inspired by fashion that pushes boundaries or pulls influence from traditional forms of art, architecture or technology. I enjoy Martin Margiela, Rick Owens, Rei Kawakubo, media artists like Refik Anadol and the photographer Tim Walker.

Are there any runway shows, concepts, or brand collaborations that you have seen during the pandemic that you found to be particularly innovative?

The Hanifa Collection knocked my socks off! Like holy mother of god, can we please do more of this? During the pandemic it was particularly interesting to see because it took the obvious safety precautions AND presented this alternative solution to hosting in-person fashion shows. It wasn’t until recently that I began to think about the amount of resources fashion weeks require. I’d love for us as an industry to find less wasteful ways of presenting fashion

Seeing as the fashion industry in Pittsburgh isn’t as prominent as it is in other cities, what influenced you to stay here rather than taking your talents elsewhere?

While I am a travel nut and love going to larger cities like Hong Kong and New York, nothing beats the feeling of coming home and feeling inspired with a sense of purpose. I sense that a unified fashion community and industry is at our fingertips. Pittsburgh has no shortage of talent -- but our challenge is to connect and build an infrastructure of resource. Creatives within the fashion industry here have a tendency to work in silos and while yes, a lot of people are open to collaboration -- it’s hard to execute a project without a budget or support others when those are trying to support themselves. This is a conversation that Style412 has been having for years... I am optimistic that we’re making progress but the mission continues….

You have your hand in so many projects in Pittsburgh, how do you stay organized and focused? Do you have a daily routine you follow?

Oh yes. Huge shoutout to Trello! I keep lists for almost everything in life -- including a color coded to-do in which I organize by priority. Most days I am ready, with coffee in hand, by 8am. On average, I have about 3 meetings a day (no less, no more) and try to block out work times in the late morning and early afternoon. I also try and squeeze a 30 minute Peloton workout in around noon each day. Or at the very least, do something that allows me to do something not required, like reading a magazine or watching a mindless reality tv show. Balance and finding times to let the brain rest with less strenuous activities in between is key. That mix allows me to do more. Weekends are off limits and reserved only for fun times.

What have been some of your favorite events Style 412 has created for Pittsburgh?

I have a love / hate relationship with events.  It’s because I actually started my career producing a lot of events abroad, and because I know how much work it takes, I try to do them right or not do them at all. I’m a perfectionist so all of the details drive me absolutely insane! With that being said, I’m super super proud of the presentation that I produced for Mad Recital last fall. It was just a really unique experience and when you work with creatives like Richard & Sean who are open to exploring new things and pushing boundaries, the end result is always magic. Their avant garments are out of this world --- seriously, something very new to Pittsburgh. We invited an intimate group of guests to experience their S/S 20 collection presentation style in an industrial warehouse. The team of creatives from all backgrounds - Musician Jen Nunez, Media Artist Cole Bradley, Make-up Artist Sara Jenkins, Lead Hair Artist Kelly Lapinsky and Set Design by Posy Pgh -- created this fully immersive experience where guests could step into a warehouse that was transformed into the deepest, darkest part of the forest.

Tell us more about Style 412 and how creatives can get involved.

The purpose for Style412’s  existence has really shifted throughout the years as we’ve explored what serves our community best. Since the beginning, we’ve known that the emerging creative / talent group has needed the most support and since the closure of Art Institute and just a general shortage of learning opportunities, we believe that cultivating more resources for pre-professionals is so critical to our future. While we’ve been quiet for a while (especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic), we’ve been internally hitting the gas on developing programming and acquiring the proper funding for these creatives in the fashion community. We have several programs (including a fashion fellowship) in the works for 2021 that creatives will be able to apply for and receive stipends, mentoring and hands-on experience to enhance their craft. It’s gonna be a game changer! I’m truly excited.