INTERNET.COM WITH KATE BARTLETT
PHOTO / CD: Megan Clark WORDS: Lucy Ivey MUA: Danielle Parkes STYLING: Jules Wettreich HAIR: El Debratto FILM PHOTOS: Ryan Rodriguez ASSIST: Morgan Holland STUDIO: 100 Sutton Studios
It’s an understatement to say that generation z is taking the internet by storm. You scroll through any explore page on any social media platform and you see creators doing some of the most brilliant things.
From budgeting tips, to days in the life, Kate Bartlett has amassed a following of over a million followers. Aside from the massive following and killer style, Kate has an incredible attitude and is a perfect example of a young woman who’s killing the game one day at a time.
I sat down to chat with Kate about her career, fashion week and what she sees in her future.
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I'm Kate Bartlet. I'm 20 years old and I live in New York city. I'm a senior at the fashion
Institute of technology, studying fashion business, and I do TikTok.
When and why did you start making TikToks?
In High school, I had a fashion blog that I did and it didn't really have any traction. It was more for just fun, but I feel like that was so necessary for what I'm doing now, because I really gained that mentality of just like, “okay, I'm just gonna do whatever I want.” I'm just gonna put my myself out there and during quarantine, when a lot of people were starting to do TikTok, cause they were so bored, and I was fine putting myself out there in that way..
What would you say is the hardest part of being a content creator on social media?
I think that it's not for everybody and that you have to really be turned on at all times. When I wake up in the morning, I'm like, okay, what am I doing today? Like what, what do I have to post and produce? And how can I provide value to the people who are following me. Cause you know, you can just post whatever, but unless it's adding value, it's not really providing something to your followers and you're not growing. So that's what I think about all the time. Obviously there's a lot of negativity online.
Do you remember the first video of yours that went viral?
So it's really funny because it's so saturated now, but back in April of 2020, it was much, much easier to go viral. The first like five or six videos I posted, all went pretty viral. And I think I gained maybe 10,000 followers just from those five videos. And they were just these simple montage videos of just clips of my life in New York city at fashion school and people like them. And that's kind of where I got the ball rolling.
What was your first fashion week like?
The first week of school in September is fashion week. So we would all like go and line up outside the street at 4:00 AM. And we would all sign up to volunteer for these shows. And my first show that I volunteered for was with Michael Kors and I was so excited. Talking to Michael Kors on like my first week of school was so crazy.
What has been the most surreal part of your career?
I know I have talked about fashion week a lot, but I think that's a time when it kind of all puts it in perspective. With social media, I mean, it's such a thing where, okay, well I put myself out to a million plus people every day, but I I'll meet a few people on the street or whatever and I'll read my DMS but it doesn't really click. When you’re at a show and the photographer knows your name and you're like, what? Or like the designer is dressing you. And, it's so surreal to me. And something that I always dreamed of. So I always will be so grateful and I always pinch myself.
Have you been able to connect with other people through social media?
Yeah. It's so great. The community in New York is incredible. All the creators are so supportive of each other. We're all doing things that are so completely different. So it's like nobody's competing with each other. We see each other so many times a week. I mean, I would say like when things are, things are a little slow right now, but on average I'll have like four or five events a week. And like it's all pretty much the same people that go. So we're all so close. It's been amazing to like grow together. Like some of my friends, Lauren Wolfe or like Davis Burleson, who I'm so close with. It’s been so cool to watch each other grow.
If you could change something about social media what would it be?
I think that some of the editing tools and filters are getting really out of hand to the point where it's a little concerning. And I see these people using these filters or even myself, I'll try them on. And I'm like, this is literally not okay. I actually did my thesis for one of my capstone classes last semester on beauty filters and their effects on mental health and plastic surgery. And it was just shocking, like how many plastic surgeons have reported that people will come in with photos of themselves with Instagram filters on. It’s one of those things where I’m like I don't know how much it’ll change but it’s something that I wish wasn’t a thing.
What advice would you give to younger creators who are wanting to get their start in content creation and fashion?
You literally just have to start. It's never gonna be perfect when you start. You’re never gonna have it all together. You're never gonna have, you know, the perfect lighting or the perfect outfit or the perfect apartment or your dream body or all this. And like, people make all these excuses before starting. They're like, oh, I need to wait until I'm out of school. And then I'll do it because I won't have to deal with people judging me. It's like, right. There's always gonna be an excuse or like always gonna be a roadblock in the way of doing it. Like, if you want it to happen, the best thing that you can do is literally just do it. If it doesn't, get a lot of views, you’re still gaining something from it. You're learning your angles. You're learning what works. You're learning how to edit. You're learning how to, navigate the app. And so I think that if it's something that you wanna do, you literally just have to be like, okay, I'm gonna do it. And it's not perfect, but you'll get there.
It was such a pleasure to get to speak with Kate. She is an absolute force to be reckoned with, and the entire our era team and myself can’t wait to see what else she does.
Huge thanks to 100 Sutton Studios, Luxy Hair, Bon Bon Whims, Lucille Reynolds, Jessica Jade and Fireplace 409 for letting us use your wonderful pieces.
