Black Voices takes a look at the hottest influencers and tastemakers today and goes behind the scenes to provide a personal look at their lives, their vision, their passion.
This week’s installment of our “Influencer” series features Detroit-native-turned blogger Gabi Fresh, as she opens up on her personal style as a plus-size woman.
Though the 26-year-old admitted that her entire identity isn’t strictly limited to her curves, she credits her parents and her alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, for inspiring her blog.
“I think my identity is very complicated. I identify as a black women, but I’m actually bi-racial. My mom is white and my father is black,” she explained. “They both influenced me, not really in terms of fashion, but in terms of my self-esteem. They had a large influence in making sure I felt great about myself from a young age. But what really pushed it over the edge I would say, was in college. I went to an all woman’s college, and it was very much about learning to grow and love yourself as a woman.”
“… Before I started my blog I was a part of online communities that had to do with plus-sized women, and that totally changed my life because I got to see other women who looked like me, and who liked themselves, who liked their bodies, and was experimenting with fashion, and talking about political activism in terms of body acceptance,” she added.
“And I’ve never heard of that from the mainstream media. So all of those things together kind of formed my identity as a woman. And then I was able to take that and start my blog.”
Check out more of Gabi Fresh’s interview in the clip above.