If the original Pocket bag that Burberry introduced last year embodies heritage made timeless – cue its leather-trimmed canvas make and structured, squarish shape inspired by a shopper from the archives – the new Soft Pocket (available in mini and medium sizes) is its independent-minded grown-up sister.
Soft Pocket mini leather tote, $2,650
Soft Pocket mini leather tote, $2,650
Soft Pocket medium leather tote, $3,550
Soft Pocket medium leather tote, $3,550
Soft Pocket medium leather and canvas tote, $3,150
Soft Pocket medium leather and canvas tote, $3,150
With an idiosyncratic trapezoid shape, the Soft Pocket bag is crafted entirely in calf leather, lending both pliability and a tough edge.
In collaboration with the British luxury house, FEMALE introduces four content creators – professional or accidental – with an equally nonconformist streak to watch out for.
She’s the model icon-in-the-making with her striking Chinese-Nigerian beauty, towering stature and down-to-earth personality. The unfiltered glimpse into her life that she shares on her main Instagram account draws one in even more: photos of random sights and her pulling goofy faces – fixated with the glossy model life, she is not.
Head over to Woon’s alternative account @brocco.coms and one will discover her other talent for drawing wry comics that rightly capture Gen Z’s POV. (Her protagonist is a broccoli-haired figure who is as sweet as she is irreverent.) She’s always related more to cartoons than non-animated shows and creating comics offers an outlet for her imagination to run free.
“It’s my world, you know. Anything can happen,” she says. PS. She’s also working on a “hip-hop meets rave music project” with the rapper Huda Hellru – keep an eye on it at @unomelah.
Noelle wears nylon cropped sweater, jersey shirt, denim corset and boots, denim and wool pants, Soft Pocket leather tote and her own jewellery. All Burberry throughout unless stated otherwise
This 25-year-old content creator has certainly grown up. There’s a polish now to her trendy, ’90s-inflected wardrobe that made her a burgeoning style star. In person, she’s eloquent, unflappably cool and social (she’ll make a great talk show host).
Her approach to posting on her 34K follower-strong Instagram account has also “shifted from being picture-perfect to her being unafraid to reveal vulnerability online”. The change came after the pandemic brought her home from New York, where she was pursuing a degree in fashion media, last year.
In addition to sharing about her state of mind, she’s taken to creating motivational doodles (“remember to write love letters to yourself”, reads one). Her goal: to make her account a more empathetic space. “I hope that being so candid creates a safe space for heavy topics such as mental health to surface.”
Ellie wears cotton trench coat and cotton sleeveless top, wool-blend pants, plastic arm cuffs with crystals, Soft Pocket leather tote, leather boots and her own jewellery
By day, Lee is the UX creative director at an artificial intelligence start-up. It’s what she does outside of work though that’s made her quite the indie personality. There’s the ambient folk band Aspidistrafly, of which she is its rock ’n’ roll fairy queen of a frontwoman. Its long-awaited third album will be completed soon (expect “crystalline synths and Bela Bartok-influenced string arrangements”).
And while she might not seem like the typical content creator, her dreamy Instagram images would explain her dedicated following. Throwbacks to Japan – where Aspidistrafly has a niche following – shot on film. Snaps of arcane vintage finds.
And the colour-soaked, editorial-worthy photo shoots starring herself. “Instagram is just a virtual space to share the last strange thought that I had or last strange thing I had come across,” she says. “It’s a deeply personal space, but it’s also an extended world that I want to invite my listeners into.”
April wears silk pussy-bow shirt, matching pants, viscose-blend corset (worn under shirt), brass and resin bracelet, leather boots and her own jewellery
This marks the 25-year-old’s first feature in a fashion magazine. By profession, she’s a psychologist-in-training having just completed a master’s degree in the field. It’s unlikely to be her last though and that’s not because of her telegenic good looks, vivacious personality or interest in mental health (“It’s super important to be educated on it to fight the stigma surrounding mental illness.”)
Earlier this year, she and a friend started Frame Of Reference (@frame__of__reference on IG), a creative outfit that sees the duo sharing self-penned musings via short films and visuals. It might seem like a personal project – raw even – but there’s poetry to the content that makes it an intriguing platform to inspire other aspiring female content creators.
Cue an image of Lai and friends dressed in tulle and running hand-in-hand through a field. Its accompanying caption: “Youth – a time where she is able to devote herself to chasing pleasure and dreams.” How right.
Katerina wears silk-blend T-shirt, cotton-blend fishnet top, rayon skirt, Soft Pocket leather tote and leather mules
Photography Stefan Khoo Styling Damian Huang Photography Assistant Alif Styling Assistant Jasmine Ashvinkumar Hair EC/LIM, assisted by Miho/1tto+LIM & Ayako/Kizuki+LIM Makeup Clarence Lee, using Burberry Beauty
A version of this article first appeared in the April 2021 Community edition of FEMALE