Parvane Barret

Creator/DJ AGE: 19 Content NATIONALITY: French/Iranian INSTAGRAM: @parvbar

Did you always know you wanted to get into a creative field? Absolutely. My mother paints and my father is a interior designer, so creativity and art runs in my family. I knew I wanted to work in a creative field, but I never knew what exactly. I actually never wanted to be in the fashion industry, I though it was rather cliché and did not see how I would take part in it. But fashion had always been part of my life, I always took care of how I looked and knew what went with what.

Then, Instagram came along and I started to be more and more interested in blogging and sharing my preferred trends with people online. I revamped my account and made it my platform, from which I have built many contacts and relationships with some of my favourite brands. Where do you find creative inspiration in this region? My friends. People around me. New people I meet. My circle is quite inspiring and to be able to find that inspiration through your group of friends is a beautiful thing. It is really great to work together and share the same interests in things like photography, clothes and other art aspects; that is very important to have. I am usually inspired by young people working and hustling together to prove a point that anything is possible, and at any age. Do you feel this region is stereotyped by what the media represents it to be? How are you playing a part in helping to change this? 100 per cent. Every single person I meet believes that Dubai is only paved in gold and that everyone is filthy rich. Even if this may be the case, these stereotypical comments tend to stigmatise the region and it's often not taken seriously as a result. What challenges have you faced since entering the creative industry? The main challenge for me was definitely my age and how young I was when I started. I don’t really look my age either, so people tend to find out later on. I remember meeting up with this really cool photographer, and I was delighted to be shot by him. His work was clean and reflected my personal style. The shoot was great, we were clicking away and building so much content together and yet as soon as my age came into the discussion, the interest and excitement from his side just withered away.

That was when I realised that something needed to be done from my side to make a stand and prove that young people are capable of anything and should be free to express themselves through their art. I was 14 at the time, and at 19 today, I have worked with brands and people that I would have never even thought could be possible. I am so blessed and grateful for the opportunities the industry has given me, and that is has allowed me to prove myself as a young creative in the region. How do you stay original, but relevant? It may sound cheesy, but by staying true to yourself at all times and staying in your own lane. To stay relevant is to be able to distinguish yourself amongst other creatives, through the way you present yourself and the kind of content you create.

Maintaining longevity in the creative industry can be quite difficult, yet once you find that spark within you, that will ignite freshness, excitement and curiosity for your audience, making them wonder what you will create or pull off next.