While she might have shied away from it at first, Elisa Johnson has an influential platform – and a large one at that. The fashion influencer has amassed 394k followers on Instagram – and counting – with an audience that looks up to her for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle content. Now, she is embracing this title – and using her voice to amplify others from her community. With the launch of her new editorial & shopping platform Selected by Elisa, Johnson’s goal is to ‘amplify black achievements in fashion, beauty, advocacy, and beyond’.

Curated by Johnson herself, stories include ‘Black Owned Beauty & Skincare Brands’, a playlist composed of her favorite black artists, and a list of black LGBTQ+ activists to follow. There is also an emphasis on buying Black – with a shopping feature that showcases the work of designers like Brother Vellies, Cushnie, and Christopher John Rogers. We spoke with the creative to hear more about what readers can expect from her platform, and hear her thoughts on the state of the fashion industry.

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How are you doing? 

Like everyone else I am just doing my best to navigate through this new normal! In terms of the global pandemic I am definitely someone with anxiety, so I just have been doing my best to stay grounded, and focus on what I can control – not what is out of my control. In terms of systemic racism our culture is being forced to confront, I too have been doing my best to focus on my mental health, and knowing when enough is enough with consuming content. I read this quote by Rachel Cargle that said, “I am flawed. I acknowledge my faults. I commit to my growth. I give myself permission to be okay in the process.” And I feel that’s a perfect representation of my current mental state.

Tell us about how this idea originated. What inspired you to build this platform? 

Initially as I was developing my upcoming eyewear line’s website, I also wanted to have an outlet to expand my voice beyond my Instagram, and have a platform where I could highlight some of my favorite creatives, spotlight people who I admire, discuss issues affecting young people, and more. I’ve been working alongside my best friend Vito Sinicropi for the past six months or so, on creating Selected and had intended on launching the site around the same time as my eyewear. However, facing an unprecedented time definitely delayed my initial timeline, and then the senseless killing of George Floyd and its seismic response forced me to confront ways I could best use my voice. Consequently, the site went from something I had put on the back burner, to wanting to launch within the week. I felt motivated to build upon the original idea of the platform, amplifying Black voices, creatives, and businesses, while also educating and providing resources.

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How would you describe the vision and the voice for this platform? What are the stories you are looking to feature? 

The vision of Selected is to be a platform that centers on Black achievements in fashion, beauty, advocacy, and beyond. Selected also aims to provide resources to help activate change, and have conversations about issues young people face daily. As a young Black woman, I hope the voice of the platform is authentic, and speaks directly to its audience in a way that maybe a larger editorial space would not. With Selected, we are looking to feature stories about young creators, business owners, entrepreneurs, activists, and other leaders who are trailblazing in their respective industries. These individuals are not only creating change, and space for themselves but also for the culture, in a culture that continually does everything in its power to do the opposite. I strongly believe we should be supporting Black businesses out of practice not out of protest.

I love that you also have a shopping feature! Why was this important to include, and how do you select and find new brands to feature? 

Thank you!! In developing the site from its original inception one of the first features I wanted to include was a shopping feature. I had looked at the general “lifestyle” or “influencer” created websites that were successful and couldn’t help but notice how there were little to no Black owned lines featured. I thought if they were not making space for us, I felt an obligation to create a space that not only includes us, but remains committed to featuring only Black designed, or owned products. In curating “Shop Melanated” I wanted to feature specific products and businesses that I genuinely do love. These creators are constantly the cultural blueprint, so why not support the people who originally created the concept.

As an ‘influencer’, what do you think your responsibility to your audience is? How do you want to use your platform? 

Initially I definitely shied away from the term “influencer” because I didn’t really want to take any ownership of the fact that I truly had any influence over any one, and also because I knew that largely my audience was built upon the family I came from. However over the years as the ‘influencer’ world has turned into this massive industry, and seeing how the majority of these influencers (especially in fashion) looked a certain way (white) I felt more of a motivation to use whatever influence I have to create change. I want my audience to feel connected to me, and I hope that they find the ways in which I use my platform to be authentic, yet inspiring. I am not the best with Instagram, I can really get in my head about it, and as a whole it can be very mentally draining to me, however I know that it has also provided me with an opportunity to connect with so many young people, and I want to use that power to hopefully make them feel seen, and create spaces for us.

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What’re your thoughts on the current state of the fashion industry? What changes would you like to see? 

I think that over the last few months we have rightfully seen the conversation shift from okay, you have Black models in your campaigns, but where are the Black people in your boardroom? I think that the fashion industry, like the music industry and many others so often profits off of our culture, however the people and the heads of these companies are mostly old white men. What I would like to see is these companies taking the initiative to internally enact change, and diversify the people who are actually making decisions, and profiting from the industry. I love initiatives like the “15 Percent Pledge” created by Aurora James and the “Black in Fashion Council” created by Lindsay Peoples Wagner and Sandrine Charles, because they insure the advancement, and proper representation of Black individuals and businesses, creating lasting impact.

How do you define success for this platform? How do you see this growing? 

Honestly, after reworking the site and deciding to launch earlier than expected I said to my friend and web developer, “If this site even makes one person feel seen, or provides them with resources that help them, then it’s worth it,” and that is definitely still how I feel today. I have loved receiving feedback from my followers since launching the site, hearing what they loved about it, and what they would like to see more of. Selected is definitely a labor of love, and a passion project for me. As I develop my own designs and products including my eyewear coming next Spring, I want the site to coexist with my own endeavors. It would be so meaningful to see the platform grow and expand, becoming a go-to site for this purpose!

Visit Selected by Elisa here.