Kim Jones
ON CHANGE AND EVOLVING
Dorcas:
You moved from Australia to the Philippines at age 23, leaving behind the life you knew, job, family, and not necessarily having an assured career there. What was the feeling and experience that made you give up the known to do that?
Kim:
Retrospect is such a privilege and I constantly reflect on that season in my life. In all honesty, the feeling was desperation. I’d lived a fairly sheltered life; everything I’d known and experienced was within a very small radius. The move was catalysed by a very internal, visceral push to pursue something fulfilling and the only way that made sense for me was to evolve which meant a challenge which meant starting something new. Surprisingly, once I’d identified the cause of my quarter life crisis it was an easy decision.
"I learned very early on that life is not the sum of huge, life-changing decisions, rather it is built by the smaller, micro-decisions you make on a daily basis."
Dorcas:
Upon moving to the Philippines, you first started your career as a model. How did you navigate that season and that stage to being where you are now? What was that journey like?
Kim:
I learned very early on that life is not the sum of huge, life-changing decisions, rather it is built by the smaller, micro-decisions you make on a daily basis. I learned how to appreciate opportunities that came to me in the form of the unfamiliar and how to make the most of them. I learned sacrifice and self-education and learned whatever I could. It's a mindset I still adopt to this day and committing myself to this asymptotic journey of self-education is something I am most proud of.
ON PURSUING DIFFERENT PASSIONS
Dorcas:
Now, your career spans being an actor, photographer, stylist, fashion influencer, creative director, and more recently a designer and filmmaker. How are you able to seamlessly pursue these different passions while staying focused?
Kim:
Just reading that made me sleepy. I truly enjoy immersing myself in different fields of creation. Filmmaking has always been my biggest passion and I learned a lot from my work over the last ten years in TV production, business, product development, marketing and fashion that has informed me in film. Filmmaking is a wonderful intersection of what I love the most and encompasses all areas of my work, it is such a powerful medium and one that I’m so excited to explore with my work in The Fore and in other creative fields. (Also, to-do lists and meditation help considerably.)
Dorcas:
How do you handle pivoting in your life, when do you know it’s time to switch, move on, step out? And perhaps in what direction?
Kim:
I think women are incredibly capable of adapting and pivoting. There’s something we’re inherently attuned to in order to survey our surroundings and adjust accordingly. I believe in an awareness of self and relinquishing control when needed. The universe has a wicked sense of humour and often teaches you what it needs to when you least expect it. I believe in growth and evolution, amassing experiences and lessons and utilising them. I believe in failure, in making mistakes - we put too much pressure on ourselves to be perfect. Women are incredible empathisers and have so much to share. When we abandon the need to “succeed”, we can eliminate competition and be free of fearing failure and challenges. I don’t so much believe in striving to be always happy, I believe in the journey of the ups and downs - it sounds so philosophical and trite but ultimately I think change is inherently a good thing.
VIEWS ON CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION
Dorcas:
In the light of our current editorial run: What does conscious consumption mean to you?
Kim:
I’ve been mulling over what this means to me for the last couple of years and it really comes down to awareness and education. Collectively, we will continue to consume as we have done for centuries and while individual responsibility is so important I also acknowledge that the biggest impact will come from institutional change. Education is a privilege and I’ve always been content with being the least knowledgeable person in the room when it comes to discussing environmental issues. I know very little about the climate crisis compared to the journalists, activists and social entrepreneurs I am lucky enough to know and I think by keeping ego and judgment out of it you can learn a hell of a lot.
Dorcas:
We are now in a time where celebrities and Influencers are paid to use their outlet/influence to tell narratives organizations and people want to be told. Mostly, these organizations are looking to either make a short-term profit, earn trust, or hide from accountability. As a digital creative yourself who collaborates and works with people around the world. How do you stay authentic through this process, in this space and in this time?
Kim:
This idea of commodifying influence has always sat uneasily for me but it’s existed for decades and stems from the earliest form of “marketing” - word of mouth. We are easily influenced; by our peers, industry leaders, government - it’s just metamorphosed with such rapidity thanks to the digital age. Everybody is on their own journey and for me, again, it’s about educating myself as much as I can so that my decisions are made to the best of my ability. Change doesn’t happen overnight but for the better part, the world is starting to act and I enjoy working with those that share the same values. I don’t always get it right but I believe in progress over perfection.
CREATIVE PROCESS AND INSPIRATION
Dorcas:
Having watched your journey from afar, the level of excellence put into each work you create is apparent. What does your creative process involve?
Kim:
I’m still learning how to carve out my own voice and you’ll see how different that voice is now to when I started 10 years ago. I used to be crippled with fear for saying the wrong thing but now, as I’ve evolved as a woman and been privileged enough to be inspired by other women I’ve realised it’s so important to share your voice in whichever manner is right for you. Everything I do stems from something I’ve read or watched or learned from that eventually transforms into my creative output. I’m a sponge and incredibly curious and so much of that makes its way into my work.
STARTING THE FORE
Dorcas:
What prompted you to start The Fore, and why now?
Kim:
I wanted to start a space that was truly collaborative, working with partners and our customers that shared the same values. I wanted to showcase the innovation possible through responsible design. I wanted to humanise the supply chain and share our vision of thoughtful design with an audience that cares about their impact. Sure enough, now our customers educate us on a daily basis, constantly giving us feedback and carving out what they want The Fore to provide for them. It’s such a special way to do business and because we nurture collaboration we’ve learned so much in the last 18 months that I don’t think would have been possible any other way. One of our partners, TELAStory, practices radical transparency and champions fair living wages for garment workers - there are so many people around the world doing great things and THE FORE serves as a platform to share their work and that’s so important to us.
THE FUTURE AND WHAT'S TO COME
Dorcas:
How do you see the fashion industry changing in the next few years? And where do you see yourself in it?
Kim:
That’s an interesting question. It evolves so rapidly it’s difficult to place its changes in 6 months let alone 3 or 4 years. I think more power will move to the consumer and more and more players in the fashion industry will continue to be held accountable for their actions. It will require small brands and larger conglomerates alike to fight to stay relevant and informed. I see my place in the industry existing more behind the scenes, constantly searching for the work and the people that we believe should be brought to The Fore - and I’m incredibly excited about that.
Dorcas:
What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Kim:
I recently co-founded a film production company, Inventory Films, with my husband, Jericho Rosales. We’re inspired to tell more universal stories from the Philippines and we’re incredibly inspired by and excited about sharing the talent within the region. There are a vast array of unique stories yet to be told. We’re about to shoot our first feature film this month for release later in the year and I’m currently writing my first screenplay for my first film which I’ll be directing. I’ll also be in front of the camera for a short film I’m working on in the first half of the year.
THE FORE has also just opened our first showroom and we have incredible mentors behind us guiding us on introducing circular economy principles to our supply chains, our partners and our clients. We’re also working on collating data from our suppliers, non-profits and agencies that we work with to share the information via a report to our audience. We also have some incredible collections lined up and are looking forward to continually bringing more voices to The Fore.
Dorcas:
Looking forward to it! Thank you Kim for taking the time to chat with us.
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