A freelance fashion and lifestyle content maker, model, creative director as well as the Marketing and Brand communications Executive for luxury ethnic wear brand House of Ahmed, Troyee Chowdhury is one of the most appreciated and creative Instagram Bloggers in Bangladesh.
She calls herself overly punctual, straightforward and sometimes too much of a perfectionist when it comes to creative directing. An intense dog lover and an avid bibliophile, she would mark her personality traits as being very eccentric when it comes to fashion and describes her favourite colour to be yellow as she says “I live it, love it, breathe it, emphasis on BREATHE.” In this exclusive interview with The Bedroom Journal, Troyee Chowdhury shares with us ‘The fundamentals of the Instagram Influencer Community and what it’s actually like to be an uprising talent in this country.’
How did you start your journey as a social media influencer and what prompted you to be one?
Well I started my journey around 2018 June, and to be honest I wasn’t really starting out or looking to be an “influencer”. I personally started my journey by wanting to showcase my own personal style with the world and write about the inspiration behind each of my looks and posting some casual photos here and there.
In doing so for a while, and then afterwards receiving overwhelming response and support from my increasing followers and friends, it pushed me to further plan more detailed creative concepts around my looks, executing them in photoshoots, trying to push boundaries and create contents with more of an international standard. The joy in the creative process in the end, I guess prompted me to continue in being a content maker for myself. It is more of a passion for me.
How would you describe brand Troyee and what are your trademarks?
“Hahaha, that is my kind of question. I think “Brand Troyee” would perhaps be loud, colourful, confident and ambitious. My trademark would be I think speaking my mind, not having much of a filter. With context, there've been many times I’ve been repressed in many aspects of my life, fashion was a gateway for me to feel free and express myself so, now that I feel I have broken those chains it's important for me to still hold onto these traits”.
How do you see the influencer industry in Bangladesh today?
I think it has grown immensely since I’ve started. A lot of new talent have definitely come into the industry and are creating their craft. I encourage them to pursue their creativity but I also want them to push themselves to be more educated in terms of remunerations with brand collaborations, how they should be treated by brands and/or the media industry, so they stand strong to their worth and what they deserve.
What are your 3 special tools and 3 things you ensure while creating content?
A favorite tool is definitely the main outfit/sense of style for every content. It is after all your niche. Your distinctive style in my opinion is what will differentiate you from the masses, so I plan my outfits meticulously for every content. The second is the visual moodboard after you’ve planned your outfit. Mine usually consists of reference photos, poses, even background creation/colours palettes.
Quality and creative collaboration is something I always ensure with my contents. More than often some photo-shoots aren’t shared with the public, because I felt visually it didn’t hit the standard I’ve set. As for the creative collaboration, when I collaborate with a photographer or cinematographer, I want it to be an exchange of artistic purposes. We both must get both of our visions across together as a team to create something great.
What are some of the struggles you’ve faced as a lifestyle and fashion influencer and what have you learnt from it?
“Oh so many things. The ‘dismissal’ attitude from some of the Bangladeshi audiences once you state you’re a fashion content maker. From that I’ve learnt that, you cannot convince them or anyone how difficult it is to be one. Whether it is to broker a paid brand collaboration or creating even your own creative content. So, why bother? Just have to remember from time to time why you started this in the first place and phase out the other unnecessary noise.
- “Another struggle was knowing your self-worth and how much to charge remuneration wise when commercial brand offers came up. They will always prefer other content makers who might do it for less, sometimes more than often I wouldn’t get the brand collaborations but I hold value in the fact that even though I lost many brand collaborations I always felt better not doing it for less than I asked and deserved. You shouldn’t get demotivated, there will always be another offer coming your way.”
What are some of the most fulfilling working experiences you’ve had as an influencer?
Well, I definitely made some friends whom I enjoyed working with and also meeting more and more people from the media industry. Amazing creative directors and so many funny and chatty conversations with production teams. The heart of any big branded shoot. However, the most fulfilling experience in this journey was when I received the award “For Recognising Talent in Content making” from our Honorable ICT State Minister Mr Zunaid Ahmed Palak. It was definitely surreal for me.
Where do you see yourself and the digital industry you’re working in, over the next five years?
The digital industry will hopefully keep growing immensely and as for me I hope I continue engaging my audience and the new generation with my love for fashion, as well as pursue and establish some of the ambitious goals I’ve set for myself. Not trying to be coy, but I guess that is all you will get out of me for now!
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