Tyler Mazaheri: Fashion-Forward
Tyler Mazaheri is an Midwestern-American visual entrepreneur whose interdisciplinary practice includes fashion photography and design. Often inspired by various fashion publications and the Arkansas environment, Tyler creates art as a model, photographer, and designer.
Tyler Mazaheri, Praying
In their most recent interview with LUISAVIAROMA, Tyler spoke about their fashion style in relation to their queer image: “As someone who from a young age never understood the necessity of a binary gender system, I’ve never seen why some garments are inherently ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’.” And, with Tyler’s androgynous image attracting almost 90,000 followers on Instagram, it’s clear that their question has value: “I like to keep things simple as I wear what I like, and if it happens to combine garments traditionally thought to be masculine/feminine, even better.”
As a young person, Tyler is setting an example of casual queerness, which is fundamental in the movement towards LGBTQ+ acceptance, equality, and liberation. Their exploration of the differences between what constitutes a queer choice and what constitutes a fashion choice is leading the way in a new wave of fashion that is both diverse and inclusive of all bodies. For generations, binary trends have altered from a tool for self-expression into a weapon against queer bodies that break traditional gender stereotypes. In an ongoing process to minimise and eventually eliminate established notions of ‘male’ and ‘female’ clothing, expanding the horizons of what the gender binary claims to be, young people like Tyler are demonstrating that fashion doesn’t always have to be a question of your safety or identity.
Tyler also understands the ways in which social media benefits and hinders their journey as a creative. They see Instagram as a great way to share content, but also recognise how it feeds into a toxic comparative mindset on beauty and perfection, which can lower people’s self-esteem. But Tyler explains, “that’s bound to happen and I just have to keep going.” In being kind to themselves and understanding that creativity is a journey, Tyler promotes the importance of being yourself and doing what you want – a fundamental creative aspiration. The job of an artist involves a constant journey of self-development and improvement, “so as long as you can continue and feel good about what you do, there’s no limit to what you can achieve”.