Every issue, GRAZIA USA highlights 17 Game Changers, who inspire, educate, and celebrate individuality, beauty, and style. Meet Tina Leung, the stylist and street-style queen who continues to create new modes of expression.
Film, drama, and television were where I initially thought I was heading in life. I went to the University of Bristol, where I graduated in 2004, but I decided it wasn’t what I wanted. Shortly after graduation, my heart drew me to fashion; so, of course, I moved to New York, where I studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology and received a certificate in fashion styling.
In that year, I did all the things you would do as an assistant stylist: from assisting others and running around fashion houses collecting garment bags, to setting up looks and steaming garments on set, to build my portfolio. I then moved back to Hong Kong to start working at Prestige magazine. Back then, it was just starting and wasn’t as well-known as it is today. It was tiny. I worked across fashion and accessories markets and also interviewed industry professionals. I had the fantastic opportunity to interview luminaries: from the chief engineer at Lexus, to a watchmaker at Hermès, and even fashion icon Kendall Jenner. After getting that valued experience and making a name for myself in the industry, I decided to pursue the freelance life. I dabbled in styling and was writing for a few publications up until recently.
What a lot of people don’t know about me is before I had my Instagram, I launched a blog called “Tina Loves” in 2010. Originally, I started it to show friends and family what exactly it is I do every day, since most of the people around me were either in law or finance or anything that wasn’t in the creative field. The idea of working in fashion was so eccentric! I honestly didn’t expect anyone outside of my friends and family to have any interest in the blog, but it gained a following after a stretch, and one thing led to the next. My first triumph moment as a blogger was when Dior reached out to fly me to Paris Fashion Week. This was right in between Galliano and Raf, and when Dior calls naturally, you say yes, no second thoughts needed. I fell in love. I’ve gone to every single fashion week since, in Milan, London, Paris, New York. Once the Instagram era came around, my blog turned into my IG feed, which was the perfect transition since I love taking photos and documenting moments. It’s what I’ve been up to since.
After these past two years, hope has been a solid and necessary element in life. Hope has been those moments when I’m able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. For me, my friends are more often than not that light — whether it’s just a text, phone call, or our weekly dinners. Even if we’re not able to see each other weekly, those moments when we do lift me up and help me stay motivated to move forward.
One positive that came out of the pandemic was that people began taking a little more time for themselves. They’re taking a little more time for their friends, for their relationships, businesses, or otherwise. And I love that. I love that people are thinking of a four-day workweek. I love how people are working from home and being so creative during the pandemic and the lockdown, which otherwise was a very dark time. These are all examples of hope in our lives and looking at others grow makes me feel extremely hopeful for the creative industry as we move into better days.
As we enter this new reality, I would love to see people kinder to each other. Simple. Kinder to each other and more empathetic.
— As told to Ty Gaskins.
To read more Game Changers, pick up GRAZIA USA’s March 2022 issue on newsstands and email [email protected] to subscribe.
