LAST WEEK, FIGURES from music, film, television and fashion descended on the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for the annual Met Gala.
Rihanna, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, Lena Dunham, Reese Witherspoon, Ruth Negga – you name them, they were probably there.
Among those in attendance was Michaela O’Shaughnessy, a fashion and lifestyle blogger born and raised in Co. Galway, who now works for Teen Vogue. You could say she’s living the dream life.
Michaela, who runs the blog Life of a Lady Bear, moved to New York two years ago and landed a job as a social media producer with MTV.
She now looks after social media for Teen Vogue. So what exactly does that entail?
On a daily basis, I run Teen Vogue’s visual social media platforms, mainly Instagram, Facebook Live and Snapchat. In the morning I spend some time looking at what’s going on in the news and figure out how I can share that story in a compelling way on social media. The best thing about my job is that every day brings something different, whether it’s working behind the scenes at a photoshoot or shooting a Facebook Live with a celebrity guest, no day is ever the same.
Over the past year or so, Teen Vogue has widened its focus beyond fashion, beauty and celebrity. While it still covers those topics, it has also garnered significant praise for its thoughtful, in-depth coverage of political and social issues.
“Teen Vogue is a brand that I genuinely have loved since I was 14,” says Michaela. “I used to buy the magazine religiously when I was a teen but it certainly is a different brand now compared to what it was back then.”
Last week, Michaela attended the Met Gala for Teen Vogue, something she describes as a “dream come true”.
Between the amazing atmosphere and the A-list talent in attendance, it was an experience I will never forget. In my eyes, it’s one of the most iconic events every year and a real opportunity for guests to take fashion risks on the carpet.
She cites Rihanna’s showstopping ensemble and Selena Gomez making her red carpet debut with The Weekend as among the most memorable moments.
The true highlight, though? Meeting fellow Irishwoman Ruth Negga on the red carpet.
I was standing right beside Ruth Negga who looked absolutely stunning in Valentino. I reached out and tapped her as she walked by to say, “From one Irish girl to another, you look beautiful” and she stopped to say how much that meant to her, at which point I nearly started bawling.
Going to the Met Gala poses an interesting dilemma: what on Earth do you wear?
O’Shaughnessy opted to go Irish.
I chose a beautiful red embellished gown by Irish designer Don O’ Neill from Theia Couture. It was really important for me to wear something Irish because how many opportunities do Irish designers get to say that one of their gowns got to go to an event as prestigious as The Met Gala?
Stunning.
Michaela says that she’s “prouder than ever” of her Irish identity since moving to New York and thinks that it’s worked to her advantage.
“It’s the first thing I say whenever I meet someone new because I really do think it’s a fact that will help people remember you – something that’s always important in a city as competitive as NYC,” she says.
While she doesn’t know many other Irish people in her industry, she says that she’s aware of tons of Irish people in New York doing great things.
I know that there are so many Irish people going under the radar here in New York who are working so hard to make something of themselves and the support we all have for each other is something very special.
All together now: “New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of…”
You can follow Michaela on Instagram here and read her blog here.
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