How Being Yourself Is The Best Representation

Damaris Chambers is a model living and working in Los Angeles. She has taken a deep dive into the exploration of fashion only to emerge with a style that is truly representative of who she is as an artist. Chambers aims to use her stylistic voice to provide positive representation to young creatives who follow her work.

Written By Jasmine D. Lowe Photography: Mo McFadden

Damaris Chambers “I have been modeling for a while,” said Damaris Chambers. “I used to watch America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway. I became interested in fashion as I started to do more freelance modeling, working with photographers, and having to put my own looks together. That’s when I really started to delve deeper into fashion.”

She moved to Los Angeles from Baltimore, Maryland after working for a few years at an insurance brokerage firm. Damaris “absolutely hated it” and decided to move to the West Coast about four years ago.

“I wanted to be in a city that had creative energy that you could just create on the drop of a hat. If you wanted to go out and do something creative, you literally could just go out, grab somebody and have a photoshoot like that. It’s what drew me out here—the weather, the creative energy, and the creative people.” It was through collaborating with other creatives in the city, discovering things about herself, and experimenting with bending traditionally gendered clothes in fashion that she discovered her own style.

“Once I really came out and came into myself is when I really started to blossom,” Damaris explained. “Growing up I had always been tomboyish, and only recently did I become more comfortable wearing men’s clothes and drawing myself in a more androgynous way. As I became more comfortable with that, I just started to experiment more with men’s clothes and mixing men’s clothes with women’s clothes and finding my own little niche to present more androgynously. I started dressing in a way that made me feel good as opposed to what society said I should look like and what I should wear.”

Damaris hopes that by being her authentic self that she can be a positive example for others. Rather than be out of reach, the model wants others like her to feel seen in the world of fashion.

“I want to be attainable. I want people to feel seen and represented when they look at my pictures. A lot of the comments that I get on my pictures on Instagram confirm that what my heart wants is what they reflected in the picture. People will comment and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve been looking for somebody that represents me and you do that.’ That’s what I want. I want to be representation for people who don’t feel represented.” When asked what advice she had for up and coming models and those wanting to pursue a career in the fashion industry, Damaris Chambers shared that finding what is comfortable and works for you is key.

“Get comfortable in front of the camera. The way that I really started to get comfortable and know myself was by setting up my iPhone, using the self-timer, taking pictures of myself, and not being afraid to try different things. Yeah, it’s really uncomfortable at first and you kind of feel dumb, but after a while, you start to see what you’re creating on your own and that really fuels you to start reaching out to other people and say, ‘Well, what can I create with other people?”

“Look at yourself in the mirror and get comfortable with looking at yourself. Find what your angles are and what pose your body looks best in or what you like personally,” Damaris continued. “I think even if you are modeling somebody else’s clothes—and this goes with acting too since acting also goes into modeling—but no matter what character you play, there’s always an element of you that’s infused into it. I think the world tells us that we have to be something else when it’s actually really cool to be yourself. And that’s when you stand out. You shine when you are yourself because there’s no one in this world that is you, You are the only person that is you, and that’s what people are drawn to.”

You can keep up with Damaris Chambers and her projects by following her on Instagram at @damarischambers.