6 Important Lessons From Eva Chen's AMA

Lucky puns and priceless advice abound: It's Eva Chen's AMA! It's awesome, and covers everything from her favorite ice cream flavor (mint chip), to her preference when it comes to Internet memes ("GRUMPY CAT FOR LIFE!"), to her female style crush, Rihanna ("Listen, if you had a body like that, wouldn't you basically dip yourself in crystals and walk around naked as well?"). Let's take at some of her best tidbits on how to make it in the fashion industry:

1. When it comes to writing, originality is key.

I love it when people have original voices and opinions and they're not just, like, reporting on what happened in a straight-forward newsticker way ... and, honestly, I love following people on Twitter as well to get a sense of their personality! I've discovered some great potential talent that way.

Let's all tweet @evachen212, like right now.

2. And so is perseverance:

There have definitely been moments where I've been like 'Oh my gosh, I am only three steps above a third grader in terms of coherency.' I think what kept me going is just knowing that it would work out and knowing that the more I write, the better I'd get. That's the light at the end of the tunnel — remember that always.

3. And also persistence:

She recommends reaching out to everyone you know, because "your mom's sister's best friend's cousin's dogwalker's hairdressers ex-boyfriend's sister" might just be that elusive open door into the fashion industry. Besides, "fortune really favors the bold, so reach out to people out of the blue too."

4. Interning is generally more effective than an MA (except when it comes to Hogwarts, of course), but most important of all is to...

Write, write, write. Even if it's for yourself. You'll discover your voice and POV that way.

5. You'll deal with a lot of rejection and unanswered emails, so:

(Try to) Develop a thick skin.

6. And finally, the definitive answer to the 100 duck-sized horses/1 horse-sized duck predicament:

One horse-sized duck. I'd distract it with stale bread and then capture it then with a lasso made out of adamantium.

Image: evachen212/Instagram