MEET AARON CHRISTIAN
Welcome back to our 'MEET' series, where you can meet members of the Other Box community and other inspiring individuals making moves in their respective industries. We spotlight their diverse talents, unique perspectives, and innovative contributions to the industry.
So, without further ado…
MEET AARON (He/him)
A luxury fashion director and producer of Malaysian Indian and Sri Lankan heritage, raised in Stratford, London.
How did you get started?
After graduating with a film, media, and cultural studies degree from Kingston University, I started combining fashion and digital content when I founded my men’s style blog, INDIVIDUALISM. The blog’s growing popularity led to my hiring by MR PORTER to lead the film department.
I spent four years there, leading on all things video. This spanned content for the brand’s social media, editorial, and marketing channels, helping to establish it as one of the world’s leading creators of men’s fashion films.
In 2014, I left to find AC Studios, where we focus on fashion, design, and culture.
My clients include Burberry, Armani, Levi’s, Uber, Amazon, Aston Martin and Adidas.
How do you / your work support and celebrate underrepresented people?
My work focuses on the connection between what’s happening in culture, fashion and the design world. I want to champion and celebrate people whose stories aren’t usually heard. I spent some time working on my WHY and used the Simon Sinek book to help me figure this out. Once I had completed that it really helped connect all the dots in all my work, whether thats the podcast, The Asian Man project, the commercial work i create for AC STUDIOS or my personal film project.
My why is: TO discover, reveal, connect with and champion under appreciated people and places. (Impact)
SO THAT I can progressively shape the way people see the world. (Contribution)
How do you Make Space For Difference?
I think this is baked into everything I do. It's part of my personality. I get bored very quickly, and so looking for a fresh way to do something keeps me on my toes. Surrounding yourself with people and cultures that force you to think differently is actually one of the joys of being a creative person. I make space for it because it’s essential.
Who/What inspires your work?
Hmm, that's a good one. But I think there are two:
One would be David Attenborough. I’ve always been into nature documentaries, and that space still influences how I like to shoot docs. I also love the fact that he focused on one field consistently his entire life yet found new ways to tell stories about the same subjects. He is humble, curious, hardworking, and open. His work will impact humanity long after he is gone.
The second would be Anthony Bourdain. Again, his curiosity about culture, people, and life and his spotlighting of the stories people overlook are inspiring. He was also a master storyteller.
What can we expect from you in the coming months?
It's been pretty tricky since I became a father. I've had to learn to slow down, and it's been tough to adapt as I was always moving at lightning speed on multiple projects. However, I feel I'm building up THE ASIAN MAN project a lot more now, and I’m finally looking to wrap up that print book project. I will then start turning my attention back to my RICE project RICEDOC.COM
What is your favourite quote that sums up your philosophy on life?
“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.”
Describe yourself in 3 words:
Hopeful, Curious, and impatient (I know the last one isn't 'positive’, but it's honest, and it’s one of my traits that I’m learning to harness a little more).
Where can people find you?
You can find Aaron on Instagram and TikTok -
@aaronchristian_
@theasianman
@whatisthisbehaviourpodcast
@acstudios
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Do you know someone we should feature or want us to shout about your work? If you're a minority-owned brand, business, creative, thought leader etc. - contact us and tell us what you've got going on 🙌🏾
