Katie interviews the head of fashion partnerships at Instagram about finding your passion and the power of saying “YES.”
In her memoir Going There, Katie gives behind-the-scenes insights into her iconic career — but she also ruminates on the ups and downs of her personal life. She delves into detail, explaining how she moved up the media ladder, and how family, friendship, and romance contributed to her success.
If you were grateful for Katie’s reflections on achieving serious professional advancement (and, since we’re all human, occasional failure) while also dealing with love and loss, we’ve got more where that came from. For those of you who love to read about how the best and brightest in their fields have gotten where they are today, Katie started her video series Getting There. In each video, Katie spends the day with a successful woman to learn how she got to where she is and the advice she has for others. Each interview is a blend of solid career advice and a candid look into the silly, funny, sometimes upsetting parts of life that they navigate as they achieve their dreams.
KCM originally whipped up these because we love learning about how successful women grapple with challenges to become their best selves. And since we all need a little extra inspiration these days, we wanted to remind you all that overcoming adversity can be its own reward.
First up was Eva Chen — head of fashion partnerships at Instagram and author of the children’s book I am Golden. Katie met up with her to chat at the Instagram headquarters — they talked about kids, parenting, being parented, making mistakes, and what exactly makes a great Instagram post. Check out the video below or take a look at this inspirational Q&A.
Katie Couric: What’s a typical day in your life? What time do you get up in the morning?
Eva Chen: With two kids, I get up between 5:45 and 6:15 a.m. I have human alarm clocks. We eat breakfast together. Well, I caffeinate and they eat breakfast.
Do you do any exercise?
We tend to do team workouts. I realize that if I have to go to the gym on my own, I’m never going to go. So my coworkers and I all work out together once or twice a week and that’s our fun team bonding day.
Do you freak out about what you’re going to wear every day?
I don’t freak out about what I’m going to wear. Every morning, on my way to work, I take a shoe shot.
What does your job entail?
My job is to work with designers, stylists, models, photographers, and magazines — everything that touches fashion.
A lot of people will say, “I don’t want to post too much because I want to be mysterious. I want to be a cool fashion person.” But if you’re not posting content, there’s no content for people to see. They can’t like it. You can’t grow your following.
Why do you think Instagram is such an appealing platform for so many people?
Fundamentally, we are visual beings. Everyone loves and can understand something when they see it in a photograph form.
How do you help teenage girls who say, “Gosh, it just makes me feel bad about myself”?
It’s hard to be a teenager. The message I always had when I worked at Teen Vogue was, “You have to find your passion and find what makes you happy.” Then, dive into that. Don’t worry about what other people say.
Explain the perfect Instagram post.
Natural light is always great and flattering. The post will be good if you feel like you’re experiencing something. And just being yourself. When you are yourself, that is the best Instagram photo of all.
Where are your parents from?
My parents are from Shanghai and Taipei.
Why did they come to the U.S.?
They came to the U.S. as a lot of immigrants do. Obviously, that’s something that’s relevant right now: The hope and opportunity to give your kids a better life. As a parent myself, I now understand that.
What was your childhood like?
I was a bookworm. I was really shy. I didn’t speak English perfectly for a little while. Chinese was my first language.
And you were pre-med at Johns Hopkins.
I was on the pre-med track and I had to work so hard to get average grades. It was like fitting a square peg in a round hole.
What did your parents say when you decided you didn’t want to be a doctor?
They didn’t talk to me for a very long time, which was difficult. When I worked in magazines, they saw how happy I was and I think they were happy for me ultimately.
One of your first jobs in magazines was as a beauty stylist. That probably wasn’t your ultimate goal, but what did that teach you about seizing the opportunity?
I think it’s really important to say yes to opportunities. Even if you’re not sure. It will expand your skill set and teach you something new.
What was your biggest setback and how were you able to bounce back?
When I look back at my career, there have been several points where I felt lost. The way I’ve always come out of something like that is by talking to people. Turn to your community and don’t be afraid to ask people for help or advice. That’s what’s gotten me out every single time.
Why is this such an exciting time to be a woman?
Because women are speaking up and speaking the truth. You can live anywhere and connect with a woman going through the same experience as you. It’s made the world a smaller and more powerful place.
What is your best advice for getting there?
Just keep asking questions. It might be twisty and turning and take you on a million different detours, but that’s something to be celebrated.
Where do you go from here?
I hopefully will go home, go to sleep, and hug my children. But professionally, who knows? My whole career has never been mapped. It’s reflective of my passion at the time.
