Inspired by: Sheerah Ravindren

Miista

Thu May 02 2024

Miista's Inspired By series celebrates the people who make us think and take risks.

At MIISTA we are only the sum of all the micro cultures that exist around us. We have never been quiet about it, and you have heard us before saying we are ‘Inspired By’ – insert: the opposite thing.

Transforming perceptions and highlighting the importance of individuality with Sheerah Ravindren.

A young voice challenging the landscape of western integration of South Asian heritage. We listened to Sheerah Ravindren as they spoke about reimagining a world of inclusivity and championing those who go against the status quo. Stellar appearances like their participation in Beyonce’s ‘Black is King’ music video, and Rihanna’s underwear brand campaigns, they're steps forward in dismantling one-dimensional views on beauty standards and creative inputs. Sheerah has found a fresh and punk approach to bridging the gaps of their self-identity while channeling just this into their very own multifaceted talents at the intersection of music, modeling, and activism. We reflected together on the importance of bringing about conversations and celebrating the new constellations forming for People of Colour and Queer youth in today's media.

We met with Sheerah and discovered all the spaces they felt most at home in East London. Starting in Dalston, at the Curve Garden, before heading to their old haunt on Mare Street, The Cock, where they've spent many of nights pouring beers for the Hackney locals. Here's what we chatted about.

Miista: We’re meeting you today in spaces you feel most at home in London. What makes a space inclusive?

Sheerah: Hackney is a place I feel an affinity to. I lived here for a few years and so many wonderful moments happened and continue happening but most of all the vibe is just fab. Two of my favourite places in East are Dalston Curve Garden and The Cock.

Dalston Curve Garden is a beautiful place in the middle of a busy and bustling Dalston; it’s a nice tranquil escape. I love that it attracts such a wide demographic of people and it’s lovely to see both young and old people enjoy this space. I do not think enough spaces consider older especially older vulnerable people enough, so it is great to see them enjoy this space with younger people. I was introduced to this space by my sister who bakes incredible treats for the bar and runs a weekly food led community group for older locals before the garden opens to the public.

The Cock, a nice little Pub in East London. Funnily enough, before I moved back to Birmingham end of 2019 I actually was working here for a few months. I had a really nice time and I liked the fact that there were a lot of very open-minded people that worked and came through the doors, and of course there's really nice beers; a very easy place to be. I just really enjoy being in pubs. I just feel calm. Pubs are great places to decompress and just chill out and have a good time.

I think spaces that are inclusive are the ones where marginalised, vulnerable and underrepresented people and identities are centered and considered. When the most marginalised groups are considered everyone gets to benefit. Inclusive spaces also consider that not everyone has access to certain resources and opportunities due their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, disability and continuously aim to make their spaces safe and enjoyable.

I also believe that inclusive space commonality is that the people in those spaces are thriving for not just that space but the world around them to be better and think we can all start in our little communities/spaces then expand.

Sheerah wears Carlita Grey Tall Boots

M: What does a world where all spaces are queer spaces look like?

S: I think a world where all spaces are inclusive would look quite wonderful. It would look like the current world, but it wouldn’t feel like the current world we live in.

It would be the same world except everyone’s accepted and respected and welcome. It’d be good vibes. Just good vibes.

M: Why do you think it’s always independent businesses & collectives pathing the way to create these spots?

S: I think the reason a lot of independent businesses and collectives are the ones paving the way so often is because usually they are the ones thinking freely, pushing boundaries and questioning status quos.

I also believe that independent collectives usually value community and the individuals that make up their communities and think of how they can contribute to their communities.

In a society that constantly tells us to be self-centred, it is a beautiful and radical thing to look outside of just your own needs and wants and think about the people around you, especially those who do not have the same privileges and access to resources and opportunities that you have.

M: What’s your relationship with being seen as an advocate for your community? Does it empower you? Do you feel pressure to show up?

S: When I was first coming onto “the scenes” and being platformed I did feel a lot of pressure from certain communities. I started thinking a lot about what individuals in those communities were expecting from me, these people were focused on certain aspects of me rather than the bigger picture of who I was.

I needed to give myself the grace to just step back and be like hey, I can't represent everyone, so I won't represent everyone. I can only do and say what is right for me and if people (regardless of their background) resonate with that, that's cool. From the very beginning, whether I was aware of it or not, my platform was me being a kid communicating ideas of how I felt about the world, my experiences, the things I like and that inspire me - music, fashion, my idols.

The older I have gotten and the more I continue to learn and realise, I need to make sure that I am showing up for myself and be who I need to be for myself because if I can’t be who I need for myself, how can I even do that for anybody else?

M: Do you have any type of ritual to keep you motivated in your efforts?

S: I am not sure if this is a ritual, but I see it as self-care. I have embraced and appreciate living two vastly different lives and lifestyles. In Birmingham I am just a bartender, with my very chill group of friends and I just get by and the only people that know my business are my fam and friends. Living this life allows me to stay grounded, have perspective and remind myself that there is a whole life that exists outside the creative and fashion bubble and there are far bigger problems than what exist in those world. I learn to not take it so seriously because the majority of what I do is so joyful, fun and I get to work on great projects with amazing people and that is a privilege not everyone has.

I usually like to make this joke that I'm like a little bit like Hannah Montana because how vastly different those two lives are. In Birmingham I am the Bartender and in London I am this Creative/Model.

M: You’ve talked a lot about experiencing change online recently. What does transformation mean to you today? How has your perspective changed as you’ve gotten older?

S: I have always embraced transformation and change because it represents growth. There have been so many versions of Sheerah, versions I no longer recognise or resonate with and that is ok because it means I am changing, learning, and growing.

Last year I experienced an extremely dramatic change which massively impacted my life and the way that I view things and will continue viewing things. My incredible mom passed away unexpectedly. She had, and continues to have, an enormous impact on me and was my number one fan. So much of my creative work and what I do was so influenced by her and her championing me. People often say that grief changes you and you are no longer the same person, and it is true because losing someone as important as my mum created a massive change in me.

This life changing event was a catalyst for me to enter a new phase of my life and start to make the internal and external changes I needed to make for me to become and continue becoming the best version of myself that my mum knew I could become. Of course, I wish that I didn't have to experience what I did and I believe that change would have happened without such a tragic circumstance, but I guess that is what just happened.

"In a society that constantly tells us to be self-centred, it is a beautiful and radical thing to look outside of just your own needs and wants and think about the people around you, especially those who do not have the same privileges."

M: Is there power in changing the physical form (hair, clothes, makeup) to mark transformation of the inner world? How does this manifest for you?

S: My hair was such a huge part of my outer identity and a favoured feature by many, but I always felt that it did not resonate with who Sheerah was and is. I am this punk, emo, boyish but femme person and the hair I had simply did not reflect that and my character. So to take the step to make a radical hair change was finally me embracing my most authentic and unapologetic self. It may sound silly but in some ways I think it was a physical representation of my grief, it changed me in such a drastic way and to then have a very over the top and drastic haircut that changed the way I looked and felt was maybe my inner self making a point to the outer world, the old me is gone and this is the me that has become from my devastating loss, who will that person become now?

That was heavy, but on a lighter note, I love my mullet, its a perfect mix of masc and femme and a whole lotta personality.

M: You visited us last weekend at our London store asking for an outfit with a bit of punk. What is it about the punk attitude that makes you tick?

S: Punk is an ethos and mindset of going against the grain and being authentically yourself and just being raw. It’s also political to go against oppressive systems and being the person that questions the status quo, being on the right side of history, thinking outside of the box and be better - not just for yourself but the world around you - because ‘Punk’ is far more than just an aesthetic.

M: You love music as much as we do. What is your go-to soundtrack when you’re feeling a pivotal moment coming on?

S: If something big (good) happened and I'm in a good mood I tend to listen to music that makes me feel like I've got like a big dick. I feel like I want to listen to something that makes me be like, yeah, I'm the shit. Funnily enough, before I came here, I was excited to do this interview, I was listening to Oasis Supersonic. I like the lyrics, it's like he's singing ‘I need to be myself, I can't be no one else, I'm feeling supersonic’. It made me feel empowered and just ready to take on this interview and just take on today. The lyrics simply say whatta I gotta do and that is ‘Be Myself’. I’m so corny.

When the pivotal moment is a sad moment, the music will obviously be a little bit more downtempo. My go-to like sad albums would be Jeff Buckley's Grace album or The Fray’s How to Save a Life album. I remember whenever I used to feel sad when I was younger, I always used to take that CD out and put it in the player and everyone knew that I was depressed when they heard me blasting that album in my room as a teenager.

M: Do new periods in your life encourage a different approach to your creative output? What do you find you’re wanting to create recently?

S: When I'm going through periods of transformation and entering new eras, I'm inspired to create different things that resonate with me during those periods.

Right now, I’m in the midst of trying to get my own podcast together. I feel like that’s been a long time coming....as you know, I can talk and I cannot wait to get that rolling.

I am also really in my creative direction phase, it's something I have dabbled in and all the collaborative modelling shoots I have had a lot of influence and input in, so naturally I was going to be drawn to getting more involved with Creative Direction. It's also so aligned to so much of my conversation around nuanced representation of People of Colour and Queer people, there's still so many images or visuals I have yet to see that I really want to be a part of creating.

I’m also finally going to be learning how to DJ! I'm really excited about that because music is such a huge part of my life. It's part of my upbringing. It's part of my DNA and it influences so much of who I am as a person – my personality, the way that I dress, the way that I act. It’s just as vital as food for me, so of course it was going to finally lead to me being a DJ.

M: How does your queerness find its way into your work?

S: I feel like queerness is something that's so creative and fluid. It’s so naturally just flowing in and out of everything that I do, and it allows me to just be. I am a complex being, and my queerness has allowed me to embrace so many different things. It is taught me a lot about being multi-dimensional.

M: What is that one thing that people don’t know about you?

S: People are always pleasantly surprised that I was in a chorister for like 6/7 years. I was a choir singer at Coventry Cathedral for a large majority of my childhood - me and my siblings spent more time in the cathedral at choir practice than we did even in school and our own home! As dorky as it sounds, it was a pretty cool thing - we got to travel around, meet a lot of interesting people, do massive broadcasted performances with the BBC at places like Royal Albert Hall. I was doing all of that as a kid and I have my Mum to thank for that.