Alon Cameron
Fashion has been a part of Alon Cameron’s life since birth. Growing up, Alon was exposed to “a lot” of fashion by her mother, who she describes as a “shopaholic” that would take her daughter along for her shopping sprees.
“Most of the cool stuff I have today is actually inherited from my mom,” Alon said. “There are pictures of me as a toddler dressing myself up in random clothes and putting on fashion shows for my family.” However, it was traveling that put her over the edge, she said. “Seeing different cultural concepts of style and personal expression opened my mind to a lot of stuff,” Alon said.
Alon participated in the Freshman Florence Exchange (FFE) program through Marist, spending her entire freshman year in Florence, Italy. “I wanted to experience something unique,” she explained. “I want to do something adventurous and memorable, something that would make my family and friends proud. Traveling now means everything to me, and really made me grow up. It opened my eyes.”
The most inspiring places she has been fortunate enough to travel to are Lisbon, Portugal and Berlin, Germany. “Lisbon is literally a slice of heaven,” Alon said. “It’s so peaceful and colorful. There is art in the tiles on the ground and it made me fall in love with the narrow windy adventurous roads.” With Berlin, it reminded her of everything that she loves about Brooklyn, NY, such as “the street art, the grunge underground life, the fashion and the vintage shops.”
The FFE program is what stole her heart, Alon said, and the reason why she chose to attend Marist. “I wanted to experience something new and to culture myself,” Alon explained. “I just wanted to broaden my horizons.”
Now, she is a sophomore currently majoring in advertising, with hopes of studying abroad again before she graduates. “I honestly change my mind every day about what I want out of my college experience,” she said. “There are so many things that interest me that it’s hard to find something that can teach me the skills to cover it all.”
Creativity is one of Alon’s biggest passions. When she was younger, she had her own television show in her town of Hartsdale, New York. “That was really cool, but I was young and since then, my interests have changed a lot,” she said. “It did teach me that I love creative directing and being able to freely express my ideas.” While she was in Italy, she did freelance photography and styling for a consignment shop that paid her through clothing. This strengthened her confidence in her abilities.
Alon considers herself “a creative at her core,” currently concentrating on growing her YouTube channel and establishing her name and brand. When she traveled to Milan, she realized that was meant to make videos. “My channel is still growing, but I put a lot of time and effort into creating the content,” Alon said. “My channel is called ‘Unusually Superior’ and I think it kind of explains my mojo.”
Growing up, Alon was often bullied and over the past five years, she has struggled with depression and anxiety, something that has often hindered her. “I don’t know if I ever feel like I really fit in places,” she shared. However, there are people in her life that continue to inspire her through it all. One of them was her grandfather. “He embodied what I consider a good person,” Alon said. “He was caring, patient, friendly and understanding.” She also looks to her boyfriend for inspiration. “He inspires me to never give up on my creativity and challenges me to keep growing and improving,” she said.
Now, she serves as a digital artist, videographer and website content curator for Papertrail Mag, an underground content magazine based in Brooklyn, New York. “It’s actually a funny story how I became a part of Papertrail Mag,” Alon explained. She met the founder at a party in the lounge of SoHo Grand Hotel and he complimented her pants. “We’ve been cool ever since,” Alon said.
According to Alon, the magazine has given her a voice, and that for the first time, she feels that people who she looks up to see her. “They recognize me as an artist,” she said. “Gone are the days that my art is neglected or overlooked. Because as an artist, that really is all I want: to be heard.”