The annual Teen Vogue Summit and Block Party, an all-day gathering put on by Teen Vogue magazine, highlighted a multitude of topics in fashion, beauty, politics and music, under the theme of “celebrate, collaborate, create.” The sold-out event, hosted on Nov. 12 at Goya Studios in Los Angeles featured well-known stars in entertainment like Keke Palmer, Sabrina Carpenter, Saweetie, Xochitl Gomez and Adwoa Aboah. Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Versha Sharma, along with other Teen Vogue editors and staff, led panel discussions, keynote conversations and introduced live performances for a momentous day of enrichment and diversity.
Getty Images for Teen Vogue
To kick off the morning, Sharma held a keynote conversation with late-night television talk show host and YouTube sensation Lilly Singh, who spoke at the first Teen Vogue Summit in 2017. She talked about the evolution of creating for the moment in the beginning of her career, to now making content for the world. As she delved into details of her future career plans, she said that she was proud she worked so hard she is now able to serve her soul, rather than agreeing to participate in projects that she does not believe in. She will star as Nora in “Muppets Mayhem” for Disney+ coming out next year.
Teen Vogue Senior fashion and beauty editor Karissa Mitchell led a panel about “Beauty Changemakers: Joy, Inclusivity & Creativity in the Industry,” featuring ALOK, Molly Burke, Quannah Chasinghorse and Olamide Olowe. The inspirational panel focused on self-acceptance and embracing differences in a complicated world as well as representation in the beauty industry.
“The things I thought were wrong with me were actually my superpower,” Olowe, CEO of Topicals, told the audience in regards to coming into her own and embracing her definition of beauty.
ALOK spoke on their experience with self-identity as well. “Beauty is not what I look like but what I feel like… [it is] gnarly and punk to be human.”
LEGO Dots, one of the sponsors of the Summit, held a panel of young designers who won a LEGO Dots competition with original 2D tiles. The “Playing with Fashion” segment of the event was led by Sharma, who was accompanied by Amy Corbett, a senior design lead at the LEGO Group; as well as fashion design students and graduate winners of the competition: Camila Bustamante, Stella DeLaughter, Chiedza Kaseke, Jacqueline Schmidt and Matthew Williams.
Following the LEGO Dots panel, rapper Baby Tate took the stage for a performance, which which included her original song “I Am,,” featuring Flo Milli. The crowd abandoned their seats to sing and dance along with her.
Teen Vogue’s politics director Allegra Kirkland sat alongside Olivia Julianna and Santiago Mayer for a political panel. 19-year-old Julianna is known for her activist work and impressive fundraising of hundreds of thousands of dollars for abortion funds. Mayer, 20, is the founder of Voters of Tomorrow and now works with the organization as its executive director.
Julianna and Mayer both encouraged the youthful audience to take a stand and work for the change they wish to see, with emphasis on becoming involved and engaged within local politics to make a difference in their communities.
Kaitlyn McNab, a Teen Vogue entertainment news editor, hosted a panel discussion on the “Power of Representation,” alongside Freeform stars Sherry Cola, Marcus Scribner, Mariel Molino and Lexi Underwood. They spoke about the first time they saw a character representative of their own lives and heritages on the screen, as well as how they identify with their own characters and what they mean to themselves and others.
Underwood described acting as a contact sport, in that actors must be deliberate with the stories they create. She says she acts for representation and making an impact on the world with the characters she plays.
Cola told the audience that Freeform has been a pioneer in the representation of real-life experiences being portrayed in television.
“It has set the bar, you know?” she said. “The next character I play on TV, whenever that is, this will be the bar — it must be equally as intentional, equally as representative as who I play on ‘Good Trouble.’”
Saweetie, the second of three keynote speakers, primarily spoke about her upcoming debut album “Pretty Bitch Music,” her process of scribbling down lyrics and what a studio day looks like for her. She mentioned — in reference to artists such as Michael Jackson and Lauryn Hill — “…when you think about the greats,” they tell their own stories in their music. She told the audience she wanted to discover the answer to the question: “What is Saweetie’s story?”
Intent on keeping the party going, Saweetie held an unofficial meet and greet with her fans after the conversation ended, giving out enthusiastic advice until the next section of the event began.
Teen Vogue features director Brittney McNamara led a conversation entitled, “From Dreaming it to Being It: Balancing Success + Self Care,” discussing preserving peace in the midst of a demanding career alongside Brittney McNamara, Amani, Adwoa Aboah, Xochitl Gomez and Chloe Kim. Each panelist shared their tips and tricks with the audience in full transparency.
Gomez, who portrayed America Chavez in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” condoned sitting at home watching TV all day to mentally unplug, saying that she often does the same, even with her busy life and booming career. Kim, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, emphasized learning to take breaks so as not to burn out when it comes to working and loving your craft.
Keke Palmer,the final keynote speaker of the night, was interviewed by Sharma on her career success and plans for the future. She spoke on being an advocate for what you believe in, stating that recognition and success will come if you continue to be your own person.
“My biggest advice to anybody starting anything is don’t get caught up in the fact that everybody doesn’t see it all the time,” she said. “It’s not that dramatic. It’s just about putting good work out there, and the right people will see it.”
A jack of all trades, Palmer spoke on the importance of being adaptable in an industry that asks so much of its participants. She’s done animation, live-action, children’s television, horror and she’s even been made into her fair share of memes on the internet, but her next step is off the screen as she launches her own digital television network, KeyTV. Her goal is to support the next generation of creators and artists and artists with her platform.
Closing out the event with her serene voice and a quick chat was the star of the night, Sabrina Carpenter. She answered questions on her most recent tour and her improvised ad-libs on stage. Carpenter performed acoustic versions of her songs “Vicious,” “Nonsense” and “because i liked a boy” from her latest album “emails i can’t send.”
As the event plowed on throughout the day, local food truck businesses Vegan AF, Lime Truck and LA Donuts worked tirelessly to serve the event-goers sweet treats and savory snacks.
From products being handed out free of charge to complimentary makeup testers and period underwear, Teen Vogue put their audience first and foremost at their latest Block Party. Free LEGO Dots bracelets were available for every level of access at the event, and photo opportunities were scattered around the grounds.
Aside from the artists presented at the event, it could have been of Teen Vogue’s interest to share perspectives from within the magazine through as a panel with the editors and staff members at the magazine and a look into what it’s like to work for such a big name in media. With the space provided, there could have been even more interactive booths and chances to buy physical copies of Teen Vogue magazines. However, the fifth Teen Vogue Summit and Block Party went off without a hitch, and their upcoming year will no doubt be even better than this one.
Lillian Dunn is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at lbdunn@uci.edu.
Lexis Pham is an Arts & Entertainment Intern for the fall 2022 quarter. She can be reached at lexisp@uci.edu.
