In honor of Women’s History Month, StockX will be spotlighting some of our favorite women in the game.
To kick it off, we spoke with Toronto-native Ruby Benson, a rising Creative Director, and model who turned her side hustle into a full-time gig with a growing roster of content creation and collaborations with brands such as Off-White, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Gucci, Adidas, and more.
Who are some of the women that have influenced you?
My mum and my grandma are my biggest female inspirations. My mum passed away when I was 3, so my grandma took a large role in raising me with my dad – we’re very close. I come from a long line of artistic women. My grandma is a painter and a writer and my mum was a painter, illustrator, sculptor, and graphic designer. I admire both of their works so much.
What is most overrated at the moment?
Fame. The rise of social media has made everyone so hungry for their 15 minutes. I find that people care less about the actual content they are putting out on social media than the amount of followers they have. Don’t get me wrong, I love social media and all of the opportunities it has brought me, BUT I approach content creation with the mindset that there has to be a creative edge behind every piece of content I am putting out. If there isn’t, I get very upset with my work. A couple years ago I was told I’d get no where if I didn’t conform to the typical mold of what a blogger/content creator looked like (i.e. photos of me in cafes, minimal product photos, photos of me on the street in cool outfits, etc.) I didn’t listen to that person and kept posting what I liked, now that is the exact reason brands hire me to work with them (because I am different than the vast majority of Instagram content creators.)
What is most underrated at the moment?
Gratitude. We live in such a fast paced world where people constantly want more. I have a small notebook I keep near my bed and every night I write 3 things that happened that day that I was grateful for. It could be something as small as having a really good cup of tea or something bigger like booking an exciting job. Regardless, it really helps change your perspective and see that big or small we all have so much to be grateful for.
If you could give advice to your younger self, what would you say?
Be kind to others, don’t get caught up in the bullshit, and stay true to yourself and what you love.
What’s next for you?
This year I started freelance creative directing editorials for brands (aside from my personal brand.) I know everyone these days is a “creative director” but it truly is my passion and talent. One of my goals has always been to direct a music video so hopefully that will happen sometime in the near future!
