Karina Vigier Is Defying Gen Z Style on TikTok
Her content ranges from showing how to wear a particular color to videos showcasing her and Anoushka’s complementary mother and daughter style. She also partakes in the latest TikTok challenges, having done everything from the emoji challenge to the Gucci challenge, in which one tries to dress like a Gucci model by piling a bunch of random clothes on top of one another.
Through her page, Vigier wants to empower other women over 50 to be bold and fearless with their style as well—even on an app such as TikTok, where boomers are not the focus. “I created my website to show that women of my age have great taste, money, and freedom to do what we want, when we want,” says Vigier. “Today many women are contacting me because I have revealed another way to wear clothes with colors, shapes, fabrics, and the famous mixing and matching that I always use in my outfits.”
Below, Vigier talks about her favorite wardrobe pieces, what her day job looks like, and what the next big trend on TikTok will be.
1. What’s your process for creating? Where do you get ideas?
To tell you the truth, I don’t prepare anything in advance. Everything is done on instinct. I am always looking for my music, and it will set the tone. [It depends on] my mood, of course, but even if I wake up in a bad mood, it never lasts very long. My ideas come to me from everywhere: a film, a sound, a press article, a TV show. Everything is a source of inspiration.
2. How would you describe your wardrobe? What are some of your favorite pieces and labels?
Fifty percent of my closet comes from secondhand and thrift shops. My daughter is always telling me that my wardrobe looks like a boutique. It’s completely eclectic, with items that I have had for more than 30 years now. Like a phenomenal Jean Paul Gaultier little black dress or some amazing Christian Lacroix pieces. I’m really interested in the work of Nordic brands such as Samsøe & Samsøe, Stine Goya, Ganni, Customade—but all these labels are mixed with brands like Arket, COS, and & Other Stories. My favorite labels are Margiela, Chanel, and Jacquemus. So in my pretty little boutique, every day, I’m spending more than one hour choosing my outfit. And sometimes I’m changing twice.
3. What does your day job look like as a style and fashion director?
I chose to settle down in Copenhagen because I needed to regenerate myself and find new inspirations. And I really love the hygge way of life—and, of course, the style. I am not regretting this decision, as my magazines are now starting to get famous in Denmark too, and I am proud to say that Kids magazine produces the most photo shoots in the kids’ fashion industry. My job consists of driving my company. My day is split in two parts: In the morning I’m working on [my own brand], with TikTok videos, collaborations, and photo shoots, and the afternoon is totally dedicated to Kids. It’s a full-time job. And I really love it. This is what I’m trying to tell the new generation when I’m going live on TikTok: to try to do the job they really want to do and not just because they have to. To go to work with a smile on their face.
4. We love that you are, as you put it, “over 50 with style.” TikTok seems to be for a very young audience, but do you think there is room for stylish creators who are more grown up?
My audience is made up of people ages 15 to 75. They are all interested in fashion and need advice and outfit ideas for everyday life. This is my goal, to mix famous, luxurious brands with smaller brands in order to propose more affordable looks. I’m trying more or less to integrate more [brands with] ethical values too. TikTok is a great channel because of its diffusion power and the no-filter aspect. It’s more efficient than Instagram right now [at reaching people], as many of my videos have been seen between 40,000 times and more than 1 million times worldwide.
5. What’s the most special piece in your closet?
My Jimmy Choo shoes. I bought them for my wedding and I’m still wearing them with pleasure.
6. What is your favorite TikTok that you’ve ever made? What took the longest?
My best TikTok is the one that I made with my daughter using outfits in eight different colors, and it was also the most complicated and longest that I have made.
7. What do you think will be the next big trend on TikTok?
Oh, difficult to say. There are not so many exclusively fashion trends on TikTok. But they should ask us to make virtual catwalks or make videos about outfits through different decades. I just did one on the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, and it was so much fun to make. TikTok should take me on as a consultant; I have so many ideas! The Gucci challenge was cool to make. Many people did it in a humorous way, playing with colors and overlays. These are indeed the Gucci codes, but I preferred to make an outfit more realistic, and honestly it’s an outfit that I would happily wear in town. On TikTok I’m following many fashion people who obviously inspire me, but I’m trying to watch them just a bit, so I am not influenced too much.