Ashley Park is just one of many out-of-town stars that landed in London for The Fashion Awards 2023, presented by Pandora. It marked the Emily In Paris actor’s first time attending the ceremony and the opportunity to be there has come at just the right time.
Talking to UK during a lunch, hosted to celebrate her fellow actor and Fashion Award winner Michaela Coel, in partnership with Pandora, ELLE UK and the British Fashion Council on Sunday, Park explained that over the course of the last few years her love and appreciation of the fashion industry has increased exponentially.
‘I [not only] feel like I’m a part of it, but I really understand and have come to really love and be fascinated by the craftsmanship and the history of fashion,’ the 32-year-old explained. ‘Now, I understand what we’re celebrating. Coming from the theatre, I always associated fashion with just being what you put on your body to tell the story of a character, but now I feel like I know myself better as a person now, and as a woman and an artist, who loves fashion.’
Much like she might have once worked to find her character within the wardrobe, Park has come to do the same for herself. Now, she realises the messages that she can share with her sartorial choices. ‘I try to understand what I want to say in this exact moment to these exact people at this exact time,’ she said. Park is also practical: ‘What are the logistics? Do I have to be in this for a photoshoot? Or am I in this for an entire night?’ she asks herself before choosing a look.
‘The smarts, the heart and the history of fashion has like really melded into one for me,’ Park added. ‘And so, I feel like I’m not hiding behind fashion anymore. It’s more how I can use it to I empower myself or embody it.’
With a schedule that takes her all over the globe on a weekly basis, Park has become an expert at packing a suitcase with a capsule wardrobe. ‘In the past two weeks, I’ve been in four different continents and five different time zones and definitely at least three seasons,’ she laughed. ‘It means my wardrobe has become more neutral. I love that you can really just have like eight different things and make so many different outfits.’
Most will be familiar with Park from her star turn in Emily In Paris as Mindy Chen, who is known for bold, bright style packed with big-name labels that surely the actor has tried to slide into her own wardrobe. ‘Mindy’s actually borrowed from my closet more than I’ve taken from her,’ admitted Park, setting the assumption straight. ‘I also feel like so many of her outfits are so iconic that they need to live there. And, you know, I’m actually a lot more pedestrian.’
Though her style might be more simple and subdued compared to her onscreen counterpart, Park has still become somebody whose style is often replicated: ‘Anytime anybody wants to emulate you in any way or is inspired by you, it’s just really humbling and hard for me to personally wrap my head around.’
‘That’s why I think I hold on to the responsibility of making sure that I work with sustainable companies like Pandora,’ Park continued. ‘I have this naivety and this excitement to make things my own as much as they can be. Because I don’t have I don’t have a role model, in a sense, and I’m learning as I go. So I’m learning still! It’s wild to me to be the global ambassador of anything.’
