Toronto-based fashion stylist Jackie Mckeown shares her low maintenance beauty routine and her thoughts on how the fashion industry will evolve in the post-COVID world.
IN CONVERSATION WITH
JACKIE
Who I am and who I’ll beI AM LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING OLDER SO I CAN WEAR THINGS THAT MAY BE A LITTLE UNEXPECTED.
19/99 Take us through your daily beauty routine; morning & night.
Jackie McKeown Right now it is somewhat changed, and no make up is involved but even in normal times it is pretty low maintenance. In the morning I will wet my face, use F. Miller’s Toning Mist, Face Oil and Eye Oil. I don’t have any products of my own, so I will sometimes experiment with whatever serum Fran is using, and then I get yelled at, I don’t have my own set of products. If I am going to work I’ll put on some RMS concealer under my eyes, and sometimes Brow Food to fill in my brows. The bigger part of my routine is baths; I love to take baths. It may be because I’m a Cancer; something about the water is anxiety reducing, I think better in the bath. If I am working on a project or I feel stuck creatively I love to sit and think in the bath. I will exfoliate, put some body oil in and decompress. And that is in the evening time. I may do a facemask. To wash my face at night I will either exfoliate or use the F. Miller Cleansing Oil.
19/99 How has your beauty routine changed over the year?
JM It has become slightly more involved. Before I met Fran it was basically nothing. There was probably a time that I used the St. Ives Apricot scrub because I liked the idea of a scrub. Once I met Fran I learned how to actually care for my skin, like using sunscreen every day, which during the summer is part of my routine. Last year we were using Super Goop.
19/99 How has your style evolved over the years?
JM There have been consistent elements present. It is more cyclical than evolved. I’ve always been really into menswear and street wear; those are two staples, even when I was in high school. I was definitely more of a scene kid in high school and liked a punk rock aesthetic, if you will, so some of those things have been left behind but a lot of it comes back. I still wear Dickies now, and some of the things I would wear then, it has become a bit more polished. I play around now more with feminine pieces because I like the juxtaposition of a tailored menswear piece with a softer piece. I like the androgynous aspect of fashion.
19/99 Do you feel pressure to look a certain way?
JM I don’t think so; the only pressure would be from myself. I work in an industry where people look at what your wearing, as that is my job, so I feel pressure from myself to look put together when I am leaving the house or going to work, because it is a representation of what I do. But in terms of anything physical no, just presenting a certain way.
19/99 Based on everything that is going on right now, do you think we are heading towards a positive evolvement in the industry?
JM I do. Even prior to this we were headed towards a shift. About a year ago I made a conscious effort to buy at least 80-90% vintage, I try to support local and small vintage stores. When I am pulling for shoots I work with smaller consignment, vintage and resale places, like VSP. It has become more of a staple for me. So this had already entered my world, just knowing how irresponsible the fashion industry can be. I was having a conversation with a friend just recently that this time has really made me feel the industry I work in is quite wasteful, unnecessary, it feels wasteful to be so concerned with collections and seasons. If anything comes out of this it may be that designers are showing fewer times a year, not showing in a massive arena style fashion show setting. People were already starting that and this is going to make people really re-evaluate how they are making clothes. I think designs working with reused material are going to come more to the forefront of what people are making and buying. It will definitely affect people’s jobs, people’s livelihoods, but I am seeing that as a positive. Even though it will definitely affect me negatively; I will have to evolve and find a new way to approach the industry. I don't know what that is yet.
Image via @jackie__mckeown
IT FEELS WASTEFUL TO BE SO CONCERNED WITH COLLECTIONS AND SEASONS. IF ANYTHING COMES OUT OF THIS IT MAY BE THAT DESIGNERS ARE SHOWING FEWER TIMES A YEAR, NOT SHOWING IN A MASSIVE ARENA STYLE FASHION SHOW SETTING.
19/99 Does the term ‘Age Appropriate’ mean anything to you?
JM It is an idea that has always been there; different generations speaking on this if an older woman is wearing a shorter skirt or a kid is wearing makeup. I see it as an opportunity to almost flip the expectation. I am looking forward to getting older so I can wear things that may be a little unexpected. I love that, I love to see when people are adopting things that aren’t really expected of that age groups. Seeing these young kids on Instagram trying to dress like grandparents when New Balances became a thing again and wearing Patagonia, which is usually reserved for an old man on Ronscevalles with a walking stick. There is something really nice about people having an opportunity to show something of their personality by how they can adopt different age groups into their aesthetic.
19/99 If you could share advice with your younger self, what would it be?
JM Don’t pluck your eyebrows. Be more explorative; I’ve always been pretty confident but I didn’t explore that many avenues. I came into what I’m doing a bit later in life, and I wish in my younger life I had been more explorative about fashion. I went to school for Health Sciences at U of T, which has nothing to do with what I’m doing now. Health and fitness was always really important to me, which it still is today, and when I was younger anything creative or artistic didn’t feel like a real industry to be in. I didn’t have someone to expand my viewpoint in that way. It wasn’t until one of my brothers, who is a musicians that moved to Texas and really went for it, opened my mind to the idea that I could really explore something creatively.
19/99 What makes you feel beautiful?
JM Feeling good about myself, when I have time to exercise and eat properly. Even now, being able to go for a run and having time to make meals makes me feel better inside and helps me feel confident because I’m taking care of myself. That makes me feel beautiful.
19/99 Is there anything that scares you about aging?
JM Yeah, it is scary to think of any health concerns that might come up as I get older. Loosing the ability to be active I find a bit scary. Loosing the energy and the ability to be unbreakable is a bit scary.
19/99 If you could ask the older generation one questions what would it be?
JM What is the thing that you would have done differently in life that would have made an impact on where you are at now?
19/99 Do you think there is a point where we stop growing and learning?
JM Definitely not. Even saying that I started working in fashion later, that is something that I didn’t think I’d have a career in when I was 22, so who knows, in another ten years I may be doing something totally different and I am open to that. Talking before about revaluating where this industry is heading, being aware and open to learning is so important to be able to evolve into where things go and the direction things move. So I think that everyone should be open to that. And that is the only way we are going to be able to get through all of this in a more positive way. So I don’t think we ever do and ever should.
