Home Forbes women Exclusive interview with Léna Situations, the most powerful luxury influencer in the world

Exclusive interview with Léna Situations, the most powerful luxury influencer in the world

by Forbes Andorra

Phenomenal Léna Situations! The twenty-something is driving the counters on social networks, the fashion sphere is at her feet, the publishing world was taken by surprise by her best-selling book ‘Toujours plus’  which sold more than 250,000 copies; as for the New York Times, it assures us: “A star is born”. Who are you LéHow does Léna Mahfouf experience the Léna Situations phenomenon?

Léna Situations : A little late, I would say. I only realize things after the fact. Moreover, it is often my loved ones and my community who make me aware of everything that is happening! For my part, I get very involved in trying to regularly offer something fresh, entertaining, cool. I’m in my little content creation bubble where I share authentic moments of life. Sometimes I’m inspired, sometimes I’m not . I am lucky to have the same circle of friends before Léna became “Léna Situations”, and then there is, of course, my family, my pillar. So, from my point of view, not much has changed, it’s more people’s view of me. I am credited with great value even though I work in exactly the same way as when I only had five subscribers (laughs). Today, I have millions of them but I don’t feel out of place with all this since I am still inhabited by this philosophy.

By taking a look at the different platforms, we can see that your daily life fascinates some five million subscribers… How do you explain it?

LS : In fact, I’m just me, a twenty-something who tells my story through slices of life. My initial goal was to make these everyday snapshots – often banal – into dynamic, fun sequences. I took a lot of inspiration from the series Friends – which I love – in which you don’t need to have a superhero with superpowers, a Marvel or other, to spend twenty minutes and become attached to personalities, people, moments of life… It’s all about creativity, editing and authenticity.

You are quite iconoclastic… From the start you took the opposite view by advocating this “authentic, natural” side.

LS : I very quickly understood that I was not this falsely perfect girl photoshopped from magazines and “filtered” on Instagram. This “girl” who does yoga, wakes up early in the morning to meditate, who never goes out of her way to eat… I could never have followed this pace of life (laughs). So, when I started on social networks, let’s remember that I was far from the motherland because I was studying in the United States in New York, so obviously I was cut off from what was happening in France. I wasn’t afraid of feedback on my videos and posts, so I just remained «me». And then when I came back, it was no longer possible to change me, to make me fit into the mold of the “perfect girl”. Having my hair disheveled and my makeup removed was not insurmountable for me. Besides, it’s lying to us to say that we are dressed to the nines every day! Additionally, I asked myself what I liked to see in others: I like it when someone shows vulnerability, it reassures me and allows me to relate. Also, it’s so recreational to have a little daily bubble through stories that are pleasant to watch, feel-good, where no one calls you out on your actions, on who you are. We all need to escape our daily lives.

In your posts, you like to tell your community: “When you receive, you give  . Is this a rule of life for you?

LS : This way of seeing life comes to me from my parents, from my upbringing where the notion of “sharing” is essential. My mother always told me that when I received my first salary, I should “share or give a gift”. For her, it is important to be aware of your situation and to show your gratitude to those around you, because when someone gives you a chance then you have to pass on this outstretched hand. One way or another. In my family, we always thought we could have a snowball effect. Behind this message, my parents made me understand that when you have power, you have to use it wisely.

Léna Situations: “I am credited with great value even though I work in exactly the same way as when I only had five subscribers! I am above all a content creator, influence is not an end in itself for me. »

At 24, do you really have a need to be useful, to have an impact?

LS : To be useful yes. When I started to build a community of millions on social media, I asked myself what I wanted to promote in my content and the messages I could share. I didn’t realize at the beginning the impact of my stories. In fact, in my mind, I was content to flourish in my passion as a content creator which was my lifelong hobby! It was therefore quite disconcerting to see that I was ultimately not in the register of lightness since my posts and stories sparked a lot of shares and reactions. I didn’t consider myself doing a “real job” at all. So, when I started to educate my audience about certain charities or humanitarian initiatives, I realized that a large audience was not educated on this.

Once, I shared a petition and lots of young people asked me if it was paid for, how it worked, what it was for, etc. In fact, it has become a real pleasure to try to support them in this awareness, and not just tell them » you have to do that because it’s good  » or »  you shouldn’t do that because It’s not good «. Trying to communicate the right information and to support my community as best as possible so that it makes an informed choice, I think that this is the best way to speak to people on social networks, and to raise awareness.

 Can the Internet and social networks move the lines?

LS : I am convinced of it! We see this clearly on societal issues for example. The most important thing is always to find the right people to open conversations, people who are not “at war”, just mobilized to educate people. When Antoine Griezmann disguised himself as a black basketball player, we saw people on the platforms explaining why it was not right and how this “blackface” could hurt. He apologized for it. You don’t learn stories like that at school. I was the first to become aware of this subject thanks to social networks. Certainly, there is plenty of lisp on the Internet, let’s not put blinders on, but let’s also recognize that there are plenty of extremely positive things, moving the debates forward, companies or personalities in their positions.

You are rich in a dual culture: French and Algerian. In these electoral times when some consider that multiculturalism is ultimately not an opportunity for France, how do you feel and experience this speech?

LS : I have a lot of distance with this kind of speech because I have the impression that it is a subject that belongs to the older generation. In twenty years, I have never been challenged on the question of my origins, my beliefs because, in fact, it is just a non-subject in me and around me. In my generation, what comes first has to do with “personality” and “values”. We focus instead on a person’s humor, on their philosophy of life. In short, we are really interested in what is inside the person without ever questioning what we cannot control and which is ultimately so secondary like gender, sexual attraction, religion, etc. origin… I am Franco-Algerian and I am very proud of it!

It’s a part of me, of my personality and that’s what matters to me. So I feel far from these has-been speeches. Origin, skin color, we left all that in the past. I also think that social networks had a big impact on this, since in traditional media, there was no room for racialized people. There were in fact a lot of projections about people from diverse backgrounds.

Lately, you’ve been speaking out about your imposter syndrome. However, you have many more fans, who adhere to your universe and your personality, than “haters”. The New York Times even devoted an article to you. Why these doubts?

LS : For a very long time, people tried to discredit my work, because I am a woman, because I am young. You always have to speak louder, speak longer, show three times more that you are working. Even on YouTube, the top 10 content creators are men. I think less is expected of a man, and that’s why I always feel like I need to prove myself more. When I published my book, I was attacked by the traditional press and other writers. We wrongly think that we are surrounded by a lot of people, that we are carrying out a real marketing business, etc., when in fact, the job of content creator has only one driving force: desire and passion. The “influence” part, and by variation “influencer”, is something that we do not control. It is not an end in itself.

Léna Situations: “The Internet and social networks also make it possible to advance debates, to raise awareness of causes and people long left aside by traditional media. The famous ‘white male over fifty’ must understand that there are other voices with the right to express themselves in today’s world. »

You were not spared by Frédéric Beigbeder in a post in Le Figaro. Why so much hatred?

LS : You could even say that he completely destroyed me! When a person like him who has been in the light for years tells you: “  you can’t do it!” ”, this initially feeds this “illegitimacy complex”. But, we must have another reading, the one that comes after the fact. Frédéric Beigbeder is the archetype of the “white male over 50”, reactionary and defending his own territory. There is this “mansplaining” side. These men have always controlled most of the media. It is through their eyes that we have shaped the image of the world and even guided our way of consuming. However, the Internet and social networks, the 2.0 world, have brought back lots of new faces, while allowing the emergence of discourses hitherto left aside or treated with a single bias, that of «the white man over 50 years”, full of speeches which were not – and which still are not accepted.

Social networks make issues affecting different minorities visible and audible. Today they explain to us why cultural appropriation of Africans, for example, hurts, why women and young people are more subject to imposter syndrome… It is very healthy to open these conversations with everyone.

Léna Situations at 40?

LS  : At 40, I just hope to live in a big house with a dog. It’s my goal. A sort of “house of happiness” which, in the evening – and at weekends – would become a warm place where we would meet around a barbecue, a film, etc.

 This end of the year, you were named godmother of the Winter Time Paris operation orchestrated by the Faubourg Saint-Honoré Committee in support of the charity Imagine For Margo. What does this mean to you?

LS  : When it was offered to me, I immediately said yes, even though I had a crazy schedule! I discovered this operation which made it possible to combine the kick-off of Christmas lights in this neighborhood with a good cause. The end of the year is a time that is not necessarily easy for everyone. For many, there is a connotation of joy, sharing and family, but for some, it can be a complicated, sad time. I find that it warms your heart to walk through streets decorated in Christmas colors, to be brought back to childhood nostalgia thanks to this enchantment. There is also the question of giving your time, of giving a helping hand. This is why I was very happy to sponsor the illuminations in support of Imagine For Margo .

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