Last week, furniture store H.D. Buttercup (located in trendy Downtown Los Angeles) was transformed into an edgy, creative space to celebrate the 2017 Vans Custom Culture competition. There, five competing high schools from across the country came together to discover who would win the epic reward of $50,000 towards their school's art program. The evening's judges included mega pop star Daya, who was not only there to perform for the event's attendees, but to also celebrate the competition because it's near and dear to her heart.
Daya tells me that initiatives like Vans' Custom Culture competition encourage arts programs, which are vital for young adults and children. "It’s just such an important movement, especially now, with the President trying to cut down on the national endowment for the arts," the Hideaway singer tells me. "A lot of [these students] can’t or don’t have the time to take classes outside of school, so I think it’s really cool that they have the opportunity to utilize their artistic talents in school."
Beyond appreciating the competition though, Daya is a Vans girl at her core. When it comes to her performances, the singer even prefers wearing the skater sneaker over any other footwear. "Instead of putting on a heel, I’ll just go [with] my Vans because they’re so comfortable to run around on stage, but they still don’t dress down the outfit too much for me," Daya says. "It’s like the perfect balance."
Balance is important to Daya, especially when it comes to piecing together her outfits, both on and off the stage. "I kind of balance the two of them. I like to have high fashion moments, but also I like to keep it somewhat casual, somewhat cool and edgy and relatable...Right now I wear a high-top Vans with jeans or some sort of really funky cool, flowy pant and then a crop top," she tells me. Daya also loves how people have been using chains as accessories for just about any occasion this summer.
As I was talking with her, I couldn't help but notice her gorgeous makeup look, so I had to pick her brain on summer beauty trends. "I love natural beauty — I love that that’s becoming a thing, like people are starting to embrace themselves and not cake themselves in makeup," she says. "I think it’s really important for young girls and people everywhere to look beautiful with or without makeup."
The singer also has some great words of advice for her fans about wearing makeup and maintaining self-confidence. "Keep it light, and don’t compare yourselves to people that you see online, because sometimes they’re not a realistic beauty standard to follow."
To find more inspiring words of advice about art and beauty, follow Daya and Vans on Instagram.
