Selyna Brillaire and The City

You may be familiar with TikTok star Selyna Brillare - an enigmatic and hilarious figure in the social video landscape. Her videos pop off on a regular basis with her cutting takes on trans politics, relationships and fashion as well as videos about her day to day life as a true queen of New York City. Comments about nails like "Unhand me you wildebeest! I am a fair maiden, I am a lady" and "I’m a one of a kind doll, an exclusive doll, a doll you cannot have!" resound through the platform, with her audios going viral regularly. If you’ve ever seen the words timorous, petite and demure being used in succession, you can thank Selyna for that.
However, in her conversation with our socials editor, Eden Young, Selyna notes she has had enough of being a sound byte and being used as a vehicle for other people to get views on TikTok off the back of her humour. They also gossiped about the *Sex and the City* reboot, her flourishing music career as Trapselyna and the way trans creators are treated on a platform that cares so little about them.

How are you feeling today? What have you been up to this weekend?

I feel great today! As for my weekend I stayed inside. I felt like I needed to shut everything off, just chill and relax.

You make New York seem so fun - what do you like about living there?

New York can be really fun, especially if you find your people. I think my favourite thing about New York is that there’s so many different people and scenes that you can be with a new group of people every day who have such a different vibe from the last.

You’re very fashion focused and have such a strong personal style - what inspires you style wise and who are your style icons?

I like my clothes to feel personal so I dress how I feel it’s not based on function or practicality. Most of my clothes are simple but they show off my body in a way that I like. I play with colour a lot also I found that the less I do the better I look. My fashion inspirations are all the classics like Carrie Bradshaw, Rihanna, or just New York in general.

Love Carrie! What’s your favourite Sex and the City episode? (And what did you think of the reboot?!)

My favourite episode has to be when Carrie is getting engaged to Aiden and she has a really bad reaction. I think that is such a “me” reaction to affection.

I also love the reboot, but I'm just critical about how Miranda is being handled. She was always such a strong minded character in the original series. I feel like she lost that essence in the reboot and was a bit of a pushover.

So true about Miranda in the reboot - they made her look so desperate and unsure of herself. And the show is so lacking without Samantha! Do you think the reboot can succeed in the next season?

I do think the reboot is pretty good - It wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t terrible! So I’m definitely eagerly waiting for the second season. Hopefully they take the criticism from the fans on board to further improve the show.

“It's just that finally we have the ability to come out from the shadows of the night and step into the light and be us and be visible, when we didn’t before. And that’s why I think people are making trans identities their new political hot topic.”

Totally. How do you think the SATC ladies would use TikTok? I think Carrie would definitely make Outfit of the Day videos. Miranda would probably make semi condescending educational political videos. What do you think?

I think that the cast would actually be really funny on TikTok. Carrie would make OOTD video montages for sure. Miranda would be creating political content, educating the masses. Samantha would be advising us about sex and Charlotte would be making bougie lifestyle Tiktoks involving art… or real estate development videos!

I love your video about the fight for trans rights not being about passing or looking cis - and that the fight is about being able to just exist and be visible as a trans person. And you recently posted a video about not making audios on TikTok for people to use for free clout. Do you want to elaborate more on that?

Being trans should be the least important or interesting thing about someone. I personally wish I never had to speak about it ever again and I could just exist. Social media especially is so hostile towards trans creators and with TikTok’s strict rules and regulations it might not be the best place for trans creators to thrive.

Is TikTok having a cultural moment with the dolls or do you think cis people are just using trans creators for clout and the opportunity to go viral themselves?

To be honest, TikTok mishandles all their creators and honestly needs to implement better guidelines. The dolls are icons. This is nothing new! We've been feeding the culture since the dawn of time.

It's just that finally we have the ability to come out from the shadows of the night and step into the light and be us and be visible, when we didn’t before. And that’s why I think people are making trans identities their new political hot topic.

I love that you’ve called your latest single ‘A REALLY BAD SONG: DISATER’. It opens up the conversation with people disagreeing with the title. Are you serious about making music or is it just something fun for you?

I’m an artist. I’m just learning to make art in a new way. That's all. It's like learning how to paint or play a sport. I do it at my own pace. I also think my art in any aspect is serious, fun or otherwise! It's art that's supposed to capture my feelings in the moment.

What’s next for you - more music or modelling or just existing and living life?

I’m making new music. I’ve been playing with new sounds and working on making something hyperpop. I have a new song that will scratch that itch and it'll be out really soon.

I'm doing it all with a producer who is fairly new to the genres that I am working with. It’s really fun because we’re both learning about certain types of music together and exploring different genres. I’m just here for a good time and he’s just here for a good time so we’ll see where it takes us. There’s no set genre or inspiration for my music, I’m gonna go with whatever feels right and just enjoy it.

As for my next venture… I want to explore DJing and painting.

Cover outfit: Bra: Haixi Ren | Skirt: Saint Sintra | Heels: ABRA | Choker: Vivienne Westwood | Earrings: Twelve

Outfit 3: Bra: GCD | Heels: ABRA | Hair Accessories: Tetier Bijoux

Outfit 4: Bra, shawl: Vintage c/o Gabriel Held | Skirt: Mirror Palais | Heels: ABRA | Jewerly: Vitaly

Outfit 5: Dress, pants: GCDS | Heels: ABRA | Jewelry: Alighieri

Outfit 6: Dress: Tia Adeola | Bra, panties: Vintage | Heels: ABRA | Hair Accessories: Tetier Bijoux

Outfit 7: Dress: GCDS | Bra, panties: Vintage Christain Dior by John Galliano c/o Gabrile Held | Gloves: Unicorn Poop Glitter | Heels: ABRA | Jewelry: Tetier Bijoux