In a conversation with Manila Bulletin Lifestyle, the social media superstar talks about diversity, the role of the internet, and finding beauty everywhere—even in a pandemic
Is there beauty amid a pandemic? During its early days conquering nation after nation, COVID-19 has done nothing but show us all the bad, and being locked up at home put everyone in an immobile position to watch, listen, and contemplate on the worst. But as the undying saying goes, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” As hard as it may be, it is up to the people to find that beauty in the middle of chaos. For some, beauty is reflected by the blooms of the plants they nurtured, by the creations they pull out of the oven, or the fantasy they build in their bedroom. Indeed, beauty lies in the passion that we have within, and a prime believer of that is Filipino-American social media sensation Patrick Starrr.
Makeovers have been part of Patrick’s life, even prior to his internet fame. When faced with a crisis, that’s what he does best—change things up, find beauty, and spread joy. Beautiful transformations, that’s his passion and we can see it in everything that he does. He always makes it extra for everyone, just look at his name with those extra letters, a definitive sign of a being maximalist. During the time when many are becoming plant parents, cooking up Tiktok food trends, languishing (sigh), he took a leap and presented everyone a chance to uncover the beauty within them, to do their own makeover, with his latest releases.
Going under the radar this time, Patrick is back in the Philippines this December to make our second holiday season in a pandemic more colorful and full of life. Inside his suite at Bonifacio Global City, the beauty mogul got all dolled up and chatted with Manila Bulletin Lifestyle to share glimpses of his life as a young Asian gay boy in America, his pandemic time, his online struggles, and creating beauty that blurs the line separates size, gender, or race.
Hello, Patrick! Welcome back to the Philippines. First things first, how was your pandemic life?
I was on the dawn of launching my brand. Although it was hectic and very unknowing at the beginning of the pandemic, it was, I don’t want to say that it is the best time for us and I can focus on work because my schedule was getting crazier with events and photo shoots and stuff, but it was really a soul-searching time for many of us to really find our passion. For me, that was One/Size Beauty. I feel like I have built and launched a brand in the pandemic, with an amazing culture and DNA.
Looking back, how would you describe yourself before becoming an internet star?
Patrick Starrr was a boy with big dreams and a lot of interests. He was indecisive, insecure, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. As a Millennial, I was always listening to the elders, to parameters, and guidelines. It wasn’t until I turned 17 or 18 that I had a little bit of freedom to start driving and find my interests, especially coming out. Before all of that, I didn’t know who I was. But it wasn’t until I found my passion for all things beauty and fashion that I started to become Patrick Starrr.
Being an Asian alone is hard for some immigrants in the US. Does being part of the LGBTQIA+ Community adds a challenge to your younger years?
So hard! Especially for me being a minority—being fat, femme, and Asian. Already it was so hard for me to be gay. Being white and muscular was not in my cards. This is pre-”Drag Race.” For me, to showcase who I was and what I stood for, nothing in it was in favor of me until I started posting on the internet.
What kept the Filipino spirit alive in your home?
My parents and the community that I grew up in. There’s an organization called Bayanihan and it is a group of Filipino families that come together to celebrate Filipino holidays and just share food, passion, family, and camaraderie all together. I was a part of that. I grew up dancing to Filipino traditional dances. A lot of potlucks, a lot of lumpia, a lot of rice, you name it, there was so much that I grew up with. I learned speaking Illongo,Tagalog, and Bisaya. I still can’t decipher all three. There are certain phrases that I found the same. But my mom, my grandparents, and my dad kept a lot of that Filipino culture alive under our roof.
How did they react when you came out?
I never had a true sit-down coming out. I felt like I was sort of outed or more so obvious because I was doing the traditional Filipino dances, I was choreographing some of the girls for the tinikling, sayaw sa bangko, all of those dances. I was doing their hair in high school. I was doing the band girls’ hair to fit under their hats, So, it was kind of like that. I remember I was doing some girls’ hair for a school dance, for homecoming, and one of the moms was like, “Oh my gosh! Your son did a great job on my daughter’s hair.” My mom was like, “Siya naggawa ng buhok niya.” I was like, “Yeah,” and I got paid. It was like an aha . It was funny, it was obvious. Originally, I thought it wasn’t accepted because of the way that they reacted. But when I look back when I came out, they are more fearful of the world that wasn’t going to accept me because they have seen so much being immigrants then. Over time they have learned who I was, about who Patrick Starrr was to be, especially, their own son.
Who are your LGBTQIA+ heroes?
A lot of my inspiration came from reality TV, specifically, makeover shows that always have a gay hairstylist, a gay fashionista. There is always a certain kind of gay character that I was very attracted to. One that stands out for me was Tyra Banks and her show “America’s Next Top Model” with Jay Manuel and Miss J Alexander, who are now friends of mine. It is crazy to believe because I grew up watching them. Seeing them be their true fashion-forward selves on a show teaching other people to be themselves was inspiring. When I look at my journey today, I was teaching others how to embrace themselves through makeup and my Youtube channel, my platforms. That is what inspired me in terms of icons adjacent to the LGBTQIA+ Community.
In the past months, you have dipped your toes in fashion with a collaboration collection. What can you say about this inclusive movement happening in the fashion and beauty industry?
I have always been insecure because I was always a plus size, always overweight. Shopping in the stores, I couldn’t find anything. I was thinking then that I will buy makeup because it is one-size-fits-all and that led me to focus on beauty.
Then, I feel like I couldn’t do drag because I wasn’t fashion-forward yet in terms of my body type. But through the power of social media and looking at fashion designers, I have always wanted to be a part of that, but I never knew how.
I have been lucky enough to work with amazing designers and seamstresses for my imaginations to come to life. I always got so many questions about my outfits on the red carpet, “Who made that?” and “Where did you get that?” I always felt so bad that I can’t share where I have gotten these items because they’re all custommade, because I always have my turban and shoes to match. That’s the Patrick Starr silhouette. But then, I was approached by the amazing brand Fashion to Figure to come up with a fashion collaboration specific for plus-size individuals. It is called “Life’s A Party.”
My second fashion collection comes out tomorrow (Dec. 11, 2021). It was shot by photographer BJ Pascual again. He was so kind to fly all the way from the Philippines to shoot me and my big butt and my plus-size fashions. I’m obsessed with him. I have such a friend crush on him and he is so immensely talented. He is so pogi, so cute! He is such a darling to work with and to have his touch, his love mark, on my fashion collaboration called “Fierce Comfort,” is such an honor.
That’s how it came about. By being myself, being visible on the red carpet, being visible with the celebrities, and people being inquisitive to my fashion, that’s how this collection came to be.
What can people expect from your latest line ‘Fierce Comfort’?
I have three formal pieces and a few lounge pieces that are super luxe but comfortable for the big girls. When it comes to fashion and being fierce, it is not comfortable for us. We want to participate for this particular season, pero ang init. If you are a big girl, it is so hard. We want to put on a jacket, we want to layer, too.
For the collection, I created beautiful joggers and sweater sets in powder blue and white that are so gorgeous. There’s also a luscious cardigan for the everyday girls or guys. For plus-size people who want to wear oversized, ang sikip parin ng fit. When I buy oversized pieces, halos sakto lang yung fit. This beautiful oversized cardigan goes up to 28 US women sizes, it is so gorgeous. There is a beautiful gown as well, a sequinned white pantsuit, and a sequinned blazer dress in gunmetal black. I’m so excited for everyone to try them.
What’s the beauty and fashion rule you live by?
I love when the eyes have a way to go. If the attention is to your eyes or to your titties or to your toes or your turban, it must have a beautiful conversation visually. It must be an experience when it comes to a look. Whenever I’m thinking of what to wear or what I want to show off, I should always make it intentional on where I want the eyes to be directed. That’s my rule.
I love being a maximalist. I love it more and more and more. I dare people to try to be more beyond their norm because people are so afraid. I posted on Instagram the other day saying, “They laugh at me because I’m different. I laugh at them because they’re all the same.” I love being different. It got me this far transcending beauty norms and social standards and being a Millennial birthed from Boomers. It is a different conversation but I love it. It is disruptive, exhilarating, and it is my life and it is my choice.
How important are the internet, social media, and content creators today?
You have to use it as if it is forever, the internet. You have to use it as a weapon. Is it for the good or for the bad? I feel like it is a very strong and powerful weapon of mass destruction. But the way that one can handle mass destruction, we can, hopefully, eradicate prejudice, racism, and negative energy. We don’t need that. For me, it is important that everyone understand that it is a weapon and that we have one choice to use it but for good. I have exemplified that through my posts.
In 2016, I even asked Instagram, its CEO and its product development team, to include word blocking. Because if you’re going to come into my platform and into my house, you better take off your dirty shoes and your dirty mouth. That’s what I asked them and they updated the system a month later. I was getting a lot of negative emojis and words on my platform then. It was very scary. But I didn’t want people to come to my page and see that.
What can we expect from you next?
We have so many things for 2022. One/Size Beauty is available on sephora.ph. I’m working on that while I’m here. Hopefully, in the future, I could do a meet and greet or a fashion and beauty show or something fabulous in the future. In the meantime, we are doing the best we can to exemplify diversity through our community, through content on Tiktok and other social media at One/Size Beauty.
Are we going to see you in future drag shows in the Philippines?
I can only dream. I just heard about it. I know Manila Luzon has her show, too. It is so cool to see how things are coming together and how even the Philippines, a small but a force of a country with amazing people, is embracing the LGBTQIA+ Community. I hope that the media, social media, and show like Manila’s could exemplify a difference in youth and show the elders and parents, and the universe, rather, to accept their children as they are.