Plus-size trailblazer Katie Monster is not your average London fashion influencer
- Frida Kahlo-esque Katie Ruensumran, better known as Katie Monster on Instagram, is a street style sensation in London thanks to her bold fashion choices
- Her funny Instagram posts are helping build a brand that’s bucking the ‘picture perfect’ influencer trend
There’s no mistaking Katie Ruensumran when she walks into the cafe of Ace Hotel London. Even in Shoreditch – home of the hipster – she stands out as a Frida Kahlo-esque figure, with her scarlet floral headband and billowing white dress. But unlike Khalo, Ruensumran is all smiles and hugs.
Better known as Katie Monster on Instagram (@katieismonster), Ruensumran has become something of a street style sensation since being snapped by Vogue at London Fashion Week two years ago.
Nowadays, her signature bow and flamboyant outfits can be seen doing the rounds in fashion publications where she’s hailed as a plus-size icon. Yet, as her “monster” nickname suggests, she’s not your standard influencer serving up looks of curated perfection on her feed.
“I don't have a lot of followers,” says Ruensumran of her modest 16,200 fans on Instagram, “because what I post is not the thing that lots of people want to see. They want to see beautiful clothes, beautiful restaurants, a perfect lifestyle, business class … I’m not into those kinds of things. I like something a bit more real. Of course, it’s not like I post about going to the toilet, [but] I like to post something funny.”
Born in London, Ruensumran was five when her parents moved the family to Bangkok. She grew up in Thailand, before returning to London to study womenswear at Central Saint Martins.
Of her university days, she says: “I was a club kid. Every Monday, there was a club night called Trash and all the fashion students would go. If you didn’t dress up, you wouldn’t get in. You had to make clothes by yourself, and one day I dressed as Frida Kahlo. I drew the eyebrows and I was like, ‘Oh I love it!’ so I just stuck to that.”
From club kid to creative consultant. Today, Ruensumran works with brands such as Dry Clean Only and Landmeé to develop their collections for an international audience and bring their shows to Paris Fashion Week.
In fact, her proudest career moment to date isn’t getting spotted by photographer of street style Phil Oh or writing for Elle, it’s seeing those two brands get picked up by Vogue Japan’s Asia Rising issue.
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Living in England but working for Thai brands means that Ruensumran wakes up around 5am each morning to Skype with clients in Bangkok. It’s a job that keeps her flying regularly, and when she mentions that this is the first time in three years that she’s stayed in London for a whole month, the relief in her voice is palpable.
“I love it here so much,” she says. “I like taking the bus. I like taking the Tube. For me, my biggest inspiration is people. I like to see what people are doing, how they dress up, and you can't see that if you're in a taxi.”
Simone Rocha is on the top of her wish list of brands to work with. “She’s my favourite designer,” says Ruensumran, gesturing at her head-to-toe Simone Rocha outfit. “I love Comme des Garçons, Christopher Kane, Celine – but of course, the Phoebe Philo one. Now the latest brand I really like is Asai. It’s not [a brand] that I wear, but I like the style of it.”
Now in her 30s, Ruensumran has seen a lot of changes in the fashion industry since her wide-eyed club kid days.
“People see something, they want it, and then tomorrow they don’t want it. So you have to be really quick in terms of design, in terms of trends, in terms of everything. The designers have to work harder than before. But in terms of size, race, sex, I think it’s still the same,” she says.
“I don’t believe that people have to be skinny, but for me, every day I see, ‘size doesn’t matter’, and yet where is my size? The designers never make [clothes] even up to size UK14.
“The samples are still UK8 and UK6. And where is the diversity? Brands are like, ‘we believe in genderless’, and people say, ‘oh, that's very cool’, but if you go somewhere that's very conservative …” Ruensumran pauses, searching for an example.
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“I mean, if I dress like this in Stoke Newington, people look at me like ‘Oh’,” she says, referencing a particularly “yummy mummy” part of North London. “Things haven't really changed, but of course I believe that it will change one day.”
For now, Ruensumran is doing her part to effect that change – one funny Instagram post at a time.
