There is very little that Draya Michele hasn’t excelled at. She’s nailed reality TV, has a friendship group most would die for while raising two adorable children, and has now turned her hand to fashion design, curating several lines for Superdown versus Revolve.
The mum-of-two counts Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Bryant, and Ayesha Curry among her closest pals, and regularly joins Kylie Jenner on idyllic getaways while we all watch (read: obsess over) their every movement on Instagram.
Basically, she’s smashing it.
Having such a huge group of friends – and ever-rising followers – would normally go to anyone’s head, but the 35-year-old seems more grounded than ever, and is well aware of how important her platform is.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk to celebrate her latest Superdown collaboration she told us: ‘There’s definitely a responsibility with that many followers, there comes a responsibility because, at the end of the day, I am an influencer.
‘You have to be careful what message you’re putting out because you can influence someone to do the right thing, but you can also influence someone to do the wrong thing. So I am cautious with it. It does come with a lot of responsibility, but I’m honoured to be able to have the responsibility. I enjoy it, and I’m careful.
‘I think that Instagram is like a curated version of what you want the world to see. But there’s not really much that I keep private. I’m pretty much an open book on there.’
Being such an open book, Draya took us all behind-the-scenes of Kylie Jenner’s KylieSkin trip to Turks and Caicos last year, alongside Sofia Richie and Anastasia Karanikolaou, making us all green with envy.
Discussing their friendship, she revealed: ‘We live close together and her sisters… I’m close with them, and then I got close with her through that.’
Draya wears many hats, counting herself as a model, actress, fashion designer, and host – as well as boasting an Instagram following of nearly 8million, and she has definitely come a long way since she started out on Basketball Wives, all the way back in 2011.
And the influencer revealed that growing up in front of such a huge spotlight made her stop taking herself too seriously.
‘I think there was a lot of pressure on me in my 20s, and I needed to quickly… I felt rushed to figure out who I was and who I was going to be, what my career path was going to be,’ she continued.
‘Now here I am in my 30s, and if I knew then what I know now, I would have been able to relax more. I was under a lot of pressure, there was a lot of stress on me to figure it out.
‘Other people, other young girls need to know it’s okay to relax. It’s okay to explore other options outside of college, it’s okay to do a multitude of things. I would like to let young girls know that you don’t have to just be one thing, you can be multiple things.
‘I never thought that I could be multiple things. I never thought I would be an actress, a host, a personality, a designer. I never knew that you could be more than one thing but here I am today, proof of it.
‘I would love for other girls to know that you don’t do have to be a nurse – you can be a nurse and a model, you can be whatever, you can be two things, you can be three things, you can be five things.
‘It’s tough but I think these women that are now forces, I think girls are learning from them and they’re getting to see that there are other options out there. You can have multi items in your name and be this and that, and this and that, and you can get awards for it, you can be acknowledged for different things.’
One of the biggest things she has had to deal with is trolls, but through growing up, she has now changed her approach to rude messages – admitting that, while there were times she would give them a reaction and feed into what they want, she’s over that now.
‘They’re there,’ she laughed when broaching the subject. ‘I’ve learned many years ago you can maybe get a reaction out of me, but now I’m just like, “whatever”. It comes with it. Everyone isn’t going to like everything. They’re opinions and they’re free and Instagram allows it… I just delete it and move on.
‘It depends on what they’re saying. If their comment is completely wrong, I might say something. I can clap back once in a while, it depends on the day of the week and how I feel. But if you push my buttons on the right day, you can get a reaction out of me.’
So be warned.
Draya is currently working alongside Superdown and Revolve for her latest collaboration, which is centred all around birthday glam, with sparkly dresses galore, as well as the staple ‘jeans and a nice top’ vibe – with sizes going up to XXL.
Speaking about the collection, she explained that the most important aspect was making sure it was as inclusive and accessible as possible, with prices between £33 and £88 – something her fans had been calling out for.
‘It was one of the things that was a key factor in if I did this collaboration or not,’ she insisted. ‘I was sure to incorporate the extended sizes.
‘And if we weren’t able to, I probably wouldn’t have the collab at all, because it was something that in the beginning, I was very adamant about, and they made it happen for me. They were happy to do it and it worked.’
Draya would love to see Rihanna, Rita Ora and Hailey Baldwin in her collection most of all, and, seeing as the next drop focuses on festival season, we have a feeling she’ll make it happen.
And we cannot wait.
Draya Michele’s collection with Superdown versus Revolve is available now.
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