Quotes from Petra Collins

I'm definitely a Sagittarius. I'm such a fire sign.

People look the best when they feel the most comfortable, so I buy 10 of the same thing if I really like it.

I really don't believe in the word 'selling out.'

I remember being 12 or 13 and reading 'Seventeen' and 'CosmoGirl.' They were all about self-improvement.

It's just so humanizing to see someone be real.

How girls perceive themselves is interesting, and how they act when they're looking in the mirror.

Success doesn't happen overnight.

I came to New York with no money and just one suitcase. I had my family's emotional support, but they weren't able to help me financially.

I'm very lucky that I'm not a photographer for hire - people hire me for me. I go into every commercial work with an art focus, with that lens; every brand I've worked for just lets me do whatever I want to do. I have full creative freedom.

When I do an editorial or when I do a campaign, I bring that lens to every space.

Just like any other girl, I felt pressure to look a certain way. Act a certain way.

My mom had been a script supervisor in Hungary, but you can't just jump into that in Canada without knowing any English. She worked retail jobs and raised my sister and me while learning English.

Live what you support online; do things.

We work to create a new wave of feminism that is more inclusive. I want others to feel equal. It's so great to see women in positions of power, which is why other artists, such as Marilyn Minter, are so inspirational to me.

My mother struggled immensely with mental illness, and so did I. She grew up bipolar, but it was never diagnosed nor recognized. It was shrugged off like a 'symptom' of being female - of her being weak. I also experienced this growing up: I felt that the great pain I experienced was a dramatisation.

Women's emotions are constantly labeled. Any slight deviation from 'pleasantness,' and we are labeled as hysterical. When we are angry, sad, depressed, or manic, we are immediately seen as unfeminine or ugly or weak.

When I was 16, I created this online platform for female artists. I messaged women who I loved; that's how I got work and connected with people. You don't need to plead for entry into a system that doesn't want you anyway.

When a woman is anything but pleasant, she is labeled as whiny, hysterical, etc.

I approach beauty the same way I approach clothing - I think people should do whatever to themselves to make them feel more comfortable in their skin.

I didn't see spaces where female artists could exist and exhibit their work. So I created a platform for this - one that allowed our works to be seen, but to also weave a community of women that could lean on and work with one another.

My style motto is pretty classic: you give off a positive energy when you wear what you're most comfortable in.

I'm used to seeing women being degraded, slut shamed, harassed for what they look like. Even the most powerful women in the world are measured by their appearance and constantly ridiculed for it.

Because I loved dance, I always need to be physical and moving, so photography that is more tactile made more sense.

As much as I preach self-love, it's so hard for me to love myself. It's really hard, and it's just about building a good network of people and, in this case, a good network of artists. Trying to live your ideals as best as you can.