Q&A: Jaimie and Rachel on the “Neighbourhood Watch” Podcast
☆ By NORMA SORTO ☆
DEFINING A NEW VOICE OF FASHION — Jaimie Frank and Rachel Azrilyant from the Greater Toronto Area — both 17 — have started a podcast about fashion, music, and pop culture. Being neighbors for almost 10 years, they named the podcast “Neighbourhood Watch,” which has come to be a fun and carefree project to express their opinions about fashion and interview young social media influencers. Each episode of the “Neighbourhood Watch” incorporates a specific theme about Jaimie and Rachel’s latest fashion obsessions. Both Jaimie’s experience as a model and Rachel’s high knowledge about pop culture and fashion brings a unique perspective to the table.
As their small following grows, Jaimie and Rachel continue to create new episodes every weekend. The young girls’ friendly dynamic shows a strong passion for creating content even through the pandemic.
Read our Q&A below for more on Jaimie and Rachel’s inspiration for “Neighborhood Watch” and their future goals.
LUNA: What was your inspiration for starting the podcast “Neighbourhood Watch”?
FRANK: Rachel and I have always been friends for so long, and I think we both wanted something that we can both work on — like a collaborative project — together.
AZRILYANT: Jaime and I both really like and appreciate fashion. Our two different styles bring different things to the table, like when we’re talking. Every time we have a different episode, we kind of have different opinions on every kind of fashion topic that we talk about.
LUNA: Describe the fashion scene in Toronto. What do you like about it? And what do you want to change?
FRANK: Downtown is just a whole entire aesthetic. There are so many different little niches of people that live downtown. I love their fashion sense. I guess I would describe the style to kind of be like streetwear — like effortless streetwear, grunge, and vintage rework.
AZRILYANT: I think it’s ironic that Jaimie and I are neighbors, but we also both have this love for fashion. When Jaimie and I dress up or put together an outfit, it’s not weird for us because we’re both doing it. When you’re surrounded by people like that, you’ll do it also. That’s kind of what the downtown vibe is.
LUNA: How do you feel about the fashion industry in general?
FRANK: There are so many people in the modeling industry who would get discriminated against because of either being plus-sized or being put in a shoot just to have someone different. It is very frustrating; that’s how it is.
AZRILYANT: I think it’s getting better. There’s definitely room for improvement.
LUNA: How has your fashion changed during the pandemic?
FRANK: In general, I feel like my fashion has really improved. In quarantine, I kind of was like, “I just want to get things that I wanna wear — not because I’m given this [as] what you should wear or because what everyone else is wearing at school.” I was trying to buy things that were fun and made me feel cool and different.
AZRILYANT: Since the pandemic, I don’t really know what other people are buying, and I don’t know what other people are wearing because we’re not going out. During the pandemic, I was really able to find brands that I like and buy from there without having the influence of anyone else.
LUNA: How do you guys plan before recording an episode? Do you have a specific theme that you would talk about?
FRANK: For the interviews — [the people] who we interviewed — it’s mostly been me just because I have a lot of random mutuals that I meet on TikTok that also love fashion. Mostly the people I would interview come from me, and the prompts we kinda just decide together or on the spot.
AZRILYANT: We always have prompts that we go by. I feel like because Jaimie and I are such good friends it kind of turns into a conservation most of the time.
LUNA: Who is your biggest fashion inspiration?
FRANK: I love Emma Chamberlain. I just want to be her. Her life is so cool and she dresses up so nice.
AZRILYANT: I really like Sydney Carson. I love her style. I also like Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner. I feel like their classic outfits are baggy jeans and a crop top with sneakers — and that’s kinda like my go-to.
LUNA: What are your goals for 2021? Is there a specific goal that you want to achieve?
FRANK: I hope that we can grow our following and be able to have more opportunities to reach out. I really just hope that the podcast does well. I just want the podcast to grow and be able to connect with more people
AZRILYANT: I would really love for corona to simmer down. I would hope that Jaimie and I are able to create more content, hopefully for our Instagram. Obviously, I want the podcast to grow, and I hope Jaimie and I can continue it for all of 2021.
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