Michael Hall– Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us, this is major.
Devin Halbal– Thank you for interviewing me, period.
MH– What's your headspace been like as of late?
DH– Well that's the thing, I don't even know what the headspace is just because there's so much going on with the socials and stuff. I was trying to host Hal Gala for LGBT people and my followers, but a lot of people have been kind of giving me backlash about it, even though there's a lot of people who support it. There's a lot of backlash against it from other LGBT people in New York, but because they're like, ‘Well, you don't ever show up to like events in New York.’ But the thing about it is, I’m never in America, period. So I don't know that much about LGBT stuff in New York and my closest friends, they’re not really part of like LGBT nightlife. One of my closest friends is a hijabi cishet woman and my other closest friend is a college student in Philadelphia.
MH– You continue to inspire a generation through your Tik Tok’s, may it be about fashion, affirmations, or daily check-ins. Do you see yourself stepping away from the platform anytime soon?
DH– I definitely envisioned myself continuing to make TikTok videos for a while, maybe for like a few more years, I just don't know how long the platform is genuinely going to last. Just because I feel like there is such an overpopulation of people who are influencers. And so I definitely see myself wanting to make TikTok’s for a while, but right now I'm just taking a break. I'm realizing for the past few months, literally every single day, I was filming a TikTok, and I didn't really take time off. My friend challenged me to make one video every day, and you see how it goes. And you know, when you make those videos, you're giving people your energy. So right now, I'm just taking a break. I need to protect my energy, I need to protect my mental, but I definitely see myself making videos for a long time. But in terms of like longer-form content right now, I'm actually in the process, cross your fingers, everything happens. I'm speaking to a few people about a whole travel show, just to talk about fashion around the world, because we've never seen an educational programming led by a trans woman before. So I feel like I definitely want to delve into other types of media more long-form content.
MH– I know that you like writing and I feel like obviously, you are so articulate and have such a strong perspective and voice. Are we going to see a book release come out?
DH– Yeah, so right now I'm writing two different things. The first thing I'm writing is a little cute kind of poetry book. I don't know, some people consider me a poet. Some people consider me spoken word, and some people consider me performance art. So I definitely want to take some of my mantras, transcribe them, and put them into a book for people with new mantras, exclusive mantras just for the book. And it will be like a coffee table book. I'm not sure when that will be out, I'm thinking hopefully, by the end of like, 2022, maybe 2023 though. I don't want to rush anything and put anything out into the universe, just for, you know people to have something to say. If I'm going to put something out I want it to be really good. So stay tuned, within the next year for a book, I'm working on that. I just want to make sure that it's really cute and it just encapsulates my mood. So stay tuned for like a small little coffee book with sayings, ideas, and cute little visuals.
Another part of me is writing a memoir where I'm just writing essays, reflecting on my experiences with men, being a trans woman in this world, and experiencing trans-misogyny. I'm still wondering whether or not I want to publish that for everyone to see and read just because, you know, I want to keep certain things to myself. But I think it's really important to examine the ways in which trans women are treated, period. So I definitely want to write a book, or a memoir about love, romance, and my experiences navigating that as a trans woman. So we'll see if that will come out. That probably won't be out until I'm a grown 40-year-old. There's just too many interesting things, especially right now when I'm in my 20s. I just have such completely different experiences, from my friends who are cis women, like in terms of dating and the ways that I'm treated by my partner.
MH– Love that, and I'm super excited for both books. I would love to see a spoken word coffee table book, and please take your time on the other. I know it'll be a greatly impactful read. I feel like that's something that we all need for sure. I just want to want to touch on Hal Gala, I feel like that's been one of your ambitions as of late and I definitely want to see this come into fruition like.
DH– No, honestly, thank you.
MH– You're creating a safe space not just for LGBTQ+, but for the dolls especially and people that don't have to dress down to feel like they're passing, or feel like they're more comfortable. What do you envision for Hal Gala? Would there be a theme?
DH– So for Hal Gala, the theme would be camp. I want everyone to just be camp and you know, live out their wildest fashion fantasies. I feel like for me, in most of my videos, you see me wearing very plain things, like just a shirt or leggings and a scarf. Colorful scarves have been my way to express myself and that just goes back to not always feeling safe to be, you know, popped out, be girly, wear very feminine things just for my literal physical safety. So I just want it to be a safe space for dolls, period. I know there's hate, but there's also so many people who support it like you two. So, thank you so much.
I would want us to have a fashion show highlighting up-and-coming designers, specifically trans designers. Yes, other people are welcome to pop out and show off their looks in the actual event as a guest, but for the fashion show, I want to only highlight trans artists and designers. Maybe some musicians, anyone who's willing to play something, or sing something, and just vibes. That's the thing, too, because there's other trans events happening in New York City, but I literally have dolls who follow me from all over the world. People are messaging me from London, from Italy trying to pop out. So I think even though there are other LGBT events happening in New York City, why can't there be more? I have a reach that's completely different from the New York City circle.
I feel like fashion for me, especially going on social media, I was very scared talking about fashion, because I'm not very wealthy, right? Like, I never grew up wealthy. I feel like it's important that when we're speaking about fashion, and when we're having conversations about fashion, we're including all types of voices, not just people who can afford Gucci, Louis, and Prada… wait shit, LOL, that's a song.
I want it to be a space where anyone can live out their wildest fashion fantasies, regardless of their socio-economic status. That was also why the phrase “MetGala Behavior'' did so well. People were so inspired to see me, somebody who's outside of Western Europe wearing things that I think are fashion because I feel like when people think of fashion, they think of Western Europe. And I was out here in Turkey trying on beautiful Turkish dresses and saying, “I'm also as beautiful as these other women that society puts on a pedestal,” because society puts on a pedestal. And because they have money, and I think it was really empowering for people to see that. Let's actually just live our own fantasies. Why do we care about what these girls are wearing? They don't give a fuck what we’re wearing. So we need to go live. We need to live out our fantasies.