M— Your looks are fierce bitch. So far, you’ve worked with brands like Hood by Air, Telfar, Weslah, and many more. Who or what do you look up to the most when it comes to fashion and why?
K— Okay so, I definitely look for exclusivity the most when it comes to fashion.
M— Exclusivity how?
K— Because like i'm more attracted to rare things, rare finds, things that are one of a kind. I love having to hunt for clothes and that inspires my looks. Just like, rare things. From the names you listed, I would say that like, Telfar and Shayne (HBA) would be the main. I love Weslah too though, I love weslah, but with Shayne and Telfar I love that they like, look like me and impact people the way I would wanna impact people you know? Also, let me say Shayne again because like, I was watching this Kerwin Frost interview with him and Ian [Isiah], and they were talking about the current world and the youth of New York and it was so inspiring like I don't know if anybody knows this but he [Shayne] actually, asked me personally. It felt great getting that stamp of approval, I was gagging. He was like I see you doing your thing I see you’re doing your "ah ah ah," you know?
M— It’s a very “I made it” moment.
M— You mentioned that you wanna impact the scene the same way Telfar and HBA do, what does that look like for you? For Kai?
K— I feel like, maybe if it's just like, I don’t know actually, but just from like a surface-level point, I would want people to start picking up on my aesthetics or like my ways of like, thinking, you know what I mean? Exposing people to a new form of reality is picked up by what I do.
M— You wanna be like, patient zero basically.
K— Right!
M— So all of us know Kai, the model, the photographer the artist, etc. But, not everyone knows you as Angel Balenciaga/Mattel, a renowned voguer in the ballroom scene, tell us a little bit about how Kai and Angel are different from each other? And what impact did the ballroom scene have on you?
K— I don’t think Kai and Angel are two different people, I think what it is, I think it's just another identity for me. You know what I'm gonna say I'm really bad at like compartmentalize!
K— Exactly! That's how Angel was born, because I was tryna do that while in ballroom, and that's when I realized Kai and Angel are the same thing. The same person.
M— Ugh, finding that word was killing me! But yes, I see what you mean like they’re all you, just different extensions.
K— yeah, and ballroom had such an impact on me like, sometimes I get emotional thinking about this but like, there’s been times where my real family would not pull through for me and my ballroom family would help fill that void. The impact that ballroom has had on me is showing me what unconditional love means. Even sometimes when I go out there and I might not do my best they’ll always be reassuring saying like you’re still THAT girl, you just had an off day and that's okay. That feeling is really unexplainable. Ballroom is a safe space for me. Feels like heaven.