Yara Shahidi Chats FOSSIL, Liberal Arts, Feminism, And More In New Interview

Yara Shahidi recently attended a press day for her upcoming campaign for FOSSIL. The young actress will be starring in their new campaign to promote their new line of smartwatches.

During her press day, Yara spoke with ELLE about her new campaign and her recent activism. Highlights from her interview can be found below.

On her love of watches: “When you go on your phone to check what time it is, you get so distracted. It happens to me every day. ‘Oh, I just wanted to see what time it is, but now I’m magically on a panda video.’ This is the easier way, but it’s also a part of your personal style. It ends up becoming a part of who you are, and representing what you love.”

On being able to build a brand at a young age due to social media: “Yeah, we’re in this great place where now, because young women are expressing how they feel and what they believe, platforms aren’t restricting themselves to what’s considered just ‘feminine’ topics… And that’s becoming more a reflection of teenage girl nature, how broad the topics are… I mean, look at ELLE! Their political coverage is amazing. And if [teen women] can use [social media] to encourage those discussions, then we’re making a real difference.”

On how she would describe her potential show Liberal Arts: “Oh my gosh. Well, I love A Different World and I think Liberal Arts, which is the potential name of the show, might reference that show very loosely, the way Black-ish references The Cosby Show a little bit…but it’s going to be our own thing. And [Black-ish character] Zoe is not me. She’s got her own journey. She has her own priorities. But I love her, and I think she’ll do really well in college because she works really hard.”

You can check out even more from her interview here.