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Editors’ note: 

The weekly TGCvocations column asks practitioners about their jobs and how they integrate their faith and work. Interviews are conducted and condensed by Bethany L. Jenkins, director of TGC’s Every Square Inch.

Benjamin Liong Setiawan is a freelance fashion and lifestyle editor living in New York City. His work has appeared in Esquire’s Big Black Book, WWD’s M Magazine, Surface, Food Republic, The Vivant, and his own site, Hungry Editor.

How did you become a fashion editor?

Mine wasn’t the most direct route. I learned about the creative side of fashion when I studied at Parsons and about the core business side when I worked at Saks Fifth Avenue. After college, I worked on the buying side for a couple years until I realized that I didn’t enjoy crunching numbers as much as I enjoyed discovering new products. One of my classmates from Parsons was working in editorial and that really appealed to me. So I downsized my apartment and took two unpaid internships. After three months, a position in the fashion department of a small publishing company opened up and I took it.

What exactly does a fashion editor do?

Fashion editors wear many hats—styling shoots, writing stories, editing products. As a freelancer, I work with various clients to produce stories for print and online. The process starts with deciding what the story will be—for example, a fashion feature on tailored suits. Then I pull products from designers. For a 12-page feature, I might pull 50 suits to show the editorial team. If the team never sees a particular suit, then it’s as if it doesn’t exist. Once we edit down to the suits that best match the theme, we shoot them on location or in a studio. I love being on set, helping to style the models and bringing our ideas to life.

What makes a campaign or feature “good” in your opinion?

For a feature, especially in menswear, it’s about the seemingly insignificant details. An extra inch on a lapel can turn a look from sophisticated to silly. Also, for me, a feature is good when readers are informed, inspired, and challenged. I want the story to be helpful and artistically pleasing, but I also want it to push people out of their aesthetic comfort zones. We invest time and money on learning how to read and write. But our words aren’t the only things that speak; our clothes do, too. They tell people who we are—our values, our creativity, and even our courage.

What challenges or temptations do you face in your work?

One of the hardest parts about working in editorial is the “champagne lifestyle,” which can be all about status and access. This week is NY Fashion Week, when many people will judge themselves, and others, by what invites they receive or which row they’re seated in—celebrities, editors, and other VIPs usually sit in the first three rows. Some editors won’t even attend shows if they’re not in one of those rows. For me, there’s a balance—I want my work to be respected by my colleagues, but I also want to find my identity and worth in Christ. If I let Fashion Week define me, then I’ll be crushed.

How are you able to worship God in your work?

First, I worship with my work. The work itself gives me joy and an opportunity to celebrate God’s creativity and beauty. It’s not any less important because I’m not teaching or preaching. The work I do, and any job really, has dignity and worth in itself. Second, I worship God with my work relationships. As mentioned, the industry is about access and status, and since interns have the least of both, they’re usually overlooked. As a freelancer, though, I sometimes physically sit with the interns in the “fashion closet,” where the samples are stored. So I get the opportunity to serve and help them, which is counter-cultural in my industry.

Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?

In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
But the Gospels are historically reliable. And the evidence for this is vast.
To learn about the evidence for the historical reliability of the four Gospels, click below to access a FREE eBook of Can We Trust the Gospels? written by New Testament scholar Peter J. Williams.

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