Bethany Mota: Here's Why You Should Know Her Name
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If you search for “Bethany Mota,” your results will place the 19-year-old vlogger-turned-designer amongst some of the greatest designers of our time. Her sole design credit? A collaboration with Aeropostale in December 2013. And yet, she’s the most searched “fashion designer” of 2014, besting Oscar de la Renta, Alexander Wang, and Valentino. So, who is she?
Here’s your guide to the girl you’ll see everywhere in 2015.
1. Mota, also known as MacBarbie07, is one of the world’s most popular YouTube celebrities. She currently has nearly 8 million subscribers on the video sharing platform.
2. She rose to fame for her haul videos (a visual rehash of everything bought on a shopping spree), but has since expanded, featuring outfit ideas, recipes, and beauty and hair tutorials on her channel. Her first video was uploaded on July 12, 2009, when she was just 13.
Related: From Bullied to Bank: How Bethany Mota Created A Fashion Empire
3. Mota, who is of Mexican and Portuguese descent, was born and raised in California. She was homeschooled for most of her life (she did go to public school from grades three to six). Mota says she started her YouTube channel in part because of the bullying she experienced at school.
Mota’s first YouTube video.
4. In December 2013 she launched a clothing line with affordable teen-geared retailer Aeropostale. Sample offerings include t-shirts printed with her face, a sweatshirt with a gingerbread man on it, and a pink, pearly headband in the shape of mouse ears. While the line generated a ton of press for the brand, WSJ reported less than impressive sales.
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5. Which is fine, because Yahoo! Finance estimates that Mota rakes in $40,000 a month from her YouTube channel alone. And that number increases every time Mota lands a new subscriber.
6. At the beginning of 2014, the vlogger went on tour. Fans really freaked for what she dubbed the Motavatour, in which Mota traveled across the United States to meet the people who’ve made her famous.
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7. In August, Fast Company put the vlogger on their cover, calling her a YouTube veteran “with a rare gift for forging a kinetic connection with fans.” Then she starred in Dancing with the Stars 19th season, where she made it to the finals.
8. She capped off the year as the most searched fashion designer on the Internet a wild feat given her lack of designs. Aspiring designers take note: the ultimate tool for success might be a laptop—not a sewing machine.
