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Dare to be fucking weird, and know that the only way to be is yourself. That’s what Lilly Tabrizi, creator of the brand CRONSTER does. If you are ever lucky enough to have a conversation with Lilly, be prepared to let your creativity crawl out of you from inside. Lilly inspires just by existing and her energy is radiant enough to bring out the innocent joie de vie from childhood in even the most cynical of people. Her shameless confidence, open heart, and unwavering drive guide her through life as she releases each creature-monster of creativity into the world.

Lilly is hard to define. In her words, she is a 22 year old artist, creative, painter, kook, little bit of a weirdo, real estate agent, ball of energy and CRONSTER creator. Her mom was an artist, her older sister a fashionista, and her friends have always been just as kooky as her, so Lilly grew up surrounded by people who encouraged her creative expression. Anyone with siblings knows this story all too well; through raiding her older sister’s closet in middle school Lilly found ways to discover and express her own unique style. In high school Tabrizi began taking art classes which allowed her to look at art through a new lens and opened the door to the art and fashion world. She solidified her artistry when she went away to college. She recalls, “In college I really started to hone in on my eclectic style… my art definitely gave way to me making my fashion brand.” 

While she has had many artistic influences in her life, Lilly has a strong confidence and passion that inevitably pours over everything she does and everyone she meets. “There are definitely a lot of people in my life that are influenced and inspired by me and that is something I take pride in. Because I am so passionate about what I’m doing, that in turn influences and inspires the people around me… I think when you are able to witness someone so passionate it automatically inspires someone to be like that.” Lilly made the point not to use the word “influence” and instead use “inspire.” She makes this distinction because influence implies control, where inspire evokes a more free and positive connotation. “I always want to inspire people to incubate and use their passions [but] I would never want to influence or push myself onto someone in a way that would make them want to be like me.” I can’t help but be impressed by how easy it seems for Lilly to be herself– she glides above the pressures of life and lives according to her own rules. Comparisons don’t phase her as they do so many of us, and I think we can all learn a few lessons from Lilly’s attitude. As she puts it, “I am just myself and that just shows and I don’t care. People know me as the CRONSTER creator and I will go down in history as that.” Though it seems easy for her, Lilly says her confidence didn’t always come naturally. It was challenged most entering college freshman year, when she felt pressure to look and act a certain way to meet the standards of a California surf school. Her carefree attitude from high school diminished quickly as she found herself trying to become someone she’s not. After her first semester she transferred schools, allowing the creator more room to be the kooky cronster that she is. Though transferring schools did help Tabrizi re-gain her confidence, it was really her passion that gave way to her electric spirit that she radiates so brilliantly. Since her passions have taken form, Lilly says she’s “not intimidated by anyone anymore… in terms of people my age [and doing what I do] I’m just not intimidated by anyone, I just don’t care.”

After a short search for herself Lilly found a way to let her creativity emerge in the form of her brand, CRONSTER. CRONSTER is a clothing and art brand founded in May 2019 by the cronster herself– Lilly Tabrizi. CRONSTER reps an abstract character– it may even take you a minute to realize it’s a face. So where did the creature come from? Lilly explains, “when I was in high school I never was able to draw anything realistic… it turned into these things that were very weird looking… they were very creature-esque, but some of them looked more creepy and monster-esque.” One day shortly before studying abroad in London, Lilly pondered how to make her art into something profitable that she can share with the world. Looking at her creatures and monsters it clicked– they were cronsters. “It was really important to have creature in front of monster,” she says “because it’s the creature that overtakes the demon, which is the monster, not the monster that eats the creature.” She doesn’t see a creature as something scary, but instead a weird yet friendly being. Lilly herself is a creature of her own kind and through CRONSTER, her inner creatures found a home. 

As the brand began to take shape Lilly made the deliberate decision not to mass produce CRONSTER products. Though this approach could reduce costs and make more money faster, Lilly is confident in her decision. Lilly explains that mass production paints every cronster the same, taking away the individuality of each creature: “CRONSTER is a brand that really celebrates being unique and different and I think that comes across in my designs.” Tabrizi also wants to maintain a level of intimacy between the brand and the cronsters themselves (or the people buying the products). She never wants to make something for someone random, she says. “Every single CRONSTER piece that I make is for someone that I’ve developed a connection with.” Even as the brand grows it is important to Lilly that people truly understand what it means to wear CRONSTER. Despite having a packed schedule Lilly challenges herself to get to know anyone who reps her work. The way Lilly sees it, “no one has time and everyone has time” and she makes a point to always have time to learn how her work can impact each cronster’s life. In her eyes “whoever wears CRONSTER is a cronster,” so they deserve to know what they are representing. 

Every artist knows the high of finding inspiration and harnessing creativity, but every artist also knows that it can be hard to find that spark at times– and Lilly is no exception. She went through her ups and downs finding the energy to create for CRONSTER and has had her fair share of creative slumps. The question however is never how do you lose creativity, but how do you get it back? For Tabrizi, her spark ignites when she can see the light at the end of the tunnel: “It’s the process. It’s seeing my work on someone and seeing the whole thing from start to finish.” Seeing the final product of something you’ve put your all into is one of the most rewarding feelings, so Lilly rides this high to incubate more creativity. She also says that experiencing love is inspiring, whether she receives it or extends it. Lilly has an abundance of love in her life– some new, some since birth, some electric, some calm, some passionate like an irresistible pull from the heart, and some comforting like a heavy blanket on a rainy Sunday. Each type of love Lilly holds in her heart inspires different ways to create and be her best self which shows through in all her work. 

The existing collections have leaned toward a feminine look as a reflection of Lilly’s own personal style, but she doesn’t intend for CRONSTER to be labeled as a womens or mens brand. She describes the creatures as “neutral species” and hopes that her brand exhibits this same neutrality. When asked who CRONSTER is for, Lilly says that it is for anyone who wants to develop a passion and be unique. People should wear CRONSTER “as a token of their strength and creativity,” but she points out that there is no specific target audience; CRONSTER could be worn by someone like Lilly’s grandma, a  seventy-something year old retiree or someone like me, a 21 year old fashion lover. She even mentions that her baby nephew rocks CRONSTER. Everyone has their own inner monsters– Lilly is here to let you wear them on your sleeve instead of bottling them inside. Allowing this vulnerability empowers us cronsters; we no longer fear the creatures and monsters inside of us but instead coexist with them, invite them out, and even show them off. It is in this gesture that we can become our most confident, most brave selves not only for our own personal growth, but to inspire those around us as well.

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