 |
| Close up of Simone Reverie (Valora Al Nahyan) |
Simone Reverie aka Valora Al Nahyan,
like many of Second Life™ residents, started playing because she
heard it from a friend's word of mouth. "
I heard of SL from a
friend on IMVU who goes by the name, Anshe Chung."
Reverie, who
once played on IMVU™, another virtual reality game, mentioned to
this same friend what she would like to see in virtual reality.
Chung, according to Reverie, suggested she try playing Second Life as
it seemed to cater what Reverie seemed to be asking for. Curious and
interested, the latter soon created an account and was amazed in
discovering SL™ Metaverse.
During her noob days, she became the
wife of a wealthy man, but she quickly found out that relationships
on SL don't last very long. She doesn't bother engaging on them
anymore nowadays learning from experience.
Reverie remembered she
used to hang out at Tableau because that was the place to be seen
when the "hipster crowd" ruled fashion. "I made a few
dear friends. More enemies then friends, but people did know my name.
A lot has changed since then. I was notorious as I am now, but the
title of socialite came with far more respect. Now I see new people.
They do interesting things, but I sit back unmasked, as I’ve done
it all already," Reverie thoughtfully said.
 |
| Black/White close up |
Reverie recalled her Second Life
history. Started at another previous account, she had a close friend,
a store owner, who she was always seen with. Paris and Nicole, that
was their moniker. Her friend was better-liked than Reverie was,
though both were well-known. She remembered both of them usually have
very nasty fights and that she could never seem to get herself to
trust this friend, but somehow, they always seem to patch things up
again. Despite their differences, Reverie shared that that friend was
the only person she ever kept dear.
When prodded to tell more, Reverie
obligingly responded, "One of my fondest memories while climbing
to the top was when I sat front row at Paper Couture™. The store is
big now, but wow back then wearing their clothes came with such
status. I sat at a lot of shows. Met a lot of interesting people and
that was what really what helped carry my name. I knew I had got to a
point where I was content with my image when one of the Armidi™’s
approached me at a party. I had no idea who this person was, but they
spoke so vividly about me. I was so flattered. Soon after I took a
hiatus. A long Hiatus and once I returned everything changed. I felt
like Mr. Gekko in the sequel of Wall Street when he came out of jail
with his old cell phone. I made a new name and a less pretentious
image. I’ve grown a lot."
Reverie, who started SL on another
name, said that she got the name "Simone" from a movie. She
thought the name embodied the persona who fitted her. The main
character in that movie was someone who existed in a virtual world
that a lot of men looked for. Reverie mused on this and shared, "She
was the perfect woman. Many males on female accounts who personify
women have such desirable qualities. It makes men feel like they
found the perfect match. It’s crazy because some of them fall in
love. The irony of it all is people get wrapped up thinking
perfection exist. Once you come to terms that perfection is solely
about preference, then you can decipher what is too good to be true."
Pretty soon though, she grew tired of the name, and decided to change
her display name to "Valora Al Nahyan." According to her,
the first name sounded alluring and the last name sounded Arabic. She
thought Arabian names sound prestigious, and the combination of the
two sounded privileged. "In way I am privileged. I don’t know
what it’s like to struggle financially, but I’m sure one day I
will. 99 percent of people do, even the wealthy."
 |
| Simone shopping for only the very best (Hope that cab driver didn't hurt his back!) |
Reverie, who doesn't bother hiding the
fact that
she is male in RL in a female avatar, is an active member
of the
LGBT organization. "It wasn’t hard doing anything and
being male on a female avatar. At times I do purposely hide the fact
I am male to get some perks like free clothes from male designers.
But for the most part I feel comfortable letting those around me know
who I am.
I have a very feminine voice, so at times people can be
fooled even if it’s not my intention." She admits though that
there were a lot of times that she was ridiculed and judged, being
called a "tranny" with a negative connotation to it.
Laughingly she added that the same people who calls her derogatory
names are, in fact, closet homosexuals, as they hit on her afterward
behind closed doors. "
I had one incident with someone well known
in the urban community who was insulting me. I have never met this
person other than the run-in at the car store. They proceeded to call
me fag on mic, and then spoke about how they were going to buy all
the cars in the store, claiming he was rich. A month later he lost
his sim for lack of payment and I later found out he was in the
closet like Christian Louboutin’s."
 |
| Still caption from one of her music video hits Simone Reverie starred in |
Dabbling now into Second Life music,
Reverie has been venturing into the world of rapping for quite some
time now.
She writes all of her own raps, explaining that the
inspiration most probably came from her grittier and rougher side,
although she has been also exploring how to express other sides of
herself into her music as well. "Some people are made to create
and others are better at embracing creativity. Ever since I could
remember I loved fashion and music. I was so young when I first
learned about couture. It was something I understood so quickly and
wanted to learn more about."
A fashion enthusiast too, Reverie
voiced out what she had to say about the fashion community. "I
personally believe SL fashion is corrupt if you are not a designer.
The entire industry is fixed as you can only prosper by whom you know
whether than what you can do. Standing out only requires you to know
of someone powerful who can get you seen. For myself I am lucky
enough to be skillful in fashion. I have my own unique and individual
style and I have been fortunate enough to run into a few people who
have gotten me seen in the industry. I think if you really want to
stand out you should be yourself. It sounds cheesy, but I personally
would rather be hated for who I am, then loved for what I’m not."
As for stores that she patronizes and styles she goes for, she added,
"
Normally I stay away from stores geared to the urban community
because I find the quality to be very poor. I don’t think the urban
community cant decipher fashion from 'flash’in',so I go for for
stores which I can find staple pieces in. Pieces that I can mix and
match. I like a variety when I shop because I have never been one to
buy a fat-pack. I like to look as if I have a cornucopia of different
garments and I in fact do.
One of my favorite stores is, Shi™. I’ve
spoken to the owner and she has a great understanding of fashion as
well as amazing taste. Everything in her store makes an outfit
complete."
 |
| Luc Fray photographing Simone during their interview |
When asked where she can usually be
seen nowadays, Reverie answered, "Usually I’m shopping you can
spot me if a hot new purse is released. I love purses. For the most
part I’m everywhere. I just do not enjoy going to the fancy fashion
events. The crowd is boring and pretentious without reason. Many of
them pretend they know about fashion. I don’t have time for that
shit. Usually the magazines throw those events, but don’t get me
wrong. I love what some of the magazines are doing now. I like to be
where the fun is, where I can meet interesting people from different
walks of life." She also added that, at the present, what's been
keeping her busy is spending lindens frivolously. A mesh line may
also be in store for her in the future but she didn't want to say
more about it, preferring to keep things hush-hush.
 |
| Valora seen here in a different skin she variates from time to time |
|
|
For parting advice, Reverie has this to
say, "Well to those rapping in SL. Never feel like you need to
stress yourself to produce anything. SL is one big sketch pad and if
you put out something, play it back. If you don’t like the outcome.
Simply start over, eventually you will be content. There are people
who are willing to help you. Just check
Second life Facebook™, they
are there. For fashion enthusiast, make sure you link up with other
people who share your love. That is a great way to bounce ideas back
and forth and even create your own little circle.
There are many
fashion lovers here, all with different styles. I find it to be so
eclectic. But when you think deeply about it they are all the same.
Everyone has similar likes and dislikes. You will have no problem
finding people you can relate to, they are all over
Flickr™. If you
really want to get ahead in anything here fast I would suggest
working with someone who is established in the craft you enjoy.
However, you need to know how to deal with people who have power over
you. They can take it away instantly. As for being in the LGBT
community my advice is please do not let the derogatory names people
call you lower your self-esteem. These are people to be laughed at.
The LGBT community is powerful here and you will run into some great
people. That is a promise, but believe me that circle can get nasty.
Do not let your guard down for one second.
Once you are secure and
ready for anything you will have so much fun that goes for both
worlds."
TY for reading my interview of Simone Reverie aka
Valora Al Nahyan , reporting for OI Magazine (On Innovation Magazine) my name is Luc Fray.
As always feel free to comment!
*
Majority of the pictures of the client are borrowed from her Facebook profile*
