Singapore-born 'Rainbow Lady' finds fame through wacky fashion sense that helped her overcome depression

Singapore-born 'Rainbow Lady' finds fame through wacky fashion sense that helped her overcome depression

Kristina Sevillano wears a look that not many of us in Singapore will dare to emulate or be able to pull off.

Take one look at her wardrobe and you'll see why.

The 23-year-old was recently featured on an episode of Barcroft TV's Hooked On The Look, a series about people "who will do almost anything to be noticed".

From shelling out eye-watering amounts of money for cosmetic surgeries to taking fashion to new heights, the series focuses on the lengths people go to for attention.

Kristina's claim to fame is her transformation into a "human rainbow" through fashion, which sees her decked out in extravagant, multi-coloured pieces inspired by the street fashion of Harajuku, Japan.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/HookedOnTheLook/videos/689165964854832/[/embed]

"My personal style is basically a mash-up of all the things that I love - mainly rainbows. I love rainbows so much and so I wanted to embody the whole rainbow vibe.

"Just imagine if a rainbow was a human being, that would be me," she quipped in the video.

But behind her fluorescent outfits and neon makeup lies a darker struggle with psychological challenges she fought to overcome.

FROM DEPRESSED TEEN TO RAINBOW QUEEN

Born and bred in Singapore, Kristina moved to the US in 2010 but found herself suffering from severe depression due to all the drastic changes her family had to acclimate to.

This dark period of her life eventually led to a week-long stay in a mental institute for teenagers. 

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"It was a very lonely time period. I isolated myself from a lot of people and it led to a lot of running away from home and a lot of suicidal thoughts and self-harm," she said in the interview with Barcroft TV.

The turning point came when she became pregnant during her junior year of high school which motivated her to live an authentic life because she wanted to inspire her son to do the same.

"Before I found out that I had my son I literally didn't know what I was going to do with my life. I thought I would just take the safe route and do what my parents wanted and become a nurse or something.

"The birth of my son pushed me to wear colourful extravagant clothing because I want to teach my child to not let anything hold him back from doing anything that he wants in life."

Now, Kristina lives with her husband Edgar and five-year-old son Enzo in Austin, Texas, but not everyone in the family is as enthusiastic as she is about dressing like a rainbow.

Gesturing to her "magically colourful" side of the closet in the video, 99 per cent of her clothes are brightly coloured, in sharp contrast with Edgar's safe choices of blues and blacks.

Still, he is fully supportive of Kristina's passion. Despite the attention she garners when they're out in public, this look allows her to "make herself feel comfortable," he said.

But this look comes with its share of work, and Kristina reportedly takes around two hours to get ready and had once spent up to four hours on her appearance.

The mum-of-one usually adds one new item to her wardrobe a week and would go all out to dress up for everyday tasks, such as taking her son to school or running errands.

After spending five years wearing a rainbow, Kristina is now working on a modelling career and was recently featured in a photo spread for the UK-based G_IRL Magazine.

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The "Rainbow Lady of Texas" is now focused on growing her online following where she has amassed over 26,000 followers on Instagram and putting out more content on her YouTube channel which sees her doing rainbow lookbooks and tutorial videos.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/BzBwSrDl31D/[/embed]

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/By018pBFGEE/[/embed]

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[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtRoIrljfjM[/embed]

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToLBHpOp49E[/embed]

Talk about breaking fashion rules and standing out from the crowd. Anyone else inspired to add a pop of colour to their wardrobe?

joeylee@asiaone.com

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