Stephanie Van Burk shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Stephanie , a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
What I’m being called to do now, which I was definitely afraid of before, is to step out visibly and boldly, simply as I am, without waiting for permission.
Coming from the fashion world, everything had to be polished and curated, and that fear of being anything less than perfect used to hold me back.
While I’ve never been afraid of visibility itself – it was part of my world in fashion, modeling, and design – the shift now is profound. I’ve moved from performing for approval to truly expressing with a clear purpose: to empower.
My work, from raw black-and-white art to bold, real fashion content on socials is now about liberation, not pleasing. I’m here to show what freedom looks like, especially for women who’ve been told to shrink as they age.
Moving out of LA really prompted this change; my art became more stripped down, more emotional.
The most rewarding part has been the response from women my age, who tell me, ‘Thank you for being visible. You remind me it’s not too late to take up space.’ So, I’m embracing this more fully now: not just the visibility, but the powerful purpose behind it.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Stephanie Van Burk — a fashion designer, former model, and abstract painter. I’m known for hand-painting leather jackets with bold color, and today I also create raw black-and-white canvas works that reflect a different side of my inner world.
I’ve lived many creative lives — from the fashion scene in LA to my current home in Switzerland — but what connects everything I do is expression without compromise. Whether it’s a painted jacket, a minimalist canvas, or a fearless video on socials, I create to inspire women to take up space, define themselves, and feel unapologetically seen.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that always had to stay ‘on brand’ — polished, curated, and fully in control — has truly served its purpose.
In the fashion world, I mastered how to present, how to perform, and how to deliver a precise visual message. But now, I no longer feel the need to be just one version of myself.
Since leaving LA, I’ve allowed my art to get rawer — literally stripped of color — and my fashion content to feel more spontaneous and real. I’ve actively let go of the pressure to please or to be defined by a label.
Now, I create as a whole woman — playful, powerful, emotional, and completely unfiltered. Releasing the need to control how I’m perceived has been the most liberating thing I’ve done.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I stopped hiding my pain the moment I realized it could be expressed without words—through color, texture, silence, and even contrast.
When I shifted from painting bright leather jackets to creating black-and-white abstract canvases, it wasn’t just an aesthetic choice. It was about processing emotion that had nowhere else to go; I didn’t need to explain it, I needed to release it. And in that release, I found a new kind of strength.
Today, on social platforms, I present a bold visual, but underneath there’s always an emotional current. I’m no longer hiding the hard parts, yet I’m also not letting them define my entire identity. Instead, I use them. I move through them. And I allow them to shape my art and my presence in a way that connects, rather than isolates. For me, that’s what turning pain into power truly looks like.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes, it is — but it’s certainly not the only me. What you see on social platforms is 100% authentic: the bold outfits, the confidence, the vibrant colors, the attitude. That’s not a performance; it’s genuine expression.
However, there’s also a quieter, more introspective side that emerges in my black-and-white paintings, in the stillness of living outside big cities, and in the work I don’t always share publicly.
I’ve stopped believing in separating the ‘real’ from the ‘public’ persona. I show up as I am, but I also fully embrace space for contrast. I can be loud and soft, strong and vulnerable.
For me, the true power lies not in choosing between those sides, but in owning them all.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
When I’m gone, I hope the story people tell about me is that I never asked for permission to exist fully. That I expressed everything – through my style, my art, and my presence – without ever watering myself down.
I hope people say I truly made them feel seen, especially women who were told their time had passed. I want to be remembered as someone who lived vividly in color, even when I painted in black and white; someone who turned reinvention into art, and aging into power.
Ultimately, I hope they remember that I didn’t follow a template-I followed my instinct-and that by doing so, I gave others the courage to do the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vanburkofficial.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanburkofficial
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vanburkofficial
Image Credits
Roxy @pixbyrOxy
John @everything_kills_2
Israel Perez @israelperezofficial
@webmalin.ch
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