E52: A NYC fashion/art icon returns to her home country of St. Lucia to farm, create and build a life on her own terms | Shala Monroque in St. Lucia

I’m excited to invite you to my conversation with Shala Monroque. Shala is a Saint-Lucian native who chased her big city dreams to NYC in the early 2000s. Shala was a verifiable “it-girl “of the art and fashion worlds - glossing the pages of numerous magazines and street-style blogs. She was a creative director at Garage, an independent fashion magazine, and also worked as a consultant for Prada. Shala was by all accounts on top of the world, but in reality she battled burnout, depression, and an unshakeable homesickness. In 2012, Shala returned to St. Lucia after her brother was in a near-fatal car accident, staying for a few months while he returned to health. However, by 2014 Shala didn’t want to be away from her family any longer, and made the decision to leave her sought after career in fashion to move back home to St. Lucia. Since moving, she has established a small organic farm on her family’s land, taken up diving and photography, and has slowly found her way back into the fashion world on her own terms. Shala’s determination, and commitment to herself and the natural world has allowed her to reimagine a future in fashion defined by balance, wellness, and ecological consciousness. This is a story about following your intuition, prioritizing your well-being, and earth-centric thinking. Read Shala's full feature on the Urban Exodus blog Support the show Sign up for Apple Podcasts premium or our Patreon Membership for ad-free listening, rapid-fire guest interviews & our new mini-pod Ditch the City. urbanexodus.com | @theurbanexodus | buy the book