When Marisa Kalil-Barrino completed her master’s degree in journalism in 2023, she set off to bridge the gap in fashion and media representation for Black and Brown people. She created 1202 Magazine, an online publication that showcases fashion, beauty, music, art, and culture with a special focus on Black and Brown talent. Fashion On The Beat (FOTB) caught up with the Detroit-native to ask about her journey and what she has in store for the future of 1202. As a reader, you can start supporting them here.

Being from Detroit, how has that impacted your relationship with the topics covered in 1202: fashion, beauty, music, and art? What aspects of Detroit do you think are underrated in broader U.S. culture?

Detroit influences me in ways no other city can. I’ve yet to encounter a city that grinds as hard to achieve their goals like the people from Detroit. Every type of artist is present in Detroit: musicians, DJs, stylists, designers, photographers, filmmakers, painters, sculptors, architects, interior designers, you name it. Everything about Detroit is underrated. That city is really the blueprint. I’ve noticed that living in New York City and traveling to other cities. It often goes unspoken, but Detroit is home to many firsts when it comes to fashion and music. Despite the fact, we’ve remained the underdogs and have to work three times as hard than most cities to get to the top of that ladder. Many beats in rap music today are Detroit beats. Techno is from Detroit, and every techno and house song has some Detroit influence. Detroit is the Motor City. Car culture started there, and industrial wear did too.

When did you decide to pursue a career in journalism?

I was so bad at everything else. Writing has been my strength since I was a kid. Storytelling is so important to me. Uplifting people’s voices regardless how big their platform is is imperative in the media. Every artist and concept begin somewhere, and I love to start at the beginning for these artists. Black and Brown artists are still severely underrepresented in the media, so I thought, “If not me, who else is going to do it?”

When and why did you decide to start 1202?

1202 MAGAZINE is my continuous work in progress. I noticed that when I often pitched emerging artists to bigger publications, they didn’t see the potential until an artist had already acquired a large platform. I was simply fed up with the constant rejection despite these being amazing stories from amazing people. 1202 MAGAZINE doesn’t reject artists in their early stages. We’re all eyes and ears open. Everyone’s journey matters. Every story, background, and experiences are so different. It’s honestly a privilege to interview such unique people every day.

What did the beginning of that journey look like? For people who may see a gap in media that they want to fill, how do you get from an idea to a product?

1202 MAGAZINE is still very much in its beginning stages. To go from an idea to a product, I simply just do it. I do not hesitate. Every thought or idea I’ve ever had has been attempted and almost always succeeded. If it hasn’t yet, I know I need to persevere. I’ve gotten a thousand “nos”, but it truly only takes one “yes” to change your life. Some days the impostor syndrome gets to me, but I know what I’m doing isn’t for nothing.

I see that you also interned for a film festival at one point. What is the relationship between journalism and other forms of storytelling?

There are so many forms of storytelling. Visuals, especially with films, TikToks, Reels, YouTube, and other visual platforms, are very prominent with today’s generation of shortened attention spans. With today’s technology, you can tell an entire story in just a few minutes. While that does scare me a bit in regards to the future of actual articles, I know there are ways to incorporate visual storytelling with 1202’s stories to preserve the necessity of reading. Working for the Freep Film Festival has taught me so much, but one thing it’s taught me most is that it all begins with writing a story.

You didn’t only create 1202, you also wrote quite a bit for it. Tell me about some of the topics you like to write and what are some of the pieces you feel particularly proud of?

I aim to dabble in every topic regarding arts and culture: music, beauty, fashion, art, visual arts, politics, all of it. I’m truly proud of all of my work, as well as the contributors to 1202 MAGAZINE. Their work means so much to me. I hope they know how grateful I am that they provide such strong and essential storytelling to this publication.

I really enjoyed your article: “Jonathan McCrory’s Road to Liberation at the National Black Theatre.” What did you learn in writing that article? What is the connection between storytelling and liberation for you?

Storytelling is a form of liberation. Everyone has a voice, and it’s important for audiences to hear them. Journalism is not “giving” people a voice. They already have that. It’s much more than that. It’s uplifting, empowering, and representing who these people are, what they do, and creating a safe space for them to be vulnerable and expressive. So many voices are silenced and censured for telling the truth. We have to change that. We want 1202 MAGAZINE to be that safe space.

Where is the magazine headed? What plans do you have for the next couple of months or years?

I just want to keep telling different types of stories of all different kinds of people. I want to work with everyone. I want 1202 MAGAZINE to be the go-to hub for both emerging and pioneering artists. The world is full of so much talent. I want this to be forever.