Turlock native is finalist in Elton John’s style competition. How to vote
A Turlock native and former news anchor turned media entrepreneur is a finalist in a style competition hosted by Elton John, his partner, David Furnish, and makeup mogul Charlotte Tilbury.
Kristin Vartan has made it to the top five in her group for the Style Icon competition, which supports the Elton John AIDS Foundation. She’s currently ranked second.
The StyleIcon.org site says, “The search is on for the next Style Icon — someone bold, unforgettable, and unapologetically stylish. Open to designers, trendsetters, and anyone with a love for style.”
If she wins, Vartan will attend Versace’s runway show at Milan Fashion Week, be featured in Flaunt Magazine and receive a $20,000 prize.
The public decides who advances, with voting open once per day through Thursday at 7 p.m. The first vote is free, while additional votes cost $1 each. Voting for Vartan is at styleicon.org/2025/kristin-vartan.
“I always say that [style] is the most personal art because it’s the one that you wear over your heart,” Vartan said.
From news anchoring to style
As a first-generation Assyrian-Persian American born in Modesto, Vartan loved hearing her grandparents stories of immigrating to the U.S.
She always had a love for writing — coming from a line of storytellers, as her great-grandfather ran a newspaper in Iran — but said she became a news anchor unexpectedly.
Initially wanting to become a magazine editor, she joined a broadcasting station at Pepperdine University.
She started her news anchor career at 23ABC in Bakersfield before heading to Fox 40 in Sacramento — her hometown news station.
She dreamed of having her own show one day and her father encouraged her to start her own media company, though she wasn’t sure she was ready.
Vartan later co-founded Style Speaks with her brother, filmmaker Sean Ansari Vartan — a platform where storytelling, style and technology converge to help people feel seen.
“That’s always something I dreamed of,” she said, reflecting on starting a media company. “And I told [my dad] I’m not ready for that, maybe 20 years from now or something. I think this is the way that God willed it in my life. It was the right time now.”
Style Speaks was something she initially did for fun on the side of anchoring. Once she left her news anchor job, her brother joined her, blending her journalism roots with his cinematic eye.
The show began by spotlighting clothing that sparks conversation — exploring global issues through the lens of fashion.
Earlier this year, Vartan had the opportunity to interview designers at New York Fashion Week, delving into their creative process and sources of inspiration.
Now, Vartan is expanding Style Speaks to include styles beyond fashion, such as different filmmaking and songwriting styles — an idea which she credits to her brother. They are currently in preproduction.
She hopes that if she wins the Style Icon competition that the money could be put toward the company’s relaunch.
Developing personal style
Vartan said her style is very much inspired by her multigenerational upbringing and closeness with her family.
She often incorporates her mom’s vintage pieces into her wardrobe, blending them with modern looks from emerging designers. Her time studying abroad in Europe also shaped her style as she loves wearing pieces from her favorite places she’s traveled to.
Vartan credits her Persian and Assyrian heritage with shaping much of her personal style and inspiring her to create media that highlights and celebrates other people’s stories.
When she was news anchoring, she’d wear her mom’s suit from the 1990s. While giving a keynote speech at the Assyrian American National Convention, she’d wear a dress her mom designed with fabric from Iran.
“Style is something that is just very innate in who you are and how you carry yourself and how you move through the world,” Vartan said.
Growing up in Turlock
As an Assyrian, Vartan said she feels grateful having grown up among her community in Turlock. Though she now lives in Los Angeles, her family still lives there.
She said she wants to show Assyrians and people from Turlock that if they believe in themselves and have faith, they can have a big impact.
“There are just so many wonderful, talented people in Turlock, in Modesto, and I’m very honored to represent them in the competition,” Vartan said.
Vartan said she learned about the Style Icon competition from her mom who encouraged her to participate. She said it feels very surreal to have made it this far among all the thousands of people who entered the competition.
“The fact that people believe in my style and the story that I tell, and my reason for doing this, I’m just very grateful to God for getting me this far,” she said.
This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
