Getting Candid With Venita Davis
Venita Davis is a Houston-born, Southern California–Westmont–raised fashion designer. Now residing in Las Vegas, Davis considers herself a hobby sewist. After selling her work on Etsy for over fifteen years, the former online shop owner now takes clients through word of mouth and her personal social media accounts.
The 60-something-year-old discovered her love for designing in middle school. After realizing her passion in home economics class, Venita began using her mother’s sewing machine at home. Getting to work, the primarily self-taught designer experimented with patches, creating patchwork jeans and later making tops for her sisters.
While she has an eye for the latest trends, Venita describes her style and creations as “boho-eclectic.” Prioritizing comfort, Davis likes to mix and match different patterns and textures making an ensemble unique to her. In her personal life, this could look like a Chanel jacket paired with a pair of Afro-centric earrings to incorporate her personality.
When it comes to inspiration, Venita likes to keep an eye on fashion on a seasonal basis. She expresses her appreciation for the cut of a Chanel blazer and designers like Michael Kors, who is known for creating a well-fitting, unconstructed look. She applauds up-and-coming African designers: Christie Brown from Ghana, Loza Maléombho who is Ivorian American, and Kenneth Ize from Nigeria. She admires their blend of African-printed fabrics with Westernized twists. “They’re unique. You won’t see anyone else with these designs.”
Davis is influenced by individual pieces as opposed to a whole collection. She goes on to describe her favorite ensemble that she created. Inspired by an all-black, monochromatic outfit she had seen in a magazine, Venita created a tunic top with an asymmetrical cut to pair with mid-length, wrap-around waist pants. It is a creation that she wears often as she can accessorize and change it into something different depending on the occasion. She describes herself as a big scarf person. Constructing patterns herself, adding and curating a colorful scarf adds a pop to a look that may not have been there otherwise.
In addition to clothing, Venita enjoys jewelry design and upcycling. She has made everything from African waist beads to ottomans. As a Libra she believes in balance and the versatility that designing brings gives her that. As long as she has a quiet space to work, she can generate new ideas for hours at a time.
As future designs go, Venita believes the ideas “will manifest themselves.” She explains that it can be difficult to gather the supplies needed to match her vision for a project. “I will keep an idea in my head for years.” She currently has a pattern of three years that she has not touched because she wants to find the perfect fabric to begin creating.
Size doesn’t matter, quality does. She holds craftsmanship in the highest regard and expresses the importance of understanding the work that goes into commissioning a piece for a client. “Fashion is more than just clothing for the body. I think it’s a form of individualism. It says a lot about who you are. We’d have a happier world if people used fashion as an extension of who they are.” In a competitive world that focuses on impressing one another, Venita Davis encourages people to be who they are and to wear what fits their lifestyle. She hopes to always have design integrated into her life and plans to practice her craft for as long as the foreseeable future allows.
