Happy National Black Business Month, a special time to put Black businesses at the forefront. To celebrate GU is back and better celebrating Black Business Month with our franchise, Standing On Business, to shine a spotlight on Black entrepreneurs’ remarkable achievements and contributions.
This franchise stresses the significance of supporting and promoting Black-owned businesses, which play a vital role in fostering economic growth and community development, especially in the digital era. Through Standing On Business, GU is dedicated to showcasing innovative and dynamic enterprises led by Black business owners, providing them a platform to share their stories, challenges, and successes. By highlighting these businesses, we aim to inspire future generations and encourage greater investment in Black entrepreneurship.
The first entrepreneur we’re highlighting is Keiandrea Daniels, 28, a fashion designer and (spoiler alert) the season one winner of Hulu’s competition series Dress My Tour. She’s been in the fashion industry since 2011 and has worked in several departments, including fashion show production, clothing production, model coordination and sewing training. She’s created pieces for many clients, including Paris Hilton, SWV, Ari Lennox, K.Michelle and more.
As a Zillennial, she brings a unique perspective to the entrepreneurial landscape, blending digital savvy with a deep understanding of contemporary social and economic issues. GU caught up with Daniels to chat about entrepreneurship, competing, and advice to upcoming business owners.
Girls United: How did fashion come into your life? Did you always know you wanted to be in the fashion industry?
Keiandrea Daniels: I always knew I wanted to be in fashion. I didn’t know that I could be a designer because I thought that you had to know how to sew to be a designer, and I didn’t know how to sew. So, I thought I was going to be like a stylist until I got into high school. I went to a magnet school with a fashion marketing program. I befriended my fashion marketing teacher, Mrs. Blackman, and she happened to be a fashion designer who knew how to sew, so I started spending time with her outside of school, and she started teaching me the basics of how to sew. I took that and ran with it, and I had been making clothes and designing since high school.
GU: What were those beginning moments of you creating clothes like?
KD: I struggled when I first started. Looking back, I didn’t know how to find my voice, which I struggled with. I didn’t know where I fit in because I was helping other people with their stuff when I first started, so I’m like, do I do things like this because this is what people like or do I be [myself]? My stuff would always be out there, and it didn’t look like stuff that people would actually wear, so I was having fun making stuff, but I was struggling with figuring out how to get it to the market that I needed to get to.
GU: When was the first moment you noticed you found your identity?
KD: I struggled for maybe about seven or eight years to find my voice, and in 2020, I decided I was over not making what I wanted to make. I bought fabric that spoke to me and made whatever I wanted. From that moment of me doing that is what started getting the right eyes on me as far as celebrity clients. I was focusing on the wrong market. I focused on the everyday people when my stuff is supposed to be in music videos, photoshoots, and the stage.
GU: Now, after that moment of finding your footing in fashion, what made you decide to apply to be on Hulu’s Dress My Tour?
KD: I had no intention of ever being on TV. [laughs] It actually kind of randomly came to me. One of the other designers sent me the application, and I’m like, ‘I can apply, let’s just see.’ I applied, and they contacted me back the same day, an hour or two after I filled out the application, and it just went from there.
GU: What was your experience on the show? What did you learn about yourself as you faced each challenge?
KD: Being on the show was one of the most trying times in my career because there were so many emotions that you had to go through all at once, like being in a pressure cooker. I knew I needed this opportunity, so I took it very seriously. Because of time constraints, the biggest thing I had to conquer was owning what I wanted to do and sticking to it. I overthink and second-guess myself a lot, and I didn’t have time to do that. I was like, ‘Come up with something, stick with it, and own it.’ I had to push myself and know that I could do each challenge.
GU: How did you maintain your confidence as you maneuvered the competition?
KD: With each challenge, I always took time to pray. That’s always my go-to every time after that; it’s just knowing that I do my best when I’m being myself. People get inside their heads because they need to be more than who they are. If you focus on being yourself, then that takes you far.
GU: Now that you have become the grand winner of Dress My Tour, what was it like when they announced you as the winner?
KD: I was speechless. People don’t know that when I went down there, I didn’t have the goal to win. I just wanted to do my best each time, so the closer [the competition] got, I was like, ‘Wait, I might have a chance.’ When it happened, I lost the feeling in my body. While there, I lost my place the week before it happened. It’s been a year, and I’m still in shock.
GU: What can we look forward to seeing from you?
KD: Along with sharing my story more with the world, I want to finally have a showroom where people can get these one-of-one pieces for people. I want to keep dropping exclusives so people can get my pieces before they are gone.
GU: What is the most important advice you want to pass down to Gen Z entrepreneurs?
KD: For one push past the point of defeat, that’s when, right after you get through, everything will turn around. You can’t stop or give up; remember to find your lane. That will get you the furthest, so you must keep going. I kept quitting when things didn’t go right for me and had to keep pivoting back. You have to be your own support system, strangers will see you before the people around you will. Nobody else is going to see your vision but you, so don’t give up, and as long as you believe in yourself, then the rest will follow.
About the Author: Kenyatta Victoria is the lead writer for Essence GU, working on all things pop culture, politics, entertainment and business. Throughout her time at GU, she’s garnered devoted readers and specializes in the Zillennial point of view.