We recently connected with Chantelle Arnett and have shared our conversation below.

Chantelle , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

During my journey of all of my crafts and professions, there were many times that I felt like I didn’t have the support and no one understood me or my vision. I’m from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and from 2018-2022, I have come a long way with many of my professions. But there was a time I did not feel the support from my own people in my own city so that brought me to move. I’ve even had family members asking me what I’m going to do next because I was so lost in my path but I knew I had a vision. My grandfather who passed away in 2020 lashed out on me a year before his passing because I told him I was still trying to figure it out and even today I’m still trying to figure it out but I had to understand myself that this is my vision and only I can see it, and one day the world will see it too!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As of today, I am a 28 year old fashion designer, who dances, and a screenwriter who is a fashion stylist. Now with being a year in Graduate School, I am working to become a new Screenwriter, someone iconic. For starters, I have been designing clothes since I was 12 years old, I started out by reconstructing denim and tie dying t-shirts until I later went to college for my Bachelor of Fine Arts at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia from 2013-2018. I came up with the idea of my clothing brand, LEGENDCCXXVII ITALIA in 2017. LEGENDCCXXVII ITALIA is now chartered as an LLC as of 2022. LEGENDCCXVII ITALIA specializes in hats, and Ready-To-Wear for men and women, another part of the brand comes with wardrobe styling/image branding for people who want to upgrade their image for their business purposes or people who are interested in getting styled for photoshoots and/or video shoots. The best thing I’ve ever done was create my brand because it’s like as I watch myself grow and progress, I watch my brand grow and progress. My brand and I are growing together and with my brand I plan to be one of the biggest brands in the fashion industry, my vision has never changed. Another thing that I’m proud of is moving to Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. Moving to Hollywood has always been my dream place but now I’m finally here. Although I had to put my brand on hold for a while until further notice, due to me being in Graduate School, I still wake up every day trying to figure out how to expand.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I believe that everyone has their own sense of creativity. Being a creative person is not like chemistry. Creativity is about being yourself and doing things your own way. Teachers are creatives, business professionals are creatives, doctors are creatives, lawyers are creatives, engineers are creatives, and even hustlers are creatives. My definition of a creative is a person that creates their own vision for their own art.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As a creative, I have a particular vision for the things I see for myself. Of course, I want the money, I want the cars, I want the house(s) but those material things are not that important to me. When it comes to myself, my brand, and my art, I want to be able to put out my exact vision of the work I create without penny pinching, that’s my biggest goal. I want to and believe I can be one of the most creative artists in the world. I also want to be able to give back. I would like to give back to my family, the people who supported my dream and my vision, and I also wanna give back to my city, get more programs going for kids that are into the arts, and open a school of the arts. I want freedom!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://legendccxxvii.myshopify.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealcocohantas/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FashionNomad/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantelle-l-arnett-35085753/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/realcocohantas

Image Credits
Antonio Livingston IG: @mrlivingston_ Daelin Johnson IG: djohnsonphotography_