We recently connected with Destiny Walden and have shared our conversation below.

Destiny , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

From being one both sides of the line… I learned that all it really takes to be successful is drive and passion. You have to have some kind of beast within you to tear down all the obstacles that hit you along the way. Setbacks will come, just focus and keep soldiering forward.

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?

If you haven’t heard about me or my brand.. what a good time to tune in! I’m Destiny, a self taught designer who owns the brand CHOKOKETD (chuh-kel-ed). The slogan for my brand is “Looks are Deceiving”… In high school, before furthering my education in Fashion Design, I was always told that I wasn’t going to make it in the fashion industry because I am black. I stayed focused on what I considered to be the bigger picture.

I push the boundaries of fashion with story telling and hand made designs. Once I learned that there were no rules to fashion, my career jumpstarted! I started making outfits using foreign material which seems to be a head turner on the runway.

Over the years, I’ve done freelance work for people all over the U.S, and Ive also did plenty of creative content shooting for my brand, fashion shows and collaborations …Here’s to my biggest accomplishment in my career I can finally say that my hard work has paid off because I’ll be showcasing my brand for the very first time in New York City this fall! A dream come true!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Tiktok has really pushed my content within the last year. I’ve gained over 27 thousand followers, that traffic goes straight to my website & social sites which promotes all of my businesses.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I think the most resilient time in my career was when it first started. I could’ve listened to all of the criticism around me about wanting to go into the Fashion Industry. When I was told that I wasn’t going to make it, I could’ve changed my plans but I didn’t. Even over the years when I was unmotivated at times, and when my answer was “NO”.. I didn’t lose sight of the bigger picture. I worked day in and day out on my brand regardless if had support or not.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chokoletd.com
• Instagram: @chokoletd
• Facebook: Destiny Walden
• Youtube: CHOKOLETD
• Other: Tiktok: Ladkei