We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful LaQuinta Davis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with LaQuinta below.

LaQuinta, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The mission is, “My fat is my beauty!” The story behind the mission is creating a space where people of size are seen differently for who they are and celebrated for there roles in society. For example, we are often leading women and men in our fields of expertise and in corporate America but told that we can not exist in these spaces as leaders and are overlooked for top tier positions because of our size. We are also trailblazers in fashion but are rarely seen on mainstream runways, in mainstream media and we’re often an afterthought in mainstream fashion eventhough our dollar speaks loudly and clearly.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

LaQuinta Davis, 41 year old, plus size fashion designer from Birmingham, AL. I started designing over 10 years ago. I started designing to show that plus women can be fashionable and deserve clothing made for their bodies. I offer my customers luxury clothing that is cut and sewn for their bodies. My clothing aesthetic is bold and edgy, it is for the woman who wants to stand out and be noticed, like a piece of artwork. I am most proud of the voice that my clothes provide, the conversation they spark and the power and sexiness they allow plus women to feel. I am an advocate for change, the women of size should be seen, heard, accepted, and supported. For all my future followers and support, thank you for supporting my mission and seeing and loving my creativity, it is all created with love for you!!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The biggest lesson, I’ve learned is to treat your business like a business regardless of who you’re doing business with. When it comes to business, there are no friends in business; take your personal relationship with people out of your business relationship with them. Your business should operate without emotion, your decision making for your business should be conducted this way at all times. It is nothing wrong with placing value on yourself and the services you offer; you should always charge accordingly. I’ve had to unlearn making decisions in moments of heighten emotions and valuing friendship over my business.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In the beginning of my career my first official show request was a show in Paris. I was so excited to participate, I remember thumbing through the model selection and getting ready to share my message Internationally. I can recall buying fabric and making that collection, I sketched those pieces in a matter of minutes, and months later they were a reality. My team and I were booked for travel and all arrangements were made, when I received the most devastating news. It’s a few prior to the show and I received an email saying that the head producer and owner of the show was in a really bad care accident and was in a coma and the show was canceled. I was completely stressed, I had thousands of dollars on the line, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to recover any of it. I wasn’t willing to through in the towel or give up on my brand, it’s message and the pieces I had created. I took two days to sit in my feelings and deal with the hurt of the opportunity falling apart, and my team and I started to focus on how could we create another opportunity and fast. We began to look for other opportunities that were coming in the next several month and thus was my introduction to Brooklyn fashion week. Because of that show, I was able to participate in many other shows and to this day, I have a strong presence and fan base in the New York area.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.divabigg.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/divabigg
• Facebook: Www.facebook.com/divabigg
• Twitter: Www.twitter.com/iam_divabigg
• Youtube: Www.youtube.com/iamDivaBigg

Image Credits
Neal Richardson Ellise Antoinette John Staples