We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shay & Geovanni Johnson & Hood. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shay & Geovanni below.

Shay & Geovanni, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

High Point Fashion Week

HPFW is a meaningful project because it is the first of its kind. HPFW was created to merge the collaboration of fashion and furniture in an artistic manner that opens up future professionals in these industries. Having the opportunity to showcase it for the worlds largest world furnishing expo was just an added bonus. We love what we’ve created as it’s not only fashion, it’s community, it’s collaboration, and it’s art.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Geovanni: Fashion show producer, tv show co-producer, philanthropist, public servant, business owner, father, friend. I started producing fashion shows in 2012 when I was looking for a safe event to attend in my city where violence was at an all time high. Having ties to the club promotion arena, I used my connections to produce my very first show which was a rooftop show and the rest is history. Since then I’ve produced a few other independent show in the city of Greensboro, but my passion work is producing fashion shows for local organizations that aligns directly with a cause. In 2020, I partnered with Piedmont Health Services for World Sickle Cell Day to produce a show for people like me, who have sickle cell anemia. In 2022, Shay & I decided to join forces and create our very first fashion week.

Shay: Fashion show producer, motivational speaker, podcast host, philanthropist, business owner, mom. I started fashion shows after seeing a need for a similar outlet for the children in our area and not seeing it here. I had seen Geovanni produce amazing shows for the adults but I always wondered who’s doing that for kids. I sat on my concept for about 2 years and then in 2019, I produced my very first kids production, I Have A Golden Ticket. From there the inquiries came in. We created We Inspire Talent Group Kids in September 2019, I produced Ready! Set! Glow! Kids Show in partnership with Childs Alopecia Project in 2021, and we joined forces to create High Point Fashion Week in 2022.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Geovanni: “For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is seeing the dedication, the time and energy I put into my craft come to life on show date. As a creative, throughout the process it’s always a blur. Casting call, rehearsal. photo shoots, it’s a part of the process. However on show day, seeing it all come together is one of the best feelings ever.

Shay: “Similarly to Geovanni I would agree that show day is very rewarding, however for me with working with the kids, it’s seeing them blossom before your eyes. I always tell my parents the same child you see coming in the process won’t be the one you get coming out and it’s true. I’ve seen so much confidence in each group of kids I’ve worked with. To me that’s rewarding because that’s a skill set they can use for the rest of their lives and I played a part in that.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Geovanni: The mission that drives my creative journey is the opportunity to share my story. As I stated earlier I have sickle cell, and for many people that have this disease, they are not awarded the opportunity to do as much as I have accomplished in such a short amount of time. My mission is to continue to be that beacon of light for my fellow sickle cell warriors providing hope and inspiration to them all, while doing what I’m passionate about. I always loved fashion that’s a given but tying into a cause is my driving force. I’m fortunate that I have the opportunity and I don’t take it lightly.

Shay: The mission that fuels my creative journey is showing little girls that look like me or have had similar experiences like me, that if you put your mind to it anything is possible. Growing up I was told fashion wasn’t a real career, you can’t make good money off of it. As the Co-founder of a thriving fashion week doing just that, I beg to differ! My mission is to feed that curiosity of all the future fashion and furniture enthusiasts like me by sharing opportunities, creating space, and being the inspiration they need to see.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fashionweekhighpoint.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/highpointfashionweek
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/HighPointFashionWeek
• Youtube: www.YouTube.com/highpointfashionweek6298
• Other: For collaboration, email us: Shay Johnson (Em): [email protected] Geovanni Hood: (Em): [email protected]

Image Credits
Photos 1, 2, 4: @ishotwithpanda Kairon Crump Director of Media, HPFW Photo 3: @mgarrisphotography Michael Garris, HPFW Media Team Photos 5-7: @rainsworldphotography Rain Smith, HPFW Media Team