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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – As part of Black Business Month, we’re highlighting local professionals who brought their talents to our area or chose to stay and develop their skills.
A designer who grew up in Savannah’s Liberty City neighborhood, she studied at SCAD and then stayed to build her own business.
“To go from 400 square feet on a private lot to 3,000 square feet on one of the most popular corners in the city of Savannah is just unreal,” said Daniette Thomas.
Daniette’s home sits on the corner of Victory and MLK in Savannah. It opened earlier this year as the city’s first ever design house by designer and business owner Daniette Thomas.
“There is no plan for this. There is no guide. There’s nobody really out there (saying) how you start a fashion design business.
It’s a business she’s officially built since graduating college in 2015. But its real beginning was much earlier.
“I wanted to become a designer at the age of 11. At age 12, I discovered Savannah College of Art and Design.”
Now in her 30s, Daniette Thomas has turned her childhood dream into reality.
“I tried to make sure I did what I was called to do with my gift.”
But for a while, Thomas wondered what the calling would be.
“My senior collection, it was my thesis that was recognized by the late V. Andre Leon Talley. Literally being flown back and forth for interviews. I had a possible internship in London and then I was looking at something in Dallas with JC Penney, but after I graduated, it all just stopped.”
At that point, Thomas realized that a prestigious degree only goes so far.
“I was getting several requests from women for custom clothing; ideal for prom dresses, wedding dresses, all types of evening wear. Because no one wants to walk into a room looking like everyone else, especially for a prestigious occasion.”
Custom fashion launched her career in a big way.
But she also has ready-made fashion designs that she sells online.
“The better this collection is, the more it grows like I dreamed it would one day be at Saks Fifth Avenue. Big Nordstrom brands like this.”
And she continues to do it all from her design home in Savannah.
“For a while I thought I would move, but I didn’t want to become famous in another city. I wanted to be nationwide, even international. So I have no plans to leave.”
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