Today we’d like to introduce you to Joi Lanell.
Joi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my brand, Yatir Clothing around 2011, fresh out of high school. I initially started with just graphic tees, but that wasn’t where my heart was. After years of finding the perfect person to work with to bring my designs to life, I transitioned to do plus size clothing around 2016. Since then it has been a wonderful journey of ups, downs but most importantly growth.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Like I mentioned I started straight out of high school, I had no business or fashion experience at that point. I just had a vision, so I’ve been learning as I grow.
Some of the struggles I have experienced are losing jobs while on my journey that helps me fund + continue to grow the line which has been tough because each time it was unexpected. Not gonna lie, I’ve also been influenced/sidetracked by social media, what everyone else is doing and losing sight of my vision.
Being bombarded by other people who seemed to blow up overnight can definitely throw you off, but I had to learn to focus on what I’m doing, my vision and the purpose for starting my brand. Lastly, I don’t want to say this is a struggle, but just a realization that I was in my own way and stifling the growth of the brand.
Yatir Clothing – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Yatir is a plus size clothing line. I design clothing that is versatile, and somewhat on the streetwear spectrum. I’m a girl who likes to wear sneakers 99% of the time, so I wanted to design clothing for girls like me that might not like to wear heels.
I’m most proud that people can see themselves when they look at my campaigns, I’m proud that I’ve been able to inspire and motivate people through clothing. That is one of my main goals, it’s really bigger than fashion for me.
What sets my brand apart from others, is that no one has my vision, so even if another brand has a similar style, our vision and purposes are different.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far… I would have to say, having people reaching out to tell me they were inspired to follow their dreams. That’s the biggest thing for me, I don’t care too much for accolades, etc.. It’s all about the people I’m able to reach and impact.
Contact Info:
- Website: Yatirclothing.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/yatirclothing
- Facebook: facebook.com/yatirclothing
- Twitter: twitter.com/yatirclothing
Image Credit:
Aleah Clark
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