photo by let's be frank photography
For DJ Taylor, designing clothes started as a pandemic-time hobby, keeping him busy in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, while his professional soccer career was on hold.
“I remember thinking, ‘what can I do with this time that I might never be able to do during the season? How can I take advantage of it?’” shares Taylor.
Combing through Shopify and playing on Adobe Illustrator, Taylor found solace in the creative process of designing. He began drop shipping clothes for soccer fans in his hometown and quickly nurtured the pandemic outlet into a passion project he couldn’t walk away from. Four years later, Taylor has grown this passion into a fashion brand of his own—VENCI, the Spanish word for “conquer,” signifying his continued resolve to conquer his dreams.
photo by let's be frank photography
On Oct. 12, VENCI will showcase its fall collection at Fashion Week Minnesta’s Creative Renaissance show, driven by Morrie’s Auto Group, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. As one of FWMN’s carefully selected local luminaries, Taylor will walk in the show alongside a collection of innovative leaders who have made an impact on the Twin Cities community and beyond.
Just three weeks out from Fashion Week, we caught up with Taylor on all things VENCI, his hopes for their 2024 fall collection, and what it means to him to represent the community as a local luminary.
What does your design process look like? How has it evolved since you first started in 2020?
I started out just drop shipping, which means I would basically design a logo, put it on a shirt, and sell it. But eventually, over the years I’ve gotten better. I’ve taught myself how to use Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, and Canva. Honestly, I also spend a lot of time on Pinterest. I’ll go on Pinterest to find designs I like, and then I’ll add my own flavor to them in Adobe Illustrator.
Can you explain how you landed on the name VENCI? What meaning does it carry for you?
Initially, my brand name was going to be ‘DJKT,’ which is just my initials. And my slogan was ‘turn your dreams into a reality,’ which is something that has always resonated with me in my soccer career. Eventually, I decided I wanted to add some Spanish flair, because I played soccer in Spain for two years right out of high school, and I really appreciate the culture. I started searching for Spanish terms that related to my slogan and that’s when I came across ‘venci,’ which translates to ‘conquer’ in Spanish. So, the idea is conquering your dreams and turning them into a reality. And then slowly, we’ve developed the brand into not just conquering your dreams, but also embracing your imperfections along the way.
photo by let's be frank photography
Would you say that your athletic background influences your personal style and/or what you lean toward aesthetically as a designer?
Yeah, I think so for sure. I’ve dabbled in a lot of different areas, like I said, at first it was just plain T-shirts. And then I started playing around with hoodies and eventually crossed into oversized streetwear inspired by the 2000s. I think that style is definitely easy for me to relate to as an athlete, because we tend to wear a lot of oversized jeans, hoodies, and tees like that. I’d say that’s the style that really categorizes our brand now.
Is this your first season involved with FWMN? What has your experience around runway shows looked like in the past?
We’ve done quite a few runway shows. We were part of FWMN a few years ago, and we partnered with them on another show in 2022. We actually just hosted our own show a few months ago with other local streetwear brands, and that was the first time we ran our own show completely by ourselves. We also raised money from that show for Big Bothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Twin Cities, so that was really cool. And it was a huge success.
photo by Lydia Smith Photography
Can you give a little sneak peek of what to expect from your fall collection?
We will show a few hoodies and a few shirts. But there will also be a piece we haven’t released yet. And it’s not a hoodie or shirt, I can say that. It’s gonna be a full custom sewn piece so I’m super excited about it.
Who do you partner with for sewing/manufacturing on custom pieces like this?
It’s a lot of work to find the right people. We’re actually still looking around and developing relationships with manufacturers, but right now we have one in Portugal and one in Pakistan.
That’s great. Portugal is well-known for its leadership in sustainable fashion. Was that part of the draw for you?
Definitely. Portugal seemed like one of the best options for a lot of reasons—sustainability, quality, communication, and price point. We’ve been very fortunate to develop such a good relationship with the manufacturers over there.
photo let's be frank photography
You have been chosen as one of FWMN’s community luminaries to walk the runway at the Creative Renaissance show. What does it mean to you to represent the Twin Cities community in this way?
I was really surprised and super excited. It’s a blessing to be able to be recognized as a community leader. For me, it’s a lot about bringing awareness to the youth. We partner with BBBS and we’re really passionate about helping the youth have a better path as they grow up. It’s special to be recognized for the work we’ve done, and I think it’s a testament to us as a brand and the work we’ve put in over the years, as well as the other creatives we’ve been able to meet along the way. Working with Fashion Week and seeing their awesome story and the way they run things has been really cool. It’s just about growing altogether as a community.
