Draya Michele Discusses Mint Swim Fashion Line

PHOTO CREDIT TO SAMUEL WHITWORTH/WHITWORTH PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO CREDIT CHRIS PAUL THOMPSON and the EDITOR IS RAFAEL ALEXANDER. Draya Michele is a stunning actress and model turned reigning fashion empress. Her career took off when she started appearing in top artist’s music videos including Kanye West, Usher, Nikki Minaj, The Game, and Jay-Z, among others. Draya Michele opened up about why she quit VH1’s “Basketball Wives: LA” after four seasons stating she was ready to focus her attention on more positive things- including her vastly growing clothing lines Mint Swim and Fine Ass Girls. Today she is mostly recognized and highly accredited as a successful entrepreneur, leading designer and powerful woman to watch!

Talk about a smart career move!

Draya’s designs are celebrated for their bold and unique color pallets and praised by the mass public for her assorted pieces, fashion-forward style and wide range within her collection including plus size and children’s wear, and adding men’s and lounge wear line options available.

From the streets to the runway to the red carpet, Draya originals can be spotted on everyone- including top A-listers and major social influencers in the biz like Zendaya, La La Anthony, Adrienne Bailon, Selena Gomez and Christina Milian.

Draya draws her inspiration directly from the consumers and fans thanks to her 4 million combine followers. She let’s them guide her, provide feedback and tell her exactly what they want to see more of… Draya chooses everything from the fabrics, design, and colors – she even does the original sketch work- but the power of connecting through social networks is what allows her the opportunity to deliver the fashion we crave!

TIM: What ignited your passion for fashion and design?

DRAYA MICHELE: I’ve always been creative and artistic. When I was a kid, I was always drawing stuff and one of the first things I began drawing was women and their clothing. I found myself able to focus on the woman’s figure- which of course lead me to design. As an adult it became pretty clear what I had wanted to do…

TIM: What inspires you when you’re sketching designs for your various clothing lines?

DRAYA MICHELE: I get a lot of my inspiration on vacation as I enjoy traveling a lot. I see a variety of fabrics and patterns from different places, people and beaches and what they are wearing which regularly inspires me. I also like to incorporate older fashions and fuse that together with what is popular now. Many dresses that I see also inspire me to turn them into designs and patterns for swimsuits that I love.

TIM: What brought upon the plus size line?

DRAYA MICHELE: I got a huge response and amount of requests from those seeking plus size fashions. I had no idea their was such a big market and demand for it. Once I realized “Wow, you guys would wear my swimsuits also”- Sure, I can start making swimsuits! It was really important to me to try and keep the styles similar to what I already make because that is what people like about the brand. So my plus size collection needed to be just as fresh. Not old or granny-ish ya know? Keep it sexy so the more curvy girls could feel the same sex appeal that the slim girls often get to!

Listen in to the full interview as Draya dishes on the expansion of Mint Swim, whats next for the brand, her role as a designer and business woman, and how she continues to build her fashion empire!