WSTalk Fall Winter 2023 - Flipbook - Page 47
and saw a dark skinned girl from Ghana, living in the United States, born
to immigrant parents, and- based on
statistics -should not be where she’s at
in her accomplishments, are inspired.
Already, as black women we start at
a de昀椀cit. We start behind the starting
point to play catch-up from the day
we’re born.” Gifty strives to be the
best version of herself everyday. “For
me,” she says, “It is not a destination.
Everyday is di昀昀erent. It’s a journey
where you’re embracing those moments-of being doubtful, scared, and
unsure. The key is learning from those
experiences, and drawing from them
to see yourself in a positive light.”
She continues, “In anything you do,
you need good people around you to
tell you the truth, and to pour into
you. But, at the end of the day, the
number one factor is how you see
yourself. Would you be proud of the
person you’re looking at? And would
God be proud?” Gifty believes that opportunity doesn’t fall in your lap, that
you have to be hungry. One thing she
likes about her job and her career is
that she gets to tell her story straight
upwith no chaser.
As she reveals, “I’m not helping you
if I’m lying, and telling you that it’s
been a grand old journey, that everyday has been rainbows and sunshine,
or that I’ve never been rejected - or
not chosen for awards. I wouldn’t have
grown or have anything to give if it
wasn’t for those kinds of valleys. As
an in昀氀uencer, when I won Ms. Super
of the Year, I didn’t take that lightly.
We live in a world where everything
is in昀氀uencing. People are living lives
and making full time careers as in昀氀uencers. Today, we spend more time on
our phones and gadgets than anything
else.”
Continuing on, “My biggest asset
to the in昀氀uencing world is showing
up. It’s not easy creating content, being vulnerable, and letting the world
see who you really are. That’s really
tough! So, if you’re gonna show up commit to the process of letting people
see what it really is and who you really
are, because you’re in昀氀uencing minds.
Whether it’s fashion, where you travel, or what you’re saying, people are
watching - and listening. However,
it’s not always showing the glamorous
side of life; it’s about being realistic.
This way, you’re in昀氀uencing people
positively so that they understand you
don’t need to have an unrealistic expectation to achieve whatever it is, because they’re telling you and showing
me how. “
Gifty started her 昀椀rst business,
NVTIVE, in 2017, where she learned
how to build her own brand, products,
and verbiage. In building her own
personal brand, she 昀椀rst had to gain
knowledge and learn how to advocate
for herself. As women, Gifty feels we
need to look out and advocate for one
another more - to make sure we’re not
being exposed and exploited for capital
gain, especially in the in昀氀uential fashion industry.
According to Gifty, “The message
behind my business brand name,
NVTIVE, is about paying homage to
celebrating the individuality of where
you come from. I feel like some people are spending too much time trying
to 昀椀t in, whereas they’re not spending
enough time celebrating their own individuality. I found that my superpower was in the fact that I was di昀昀erent
and stood out. So, I started NVTIVE
because I wanted to celebrate individuality and show pride in who you genuinely are, and where you come from.
I celebrate the fact that I don’t look
like everybody else, but that doesn’t
mean that I’m not good enough. I
need to remind women that may look
like me, or who may not look like me,
and also who don’t look like your average standard of beauty, that they still
have a story. Your own uniqueness is
your golden ticket out of whatever situation you’re in.”
So, why did Gifty choose to go into
clothing? As she says, “It’s because I
remembered going to a casting for Micheal Costello, a fashion designer, in
2016 to walk, only to be told that my
walk was fabulous, but I was a ‘little
too curvy’. That really broke me emotionally. At the time I was a size four.
In other instances, I was even told that
I was too small.
So that’s when NVTIVE was born. I
told myself, I’m 5’ 11’ ‘ with a little bit
of an ass. Yes, I got hips. I’m from Ghana - and I’m proud of that! So, when
I thought about NVTIVE, I wanted
to make pants that would 昀椀t women
like me. Women who are long but also
small at the waistline, the non-conventional out昀椀t for the non-conventional
women. After that, we began to branch
out into other collections.
When visiting Ghana to see my
grandmother (God rest her soul!), she
told me stories about how she started a
business which fed my uncles and my
mom. She never went to school, but
taught herself how to read, write, and
count. She then began to pray over my
business.
Since I 昀椀rst started with NVTIVE,
we have grown every year from pants to
body jewelry, to waist beads. The waist
beads are also handmade in Ghana
and tell the story of the importance of
these beads in African culture. They
are engraved with symbols that have
di昀昀erent meanings. Our slogan is:
Share Your Culture with The World!”
Gifty has now branched out into
health and 昀椀tness. In 2021, she created a sports and leisure wear collection
for men and women.
This included workout posts online
wearing NVTIVE products to motivate
health and 昀椀tness, while incorporating exercise routines. She now has
swimwear and an art collection from
her photo gallery as well.
Just recently, an art mural was unveiled of Gifty in the city of Newark.
It’s print art like that which will be
sold with all the proceeds from 昀椀fty exclusive copies will go to her non-pro昀椀t.
“I’m very big on social justice and the
greater good of giving back. We’re only
here for a short amount of time. How
many people did you impact? That’s
what it’s all about.”
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