Step aside, Project Runway, Hulu’s new series Dress My Tour is here to spotlight some amazing up-and-coming design talents. The 10-episode series follows 11 aspiring fashion designers on the raw, emotional journey of creating stunning fashion pieces worthy of the music world’s biggest names like JoJo Siwa, Paula Abdul, Toni Braxton, Ty Dolla $ign and more.
Hosted by supermodel and actress Kate Upton, Dress My Tour takes fans behind the curtain of the unpredictable fashion and music industries. Emmy award-winning costume designer Marina Toybina and creative director, choreographer and Emmy award-nominated director Laurieann Gibson serve as mentors and judges for the series.
Hailing from Atlanta, designer Traviance Dunn, a/k/a the “needle ninja” was a standout on the series, creating fabulous fashions that were ready to rock the stage. He’s worked with Cardi B, Queen Naija, Ari Lennox, Ariana Fletcher, Kash Doll, Latto, and a host of many more reality stars and music artists.
We had the chance to chat with Traviance about his evolution as a designer – from designing prom dresses to showcasing his “urban glam” looks at New Your Fashion Week, his experience on the show and what’s next in our exclusive interview. We also put him in the hot seat for another installment of the Socialite Seven. Get to know the needle ninja whose looks are sew fierce.
How did you get started in fashion?
I got started in fashion, I want to say, around my freshman year of high school. I kind of had already played around with the idea and playing around with my personal style throughout middle school, as I was getting older. So, I started making myself these bow ties using my mom's old designer purses and old pieces that she had with a single hand needle thread, little bow ties, maybe a few accessories. My older brother was also very artsy. He did play football, but he also had fashion on his mind. He would make his own jeans, customize his own jeans, that type of thing, so I kind of followed in his footsteps with that as well.
And then, my senior year, my best friend needed a prom dress and I was taking her to prom and we went and shopped for dresses, looked for stuff, couldn't find anything. We found one dress, it was way out of budget, and when I saw the dress, I was like, girl, I think I can make this. And she was like, let's go buy a sewing machine. So, we went and bought a sewing machine, I watched the little DVD that it came with at the time, just instructing you on how to do a basic stitch, and the rest was history.
I made the dress. It was beautiful. It was one of my best prom experiences ever and people started to contact me more to help them with their looks. And then I started getting into a local fashion club or what we call a modeling troupe in North Carolina and they gave me the opportunity to design for whole fashion shows and whole productions that they were doing. So, that's really when I took my deep dive in – and that was in 2011, coming out of high school. Shortly after that, I moved to Atlanta.
When I moved to Atlanta, I knew that I wanted to do fashion. I knew that I wanted to make clothes full-time. By this time, I had a pretty good clientele, I guess you could say a little portfolio at the time – but it wasn't anything spectacular. It was just, you know, me and my friends doing little photo shoots, that type of thing. When I moved to Atlanta, I met with this this rapper named Kash Doll. She was my first client when I got to Atlanta and she took me to the heights. So that's really how I got my break into fashion, working with Kash Doll.
I went on your Instagram and you've got so many different facets to your designs, how would you describe your style?
That's a tricky question. Honestly, for me, because I'm so hands on – like I said on the show, I can literally make anything. I pride myself on being really, really versatile. So, I guess you could say my style is extremely versatile. I always call it urban glam because I take a lot of inspiration from things that the urban culture has done to contribute to today's fashion and try to make them my way. So that's how I would explain it.
How did you get involved with Dress My Tour?
It’s a funny story. A friend of mine reached out to me one day and was like, “Hey, my friend is casting for this show. I think you'd be great for it. You should apply.” And usually, I just ignore things like that because I think they're fake but I went ahead and applied – and in a few days, maybe two days later, I heard back from some of the casting people. And from there it was a smooth ride. It was a long ride, but it was a smooth ride. It was a three-year process from the time of applying until it aired just last week.
And what was your reaction when you got cast?
I was honestly shocked. I was amazed. I was super happy. I think at that time I had been trying to step out of doing prom – because that's what I've been known for doing for a very long time – and I just really wanted people to take me more seriously as a fashion designer. I was looking for another way to do that and still be able to make money and teach myself more. So, when I got cast for the show, it allowed me the opportunity to first of all take a step back from doing prom and focus more on the craft – because I didn't want to go on the show looking crazy. I made sure that I did my homework and study before I left. So, it was exciting. It was tearing my nerves up because we had to wait for so long, but it was super exciting.
You had turned out some really fantastic looks. Did you have a favorite out of the ones that you did on the show?
Absolutely. My French Montana look. The look I did for the French Montana residency was my absolute favorite look. My second favorite would have to be the Toni Braxton challenge, just because I love gowns. That's what I mainly do is gowns. That had to be my second favorite, but the technical design in the French Montana challenge was my favorite part of the whole competition. I did not even think I had it in me to design or make something like that. So, to see it come together, how it did and see it on stage in the end made me feel really, really good.
What was the toughest challenge for you on the show?
The toughest challenge for me was the JT challenge, the avant garde challenge. And I, surprisingly, that was a tough one for me because I make a lot of stuff for drag queens and people in the LGBTQ community. And I do a lot of ballroom work which entails a lot of avant garde costume work. It’s over-the-top, a whole dramatic feel. Going into the challenge, what you don't see on the show is that I actually had trouble getting the right materials after my fabric initially got stolen by Todd. After that, I actually had the shoppers go out and look for resin, which I ended up using in the following challenge, on the Paula Abdul Challenge. But that challenge, they could not find it. I wasted a whole entire workday waiting for the materials to come back. I think we had maybe an hour left and they brought me back the wrong product. And I was like, oh my God, I started scrambling.
You don't see, I literally made like four to five outfits. During that time that I just wasn't happy with because I had a vision already and I just had to land on what I landed on. It was not my favorite but I'm still proud of what I put out there because I think it was executed beautifully, especially with the amount of time that I had.
What was the experience like working with the different designers on the show?
That was a test, taking leadership, because I kind of had to take leadership with my team and also being able to collaborate with other designers and not lose yourself in a group and not be pushed to the back. I think that you could tell who made what. It taught me how to stay true to myself, even when in a room full of other creators and that's very, very hard to do. It's very easy to be influenced by other designers or to get lost in a group when you're trying to seek out.
One thing that I'm always curious about is you came back to help K with her final looks. What was that experience like for you to have been eliminated and then come back to help?
I was in my feelings. I was really, really sad. So, when they did ask me to come back, I was overjoyed. I was happy to still even be in the workroom, so that was exciting, but it also put a lot of pressure on me because I didn't know who was going to choose me at first. So, when K did choose me, it just made me feel like, okay, this could be her make or break. And I don't want to be the blame if she does not win this. So let me put my best foot forward. Let me put myself in this position as if this is my collection I'm presenting and give it everything that I have so that she can have the best collection and be $100,000 richer, which she did. And I'm so proud of her.
Were you inspired by any designers when you were starting out?
Coming up, I adored Michael Costello and to this day I adore Dapper Dan, what he does for this culture, for the culture, for the people. He's like the blueprint for what I want to be eventually, one day. Who else? Other designers like LaQuan Smith, and there's some other smaller designers out of Atlanta that have really helped me, you know, reach where I am today.
One being, watching his work, Reco Chappelle. He's very, very inspiring and there's a host of other designers that I look up to. I love everyone's work. I watch everyone's work. I think we all do – just help you stay up to date and know if what you're doing is working and not saying to always compare yourself to others, but I mean, as a business owner, you have to watch out for those type of things too.
Did you learn anything surprising about yourself while you were working on Dress My Tour?
That I'm a beast at menswear and I'm probably sleeping on myself when it comes to menswear because I really have it, it’s just gonna take a little bit more digging.
Speaking of menswear, the double collared shirt you wore for confessionals was the coolest and I saw on Instagram that you actually designed that yourself.
Yes. I actually initially made it for a ball. I was going to a ball with some friends of mine and made the shirt. And when I was trying to go in for the ball, I was like, oh my God, no, I need to save this. So that's why I wore it then. I love this shirt. I love the design. I actually have a few other designs that are similar, almost like a little mini collection that I'm thinking about making available to the public very, very soon.
Are there other areas that you'd really like to explore as far as fashion goes?
The show also taught me that I am a fan of costume design and stage – performance wear – so that's something I want to dive deeper into as well – and that's for men and women. I just want to explore and see what I can create, see what's doable. I think that performance wear is one of the toughest things to design. It has to be able to hold up on stage and, you know, have some longevity to it. So, if your designs can hold up on stage, imagine what they can do hanging in someone's closet for 10 years and gaining value, so that's what I want to reach.
What else is in the works with you?
I am working on my very first full collection, which will be out at the beginning of next year. I'm shooting to present at Fashion Week next year to debut the collection. I did my Fashion Week debut earlier this year and just wanted to do it for the experience. It was a smaller show, so this time around I'm hoping for a bigger and better. I'm hoping that the opportunities flow in from Dress My Tour and give me the platform to show the world what I can actually do when I have more than just eight hours.
Traviance Dunn Answers the Socialite Seven
Who has had the biggest influence on you and your career and why?
Thus far, Cardi B. I've only made two or three small pieces for her, but just her giving me the opportunity on the world stage on Instagram and shouted me out like she did, it brought a lot of attention my way and it gave me so many more opportunities.
I also have to give a shout out to the other girls like Queen Naija, who really supported me, still supports me. Rekia out of Atlanta. Of course, again, Kash Doll, because she was the first. There are so many more, but those girls really have repped my brand really hard, helped me get to where I am in architecture.
What fashion trend would you like to see be eliminated from the face of the earth forever?
Fashion trend I'd like to see be eliminated forever. Um, okay. I'll give you one. The trend I'd like to see eliminated is the Chelsea boot. The inevitable brunch boots.
Who would you love to collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate with Victoria Monet. I would love to collaborate with – if we're talking about fashion brands, I would love to collaborate with older 90s brands like Karl Kani, FUBU, Coogi, and give them a modern take on those classic designs and classic looks that I knew growing up.
Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life?
Oh my God. If I had to pick someone to play me in the movie of my life, it would be my nephew Dajon. I think he would have it the whole time.
What superpower or talent that you don't already have, would you like to wake up with tomorrow?
I would ask for speed, but I'm a needle ninja, so I kind of got that in the bag. I'm going to say if I had a superpower, it would be time travel, so I could go back and see what I missed and experience different areas of fashion that I didn't get to experience in person, live in color. That's what I would do.
What are three things you can't live without?
I can't live without my mother, Elizabeth Dunn. Number one, I cannot live without my sewing machine and I cannot live without my phone.
What is the best piece of advice you've been given?
The best piece of advice I've been given is to stay the course and put God first in everything that you do.
Watch Dress My Tour on Hulu. Follow Traviance on Instagram.
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