Designer Dossier: Chava Studio's Olivia Villanti
Designer Dossier: Chava Studio's Olivia Villanti
The expat and slow fashion advocate talks art, community, and the perfect white button-down.
If you know me online or off, then maybe you’ve noticed I have a thing for button-down shirts. They’ve been the anchor of my wardrobe as long as I can remember, and I am forever chasing the high of finding the *perfect* one in white. Months back, I was stalking Dorsey’s campaign imagery and noticed a crispy cotton tux shirt with a super interesting collar — and custom embroidery. It lived in my mind, as the kids say, rent-free. And when I had brunch with Dorsey Founder Meg Strachan in L.A., I pounced on the chance to ask her about it.
Ever the generous spirit, Meg told me about Chava Studio, a female-led atelier in Mexico City that specializes in made-to-order garments, especially shirting. I immediately went back upstairs to my hotel to pick what I was going to order. (Even more fun was selecting where the monogram would go.)
Which brings us to today. After ordering my shirts, I started emailing with Chava’s Founder, Olivia Villanti, and instantly developed a girl crush. And I said to Meg over brunch that day, the best thing about this newsletter is that I get to flirt with my girl crushes.
Below, Olivia talks art buying, expat life, and bucking the consumption cycle.
JG: What album or song is captivating you lately? OV: I listen to so much music—of all kinds, honestly—it’s one of those things that helps me center and get closer to my creativity, which I think is true for a lot of people. Right now I’ve made this meditation mix (I’m terrible at meditating) but if I have music I can sit in stillness even if my mind keeps moving and this song is on that list.
What’s the last piece of art or decor that you bought for your home? I bought my husband a painting by Emma Larsson for Christmas this year. It’s so colorful and can occupy your mind for several minutes—it does a lot for our mostly neutral home.
Who makes great recommendations online? [Dorsey’s] Meg Strachan who, incidentally, led you to me! I met Meg through our mutual friend [Doen Marketing VP] Nan Khanna (Nan is one of the most amazing connectors who ALSO has great style). Meg is a Chava client and supporter and both Nan and Meg are Chava muses.
Looking ahead, what's on your travel docket for the rest of 2023? What are you packing? I’m spending the summer in New York City and upstate — my family still lives upstate (I grew up in Rhinebeck) so I end up going back to NY frequently. I love Mexico City and being an expat has been a transformative experience but I find going “home” is very grounding for me. I’m sure we will travel within Mexico as well while my son is out of school for the summer—location TBD (maybe Mazatlan, Sinaloa) but there is so much to explore in Mexico. Some favorite destinations are Taxco, Oaxaca (the city and the coast), Merida, and San Pancho in Nayarit.
What's in your cart right now? I have to admit I don’t shop a lot — so much of what I design originates with me: What do I want? What am I looking for? That said, I did break down and buy the High Sport Kick Crop and I think the silhouette is an ideal partner to a button-down so I don’t have regrets. They’re expensive, but through Chava I have started to understand how much our clothing ought to cost—in order for the people involved to be paid well and for designers to use fabrics that will last. I will always be in the market for vintage denim but that’s not an online purchase, I have my sources in NYC that I go to whenever I’m there. What else? Shoes I think are the one thing I end up buying a bit more frequently since I walk a lot and wear mine down to the ground. Currently, I am loving a glove flat like the ones Martiniano does (it’s ridiculous how long I’ve loved this style and haven’t bought it—but in a moment when mesh glove is everywhere, this is my less trend-tethered response). I will likely be purchasing them to have them waiting for me when I get to NY this summer.
What should be in my cart right now? Oh boy, this depends on what you’re looking for! It’s a fun question. Here are the things I would buy again: High Sport Kick Pant, Dorsey Kate Necklace 16”, our Oversized Shirt in blue twill, our slim button-down with cocktail cuffs, my Belgian shoes, my beloved Babaa sweater…those are the things I’m currently getting a lot of use out of.
Tell us more about the merits of slow fashion. Ufff I have so many thoughts. I’ll try to be brief. Chava was dreamt up as a return to fashion’s roots: Beautiful fabrics, made-to-order, thoughtful tailoring, and a personal relationship with our clients. This all ladders back to the principles of slow fashion, prioritizing people and process over profits and Chava continues to be built this way. I think we are all trying to be more mindful and conscientious now, there is a tangible shift in our habits and the conversations we are having around them. And I’m hoping that more and more people feel compelled to value these things enough to shift the relationship they have with their own clothes: To want to hold onto pieces for a long time, care for them and be really mindful about what we buy. Fashion will always be fun and expressive and I think slow fashion now runs parallel to that. The fact that at Chava, we have such a solid, loyal client base says that there are people who are willing to wait in the name of receiving something really special that they can hold onto. That is incredibly hopeful and has made me fall in love with this industry in a new way.
Why shirting? It is the ultimate vehicle for considered details, in my opinion. I design with details at the forefront: A collar I want to bring to life, a cuff, the tailoring of a sleeve, or the scale of a placket. I believe shirting is one of those categories that has limitless potential while also not being too influenced by current trends. Shirts are often the nucleus of our wardrobes. They spur the desire to find pieces that feel equally timeless like suiting and menswear-inspired pants. I knew I wanted to create pieces that were not trendy. A shirt is, to me, the ideal device in that way. Plus, shirting fabrics can be some of the most luxurious and beautiful while also being relatively easy to care for (all our cotton is from Switzerland but can still be washed in the machine). I could go on…but that’s the idea.
When launching your business, what is the area you had to get the scrappiest/most creative? Literally every area. I funded this business myself, with my savings from my previous jobs and my freelance consulting work. I did everything for the first two years: Design, customer service, shipping, building our website, even grading our patterns. Chava has been as lean as possible but I think that’s why many of our clients have become attached to the brand, it feels personal. You know you’re going to get a response (likely from me) if you reach out to us. I now have two employees but even so, I still style our shoots and art direct them with the photographer I work with. I am still extremely involved in production. It’s not glamorous and I think it’s easy to burn out in this scenario but I’ve focused on keeping myself immersed in the things I love in an attempt to avoid that (though I’ve had those months, it’s a ton of work and you’re constantly faced with pivots and problem-solving which is exhausting and can crush your spirits). Building a business is not for the faint of heart, they say, and I always joke that I am truly faint of heart — I’m sensitive and feel things deeply to my core though I’m also incredibly determined. My mother chose this word to describe “my essence” once (determined). My passion and drive would not allow me to walk away. It’s really as if I can’t do anything else.
What's the last thing you read that you really loved? Currently reading Big Swiss, a novel left for me when a friend came to visit and I am loving it. Especially good for anyone who has lived or spent time in Upstate New York, she captures the characters and vibe with such an attuned eye.
What's the best business advice you've received from another female founder? My friend
sent me this text during a particularly difficult moment when I was struggling with my perfectionism. “Perfection is in the flaws that are inevitable when you’re building a creative vision…If I did something and it felt like pain I would know that meant I was out of my integrity.” I think about this all the time when I feel myself bubbling over worrying about executing my vision exactly as it exists in my head. Once it starts really hurting (you or others) that’s a sign to let it go. Not easy! But excellent advice for founders.
What's one brand we should know about? My friend Sofia’s pants! Sofia is based here in Mexico City too and she designs pants for her line Reves (and pretty soon more than that). They are unisex and so cool — and they all have Sofia’s careful and exacting eye on them (a fellow perfectionist, I’m sure).
What's your advice for someone that finds entrepreneurship difficult or lonely? I’d like to find a less predictable way to answer this question because I think a lot of how I feel on the subject has been said already. For instance: Community is critical. But I think the other part of this conversation that may get less attention is the fact that this journey is, like any other journey, highly personal. So I think doing personal work, really carving out time to try and get closer to yourself, whatever your version of self-exploration is, is really important. For me, it’s reading. Watching great (and maybe objectively not-so-great) films. Finding art that moves me. Listening to music. Drawing pictures with my son. Talking to my therapist.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness of it all and when that’s happening you start to forget about you, who at the end of the day is the captain of the ship and the captain can’t forget how to drive. So I guess what I’m saying is that it’s really easy to lose yourself while building something, to strive for an image of what success looks like, that you forget maybe what your definition of success is and maybe it doesn’t look like the picture you’ve conjured at all. Or maybe it does, but as you’ve gotten closer to it, the picture has changed.
In life rigidity has helped me in some aspects but in most, it’s simply caused me misery and anxiety. I think working on yourself and continuing to do that in the face of all that pressure and those looming deadlines, helps ease the tension and the loneliness. For me, a lot of the difficulty comes from a feeling of what things are supposed to be like, feel like, look like. The times I am in flow with my business are when I’m not really pulling those strings and the work is simply evolving and taking form. Try to make space for that. It’s a process that, for me, runs in tandem with building my business.
Drop a beauty secret. Dry brush and body oil (preferably Everyday Oil Mainstay Blend).
What do you collect? Vintage. I love the soul of clothes that have lived in a decade different than this one. They’re a great source of inspiration, too.
Describe your perfect Saturday. With my husband and son, traveling somewhere together. We love to take road trips, rent cars wherever we go, and find places to explore along the way. This is my definition of true happiness.
Tear Sheet:
Website: chavastudio.com
Instagram: chava_studio
The non-negotiable: a perfect, made-to-order white shirt
The big-name collaboration: Madewell x Chava
IRL: NYC, June 10