Halle Vaneta: Every Streetwear Lover’s Inspiration On Mastering The Art of Design and Authenticity for Vaneta 1996

By: Mia Linder, Editorial & Partnerships Director

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Introducing: The It-Girl of Streetwear

Halle Vaneta is a fashion sensation and social media influencer based in California. Her fashion journey began on the outskirts of Raleigh, North Carolina where she was raised. She relocated recently to Los Angeles only a few years back, and has been living all over the place since. Realizing her dream of pursuing modeling wasn’t her cup of tea turned out to be the best epiphany in her early career because it revealed her true passion and talent – fashion design.

Who Ever Said Fashion Needed Rhyme Or Reason?

Halle’s style can be described as beautifully random. “I’ve always loved making clothes. Growing up I always had little brands here and there where I would sew and paint clothes, then sell them,” she says. Halle can be credited for having a keen eye for “eclectic and weird things” and wearing a lot of jewelry, and fun hairstyles. She wanted to bring that out with fashion around the age of fifteen, which has been the start of her ever-evolving sense of style. “I’ll have a new style every week,” Halle says. She liked the attention and individuality that fashion freedom brought her, and this desire to capitalize on that feeling by creating her own clothing line and experimenting with new things.

Adds Everything To Cart

Living in Los Angeles sparked her love for streetwear and especially baggy pants, which would resew and paint. She wanted to create a brand out of this niche passion, since it is where her expertise and her creative side lived. So, she started the manufacturing process from a painted visual in her sketchbook and once she had samples. The support of her friends, their help with marketing, and the organic traffic from social media is what backed her label in the fashion world. “I made the Instagram and did everything in the span of a month, and then I just dropped it and wanted to see what would happen,” Halle says when talking about her brand Vaneta 1996. 

Halle Vaneta is known for her denim collection, which is hand picked by her and sourced by people all over the globe. Her monogrammed sweatpants are made right in her home of Los Angeles. And, her belts? Her belts come from a magnificent story in which the streets of New York City were laced with magic during the start of her journey as a business owner. “My belts are my favorite,” she adds.

The Untold Stories of Vaneta 1996: Belts & Brand Name

Halle lived in New York City for a minute, and stumbled across a leather maker that she would soon familiarize herself with after noticing him in the same spot constantly – on the sidewalk, on a stool, making belts. “I would always pass him in different spots around New York (City). They were the coolest belts; he would make them with real cowhide and he would hand dye them into different patterns like zebra or cheetah print. It was all real leather.” Fearlessly, she approached him and a few hundred belts to sell alongside her denim. The experience was definitely special and Halle has poured every ounce of love into her product sourcing to make sure her customers had the best quality. “He didn’t have a phone, so I would have to go find him every time I needed something. It was the best thing ever.” This kind soul turned out to be one of her biggest inspirations because he unapologetically pursued a passion he loved, and Halle wants to be that kind of business owner.

Her soul is poured into every aspect of the label – when asked where the name stemmed from, Halle replied with, “Vaneta was my great grandma's name and my middle name and I've just kind of always gone by Vaneta, so it felt right. 1996 is the year my parents got married and it’s always been my special number.”

The Effect Of Authenticity As A Business Owner

Halle emphasizes her value to keep the brand very personal to her true character and cherishes her pieces like they are original artwork. Halle strives to avoid over-professionalism to preserve the specialty of her craft and authenticity. She likes being the first line of contact – calling the shots with photoshoots, editing, and marketing because “it’s all an art form” she says. This is what keeps the brand image youthful, fun, and inviting for everyone from all walks of life. The life of a small business owner in one of the most fashion-forward regions of the country, Los Angeles, is nothing short of rewarding according to Halle. When she sees people wearing her denim, through social media or someone sending her a picture, she always makes sure to compliment them and make them feel appreciated.

What Can’t She Do? 

Halle Vaneta is a woman of many talents and her talent isn’t limited to the craze of streetstyle. She sells custom art pieces for pure recreation, to spread love, and inspire people, and upkeeps the same morals as her clothing brand. She doesn't want to lose the spark and love for this by feeling like it’s a job. “That’s my main love… painting,” she says when expanding on how she’s always looking to better her artistic skills. Halle says she can't remember a time where she didn’t love drawing and creating art, it’s been in her life forever. It was recently over the past five to six years that she started taking it more seriously and perfecting her skills.

The Future of Vaneta 1996

“I am totally letting it do whatever it wants,” Halle says when asked what Veneta 1996 has in store for the future, speaking as if the brand is a living thing in itself. She doesnt want it to be based on traditional business fundamentals, but she does plan on doing it forever. Halle’s marketing tactic directly reflects her creative and artistic side which is always expanding, and mainly unpredictable in the most extraordinary way. “It’s worked amazing for me so far, and I don’t ever want to cheapen it,” Halle states. She wants her loyal customers to know she is working on stabilizing relationships with outside connections in order to produce products more frequently.

Closing Remarks

Halle admits to accepting the need to “find herself” before she was able to harness her creativity to design, and feels lucky to have a support system of friends surrounding her cheering her on as a business owner. She likes having a wide range of creative outlets at her fingertips, such as photographers at her disposal, to honor her vision for the brand. “It’s an inspiring city… California is definitely my home. I’ve kind of accepted that I love it here,” she says after touching on her journey living in different places, how that affects her self-discovery, and ultimately how self-understanding facilitates creative energy when being artistic in any form.

Without aesthetic consistency when designing, just how does she find her inspiration? She answers by, “It all switches. My main goal for the art side of Vaneta is that I don’t want to create anything I don’t 100% love.”