By | Aniyah Davies
Many hidden gems help put Ohio on the map as one of the best business hubs in the US with businesses ranging from photography to sneaker conventions, to hairstylists, etc. However, Ohio’s best-hidden gem is a Black-owned business named Vile Hearts. Vile Hearts is a gender-inclusive and size-inclusive streetwear brand that was created by Xavier Robertson, a Cleveland native who has always had an eye for fashion but who also is multifaceted in his field with styles that range from women’s clothing to custom pieces, then his mass production which is a key factor of why Vile Hearts has such a die-heart fan base.
Robertson has been designing for 10+ years with experience ranging back to high school. He got his start in ninth grade with aspirations of being a fashion model, but that idea soon transpired into him having the epiphany that he is meant for greater by creating his brand. The year after he graduated high school, Robertson had established that being a brand owner was the path that he wanted to take but he didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do with his clothes creatively whether that was creating one-of-one pieces and selling them or getting clothes manufactured, but he knew that he didn’t want to go to college- he wanted to figure out where this path would take him. Once he got to thinking and utilized his strong suits, his artistic talent brought him to create Vile Hearts, which was originally Robertson making custom pieces for people. The customs included sewing clothing, painting clothing, dyeing them, etc. Robertson even made a custom-painted vest for Megan Thee Stallion for her Freshman XXL cover shoot and a custom motor jacket that was styled by LA Stylist, Hottie Toddy. After a certain point, Vile Hearts was growing and Roberston was receiving more requests than he could handle, so he decided to transition from making custom pieces to manufacturing his clothing. Robertson did extensive research- watching YouTube videos, looking up business licenses, manufacturing information, etc. which led us to the fashion phenomenon we have today!
While Vile Hearts is a brand that has made an impact inside and outside of Ohio, its impact resonates most with the person who started it all. Robertson was asked about the evolution of his brand and even he’s completely blown back by the growth that has come from the experience of being an entrepreneur. He says, “I’ve always cared about how I looked and been heavily influenced by movies with nice costumes, I’ve always admired characters in pop culture that looked good, which translates into why fashion plays a big role in my life. It influences how I walk and I talk and it’s always been very prominent in my life…so, it’s crazy to think that I was painting and dyeing clothes on the floor of my bedroom and now I can look into my new house with a room full of my clothes. In the span of four or five years, I, with the help of my girlfriend Taylor, we have been able to grow this brand so much in such a short amount of time. Looking back, it makes those nights where I stayed up all night making clothes worth it.”
Over the past four or five years, Vile Hearts has had many accolades such as working with Megan Thee Stallion, selling out for the first time, and doing his first pop show, and his first pop-up shop “Vile Hearts and Friends”- a pop-up shop that was started to create a sense of community between Vile Hearts and it’s supporters.
The evolution of Vile Hearts has impacted Robertson’s lifestyle, but it also affected his mindset as an entrepreneur. He discusses in his interview that the hardest part about being an entrepreneur is trying to keep a positive mindset. “It crazy to think that as a young Black man from Cleveland, Ohio I’d be selling clothes all over the world like that’s something you have to put in your mind at day one, and it’s extremely hard to try and keep that mindset two years from now, five years from now, even ten years from now. It’s going to be millions of people, throughout your life telling you that you should find something else. There’s going to be a million people telling you what you should do and you have to as an entrepreneur, an artist, and as someone who wants better for themselves, you have to be able to block that out. It’ll come from the closest people around you. Which is the biggest challenge because fear, overthinking, and outside opinions can cause people to give up when all they needed was a little bit more time to blow up.”
His mindset has also changed because throughout this process he’s learned so much about himself and who he is as a creative. His experience has been a “rollercoaster” but there have been times where he has cried because all of the love and success that he has gained has been so rewarding. There have also been times when he has struggled and he didn’t know if it was going to work out, but he pushed through and gained a new feeling of success. Doing all the events with Taylor, growing the brand with her, and the love that he has for this process have led him to understand that his biggest goal as a designer and as an artist is to inspire other people.
Additionally, Robertson spoke on being Black as a creative and how it has made his experience both better and more difficult. Robertson states “As a black person I’ve come to understand that in America we have a very unique history and a very unique culture. That culture has influenced his work, especially my first collection with the stripes. Having to go through these things has influenced me because I don’t come from a wealthy background and I had to work from the ground up, level zero to get to where I want. That makes it harder, but I have to look at it like yea I’m starting from ground zero and some people may be ahead of me but at the end of the day this is my journey.”
Lastly, one of the last things that Robertson commented on was the advice that he wanted to leave with other entrepreneurs and how he feels about the way the fashion industry is moving. Robertson mentioned that one thing that all entrepreneurs should do is find their purpose. What is the purpose of your brand? How are you contributing to society with your brand? How are you helping people? Those questions should be answered and truly accessed if this is the career path entrepreneurs want to take. Another takeaway is Robertson encouraged entrepreneurs to find their niche audience, “If you don’t know who you selling to, if you don’t know your customer then you won’t sell anything because you’re not giving people what they want or need.”
Robertson also went on to discuss the direction that the fashion industry is taking right now and he provided a fresh perspective that we haven’t heard before commenting on the fact that we are moving into a new renaissance or a shift in the fashion industry that we are not used to seeing with plus-sized women, dark skin women being at the forefront of companies, along with queer companies being at the forefront. Mentioning how the fashion industry is becoming an environment that is forged based on community and cultural understanding.
Overall, Robertson has created an amazing foundation with his brand. He has impacted others through his art form and designs by trying to represent people in the best way and depict his culture in his art. Along with his clothing, he has continued to create a haven and a place of community for POC all over the world and that is an impact that is not only appreciated and loved by people in Ohio, but people who resonate with his mission, his artistic vision, and his ode to the people around him.
Sources
Davies, Aniyah S, and Xavier Robertson. “Interview w/ Xavier Robertson.” 25 June 2023.
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