Khrysti Hill is a Los Angeles-based fashion designer who founded the brand Little Giants Giant Shorties with her partner, Ivan Rivera. The line is currently available at Target for its “Black Beyond Measure” initiative celebrating Black History Month.
The children’s clothing company targets discerning consumers who appreciate streetwear for kids.
Hill opened up about working with Target on the project and shared advice for aspiring designers.
What inspired you to create Little Giants Giant Shorties?
I was pregnant with our son, we were driving one day, and Ivan came up with this design that he wanted to make for him. It was just like an idea for us. We made a few things and went and got them pressed up for our son. Our friends and family were seeing the things, and they were like we want some too, so we made a few more. We started having other people reach out through just like Instagram and social media, so we made a few more and sold them. Once we started realizing this could be a thing, we went and did the business, and it started from there. Our son was born in 2013 and in 2014 we started the business; like they were growing up together.
What does it mean for you, a Black designer to be featured at Target?
Target is such a huge thing. We were so honored and so flattered when they reached out a year ago. It’s been a year-long process and a cool process. They have so many teams, it’s Target, but their production team reached out first, and it’s just been an amazing experience. Just being able to see the high-level production of what they do and the logistics they have to take care of. Like I thought I did a lot, but of course, on a different scale; it’s mind-blowing all the different parts and pieces that have to come together. Even with Black History Month, it’s a monthlong campaign and a monthlong drop but a year [of work] went into just those four weeks. So, it’s just learning and understanding how to scale and what the steps are for our business. It’s been a cool process just learning.
Any advice for aspiring designers?
It’s all [about] learning, that’s one thing I want to say first of all. … Once you get into the field, it’s a whole other game, like you got to learn every single part. You gotta know marketing, you gotta know fabrics, you gotta know colors, you gotta know storytelling — like that’s a huge thing that people miss. They’ll have this beautiful piece but can’t sell it because they don’t understand the storytelling and the marketing parts. Having alone time is important too, like you can’t always [constantly] work, you gotta take breaks.
