35. Taeste Buddies: Olivia Villanti
35. Taeste Buddies: Olivia Villanti
The Chava Studio founder on Pina Bausch, Prince Street Pizza, and being a soccer mom.
Welcome to the newest edition of Taeste Buddies. It’s a bi-weekly interview series that explores the idea of taste: How it’s shaped by our identities and spurred by our creativity. Each edition I chat with someone whose taste I admire, whether as a friend or from afar.
Towards the end of last year, I was doing some mulling over something I’d noticed, an upswell of brands who were taking things back to basics and doing one thing especially well (it ended up being a feature for Elle). The story was in part inspired by Olivia Villanti, who I’d learned about through the fashion grapevine. After moving from New York to Mexico City, she founded Chava Studio in 2020, partnering with her in-laws who had a decades-old fabric import business. She creates the most delicious made-to-order shirting that has earned her a cult following among the NYC fashion crowd. I hope you enjoy a mini deep dive into her creative world!
How do you define good taste? Where do you think your sense of taste comes from?
I think one of the pitfalls of taste is how reflective it is of the current zeitgeist. So in a way it runs parallel to what people are culturally accepting and craving at a given moment—and it’s hard to say that it’s personal. It’s almost collective!
But my very specific definition of taste is someone who has strong opinions. It’s not my place to judge whether it’s good or not but I love it when someone has TASTE, just a defined point of view or an evolving one, but a point of view nonetheless. My very subjective definition of good taste is using the basic tenets of, say, dressing, and finding ways to infuse some personality within that framework. But when I say tenets I really mean looking back into the past 100 years and finding themes that feel consistent.
In the framework of Chava, that’s like the shape of a collar or a French cuff and then playing around with ways you can wear it. I also tend to prefer anything that feels aesthetically restrained. Maybe because I relate to the desire to eschew that and controlling my own impulsivity is part of my life’s work.
My taste is, like most people’s, influenced by the many people I’ve known and admired their style. It has really helped me define my taste by having friends that have such defined taste themselves. I love my friend Somsack’s style, he’s the creative director of Alex Mill (and a former Taeste Buddy!). Adma Kawage, is a friend of Chava and has created some incredible custom pieces with me. Leandra Medine is my friend who always sees where things are headed before anyone else. Joyce Lee, another friend who has inspired some Chava designs. And my husband Guillaume Guevara, who has always had extremely specific taste that I’ve absorbed over the years.
And like everything—taste, personal style—a lot of trial and error has helped.
What was the last great thing you purchased?
I buy very little and when I do buy something I use it to the ground. Probably the thing that is with me most is my L.L. Bean stenciled tote bag my friend Joyce Lee made. I use that bag so much one of my friends called it my garbage bag (lol) because I get a lot in there which also means there probably are quite a few receipts, tons of loose coins, spare buttons and other random things floating around inside.
What was the last great thing you made?
I made a drawing of Mbappé for my son that he loved so much he asked me if we could frame it, so that felt like a win. He’s obsessed with futbol (or American soccer) and Mbappé is his hero. I love seeing the way he lights up when he watches him play—there’s so much genuine admiration—I kind of have forgotten that feeling as I’ve gotten older and the “never meet your heroes” dictum plays out in real life.
How has your work inspired/informed your personal style or vice versa?
I feel SO much closer to my personal style now than I did before. It’s so much clearer to me what I like, don’t like and what is missing in my closet (generally I end up making it). I think Chava is an extension of my style, but it also has had this very symbiotic effect of defining it too. I love getting dressed, something that for a few years there I lost. It’s a delight to play with the clothes we make. A total dream come true.
What’s an outfit that represents your personal style?
This is hard so I included a few…
I love a twist of casual and dressed up.
Again, a little lady and a little sporty and boyish.
I wore this to my birthday party this year. It feels like it has that feminine/masculine tension I really strive for.
What has been the most fun part of building Chava Studio? What has been most challenging? Do you consider yourself an entrepreneurial person?
Most fun is getting to see a vision come to life—and oftentimes it is even better in reality than what was in your head. I also love collaborating with photographers and creative directors on our photoshoots, not to mention collaborating with friends on pieces we’ve co-designed together.
But there are challenges. So many! Growing a business is a confrontation of self-imposed limitations. You’re constantly being forced to stretch outside your comfort zone because people are looking to you for answers every single day. It’s a mix of winging it and trusting your gut. It always gives me comfort to know that most people who seem to have their shit together are just winging it too. It’s been said a lot but it’s true: Building a business is a very lonely endeavor even if you have an amazing community and team.
I think I’m entrepreneurial to the extent that I’ve always chased responsibility at work. I like knowing how things work and being able to do many different things at once, but I have a very personal approach. I don’t think that’s in opposition to being an entrepreneur, but maybe like 10 or 15 years ago it was. Everything was about scaling and cashing in on these big, expensive ideas. I never have approached work that way. I’ve always had a hard time separating my work from myself. For better or worse!
Where is somewhere you visited recently that inspired you?
The Auberge hotel Etéreo in Riviera Maya. I was only there for a night for a photoshoot and it was off-season which made it so much more special. I swam in the water by myself and everything felt quiet and alive at the same time. I adore the beaches of Mexico, there’s something very mystical about them that calms me immediately.
Outside of fashion, what is something that inspires or excites you? Do you have any particular passions or hobbies?
I am addicted to music so I try to see shows as much as I can and am always streaming something at the studio or while I’m walking down the street. I love discovering new music and bands, it brings me so much joy and also feeds me creatively.
I was a dance major so I think that’s probably where it all began—which is also why movement in all forms is important to me too. I run, I do yoga, pilates, The Class… I’m happiest on days I’ve been able to move my body.
Dance is an excellent source of inspiration for fashion, I love Pina Bausch’s use of costume and Martha Graham’s use of fabric. Fiction is also a good source for me, I like to imagine the characters’ clothes. The Unisex linen shirt we made this summer definitely has billowy Call Me By Your Name vibes (read the book if you haven’t, it’s even better than the movie).
What was a recent-ish day off of work that you loved?
This summer I let myself take some time to focus on self care: I found a masseuse here who works with chakras and emotional trigger points in the body. I found a yoga studio that offers two hour long classes which are intense but incredible. I treated myself to a martini at the Four Seasons hotel here, by myself, and read my book.
But also, any time I get time with my family feels very nourishing too. My son and I went to NYC this summer and the day we arrived we were starving when we got to our hotel, went out in the rain to get Prince Street Pizza and ate it in bed while watching Mean Girls. It was a great day.
What’s most precious to you?
My “LALO” tattoo. [My son] wrote his name when he was 5 and we turned it into a tattoo… a way of preserving one part of his fleeting childhood.
What’s something unexpected you have really good taste in?
Can I say I have great taste in music? It’s all over the map honestly but I think that’s why it’s good. I’m not subscribing to any one definition of taste. It’s very defined but also forever evolving.
What’s one last photo that inspires you?
October is an amazing month in Mexico City, and especially this October. Since the first time I moved there 5 years ago, it’s actually felt like fall with the leaves falling and changing colors. The light at our studio around 5pm is just glowing.
Can you share a few recommendations that you’re excited about?
In Mexico City a newish restaurant I am in love with is Voraz. I suggest sticking to the entradas (the smaller dishes) and sharing them. They’re all so good.
Alexia, who works with me, has been wearing Fueguia perfume and she always smells AMAZING.
Vintage soccer jerseys or reissues are my new favorite thing, now that my son is fully obsessed with them. This one’s for my husband. But if you’re going to be a soccer mom (which I am) I feel this is a cooler way to do it than in, say, some version of a soccer mom outfit.