Olivia Anthony’s Next Act Involves Growth, Glam and Giving Back
Olivia Anthony knew she was born to run her own fashion label. Deep in her gut, she could feel it.
But, as she worked as a stylist and at a department store, she needed more time to help her fashion company, LIVStreetwear, take flight. So, in 2016, she made this promise to her father, Emory Anthony, in Birmingham: allow her one year to get her athletic leisure wear company going at full speed. If she, succeeded, she’d found her calling. And if she failed? Well, she wasn’t going to even entertain that.
The Huffman High School and Alabama State University graduate started churning out creative and bold designs to the delight of friends and followers. Then, a friend who was a stylist to soon-to-be multi-Grammy winner Sza, asked Olivia for some designs for Sza to wear while performing during the Afropunk Festival in 2017 in Brooklyn. Sza wore Olivia’s pink snap pants, and Olivia’s career took off. She was 26.
Teen Vogue highlighted Olivia. She collaborated with Foot Locker, twice, with her “Alabama Made’’ line. And she appeared in an ad in Times Square. She continued to travel, working in Los Angeles, New York, Miami. and back to Birmingham, garnering even more recognition for her designs. But by the time Olivia was 34, she was contemplating a reset. In 2024, she learned about Create Birmingham’s multi-week instructional class for entrepreneurs called, Co.Starters. Impressed by what it was offering, Olivia enrolled and recruited others to take the program this year. What Olivia gained was a deeper look into herself, into her business and into Birmingham.
“I feel like you are never too old to learn. If you feel like your product is stagnant or you are stagnant in your career, it probably means you need to add more tools to your toolbox,’’ Olivia said. “I think what makes people successful is that they are willing to always use their tools and also learn how to pivot.’’
She’s brainstorming for her next line, which will be elevated, grown and carry a piece of Birmingham because she’s naming it Net’Etta after some of the fashionable women in her life: Nettie Summers, her maternal grandmother, who passed at the age of 100 in Birmingham last year; and her Birmingham aunts, Joetta Summers Jackson and Maggie Wilson. “I want to solve a problem with a new brand where women don’t have to think to get dressed,’’ Olivia said. “I want to make pieces that are easy. I want to reach the fullness in everything I do.’’
And if Olivia knows anything, it’s how to move with purpose. In addition to rebranding her company, she’s building a legacy with her sister, Jennifer Williams; her mother, Felicia Anthony; and family friend, Donna Thomas, by hosting A Vibe Called Black, which celebrates Birmingham Black entrepreneurs the day before Juneteenth. This year will be the second year for them to host the event at the Birmingham Museum of Art. It will be held on June 18. They also plan to present one business with a grant, called The Nettie Summers Award, in honor of her grandmother.
“She and my grandfather were entrepreneurs. They had their own café. They had their own gas station.’’ Olivia said of her grandmother. “And to keep her legacy going, I’m super excited.’’
For more information on Co.Starters, visit www.createbirmingham.org/programs/co-starters/. For more information on A Vibe Called Black 2025, visit www.eventbrite.com.
