No one can say that Geneva S. Thomas hasn’t put in work. The 30-year old style and pop culture journalist and brand strategist has been toiling behind the scenes for years. Armed with a master’s degree in fashion history from NYU’s Gallatin Graduate School, the Detroit native has a list of accomplishments a mile long, including founding Style & Pop Culture Editor at Ebony and Content Manager at Clutch Magazine. Her latest venture is 1530 Agency, a digital agency for beauty, lifestyle and marketing brands that cater to women of color. “My mantra is always ‘Work first, brand later.’ I really just wanted to work and make sure to have that experience and have those connections and now I’m in a space where I’m beginning to define my brand.”
Now, as the youngest cast member of Bravo’s upcoming reality show Blood, Sweat And Heels (premiering January 5th), Thomas has a great platform to do just that. The series, which also stars Demetria Lucas, Brie Bythewood, Daisy Lewellyn, Melyssa Ford and Mica Hughes, is about up and coming movers and shakers in New York City. Hard work does pay off and Thomas is poised to take center stage and emerge as a media maven.
What is Blood, Sweat And Heels about, in your own words?
The show is about six African-American women who are living and working in New York City. We’re all up and coming. It shows our grind in various industries—from fashion to media and real estate—and it really shows our balancing act. You know, how we balance career with love and life…and we’re all growing our brands and trying to get to the next level.
How did you become a part of the show?
It kind of fell into my lap. I was approached by production…It was definitely a surprise because there are so many girls in the city who are really doing their thing, and for the network and for Leftfield Pictures to believe in me was really—I’m very humbled.
Did you always know you wanted to work in fashion?
I did. I started off as an academic, so I come from an academic background. I was in a PhD program; I really wanted to study fashion on a scholarly level. I just became really interested in fashion history and pop culture. I’ve always really wanted to be a writer or a magazine editor though, so I really just wanted to have that academic background to power my work as a writer.
What did you pursue your PhD in?
I didn’t finish my PhD. I just finished with my master’s because I didn’t want to be a professor. So I just said, “You know what, I’m going to stop at my master’s and just go ahead and launch my career as a writer.” So that’s what I did after NYU—I just went into fashion.
You launched 1530 Agency this year. Tell me what your goals are for the company.
1530 Agency itself is inspired by U.S. Census projections for 2060 that say 15% of women in America will be black and 30% will be Latina. So really, when you look at those numbers and you combine them—there’s power in numbers and we can’t really identify ourselves as a “minority” anymore. Black and brown women are really a huge part of the marketplace! When it comes to spending power and having a voice in the digital space we are the ultimate content creators and really, it’s time for brands to take notice.
And so, what I like to do is to elevate brands in the digital space around really unique and innovative content creation, strategic partnerships, influencer engagement…those are some of our strongest disciplines at 1530 Agency. And it’s a really unique agency in that we are a digital agency by women and for women. There really aren’t a lot of those here in New York City and around the world. Launching this agency is really a big step for me in my career and I’m excited.
What would you say is your biggest accomplishment to date?
Oh my gosh! Um, I would consider my biggest accomplishment to be staying here in New York and keeping at it. New York is a beast. You can’t be a big fish in the pond here. You have to swim with the sharks. In New York, it’s easy to get down and out and to give up. I don’t have any family here or on the east coast at all. So, you know, I’ve really had to develop my own support system with my friends and my mentors.
What is your measure of success?
I think that when you can just wake up in the morning and be excited about what’s to come. That to me is success. I’ve definitely had different jobs and titles where it was really glamorous, but I wasn’t happy. I’m in a space now where I’m really defining my brand. I’m working with brands that empower and inspire me, and I wake up in the morning and I’m excited about that!
So then you’re kind of there right now!
I definitely don’t feel like I have arrived. I just turned thirty and I still have a lot to learn a lot of room for growth. Knowing that and being humbled around that is exciting.
Photo credits: G. Thomas; Alex Martinez/Bravo