‘Luxury Lifestyle’ Streetwear: DJ Teague’s Journey and Vision of Vanté
The fashion sense was impeccable when Curtis Delgardo II, aka Cuddy, recently welcomed his friend Divante Teague, widely known as DJ Teague, to "Almost the Weekend" to discuss Teague’s bold sense of style as a designer and creative, his journey from Chicago to Seattle, and the creation of his streetwear brand, Vision of Vanté.
Teague's path to Seattle was unconventional. After attending Illinois State University, he leveraged his background in gymnastics and joined the circus. Teague said he began visiting Seattle in 2016 and even trained at the Emerald City Trapeze Arts, eventually moving to the city in 2019.
With "no job, no car, and no home," Teague secured an HR job within two weeks and his own apartment in five months, he said. While his HR career persists, his creativity and knack for designing streetwear shine through in Vanté.
Curtis Delgardo II (left) and DJ Teague (right) pose with Vanté beanies in the Black Media Matters Studio last week. (Photo: Erik Kalligraphy)
Kickstarting Vision of Vanté came with its own required skillset in business, which Teague acquired at Seattle University, graduating with a Masters in Business Administration in 2021. During his last year of grad school, he created the LLC for his clothing brand, and the rest is history.
Teague started with three different designs at once, one on a beanie, one on a hoodie, and one on shirts, admitting he was "scared as ever" and "didn't know what [he] was doing.” He emphasized that fashion for him is about confidence.
"When you put it all together, you feel unstoppable,” he said, capturing that same conviction in his own business pursuits.
The brand has seen quick success, with Vanté selling out of pieces quickly at pop-up shops like Sneaker Con and Blast Fest. His “luxury lifestyle” approach to design and bold marketing tactics, which included putting his brand on top of a car and driving it around the city for an hour, he believed helped set him apart and get his brand out there quickly.
Vante’s current featured product is a line of satin-lined beanies available in six colors, which he noted are "100% not uh antibacterial" and will not shrink. He works with All Color Ink, a local Tacoma company, for embroidery and stitching on his products, he said.
Teague laid out his mission behind Vision of Vanté clearly: for people to freely express themselves with quality material while looking good in it.
"You're going to get your money's worth. You're going to feel like you're wearing luxury,” he said with pride, believing Vanté can stand next to high-end brands like Alexander McQueen and Fear of God. "I could see myself next to them,” he said.
Check out DJ Teague and his brand on Instagram at @official_vanteclothing or on his website, visionofvante.us/.
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