Effortlessly serving cover-worthy shots since her debut as America’s Next Top Model cycle 6 winner, Dani Evans of Little Rock, Arkansas traded her small-town roots for a New York state of mind. “I won America’s Next Top Model cycle 6, many years ago!” reminisced the sultry faced model; “After the journey of the show – I went back to Little Rock for six months, quietly concealing my win. Once the show concluded on television, I moved to NYC shortly after.” Thanks to the support and persistence of her brother to even audition, the now thirty-four-year-old with the coveted cheekbones and that cool girl persona fought her battle with social anxiety and “just did it as a means to get out of Little Rock,” laughed Evans. “[I remember] so much time had passed since I submitted the audition tape that I forgot about it. I thought I was being pranked called so I kept hanging up in the producer's face. After the 3rd call, I realized it was pretty legit.”

Now an ANTM alum and a budding presence as a public figure and designer, she can influence and inspire the masses that the model deems most valuable. “I use social media as a tool to reach others. Social media can be a slippery slope if you’re not intentional with the content you’re putting out. I struggled with not wanting to be involved with social media whatsoever! Weekly I’d want to delete my account. I did delete it about six and a half years ago. I got to the point where I accepted that our culture and industry are very social media-driven and either I would be a part of it or get overlooked because of the lack thereof. So I decided I’d participate but on my terms. I post what I want others to see and I choose to be intentional with the content I put out. My purpose is to be a lighthouse in a dark industry. Social media allows me that space to create my narrative for that,” shared Evans.

Creating her path, mainstream and online, on her terms, her style follows in a similar suit. “I don’t follow trends or the opinions of others when it comes to my style. The style in and of itself is subjective and so personal. I feel it reflects my personality and mood.” Opting for a minimalistic approach to her wardrobe, the same can be said for her closet. “I don’t have a lot of pieces, but the ones I do own are quality. A friend looked in my closet once and was FLOORED! I remember her asking where the rest of my clothes were?” laughed the model. “I believe in quality over quantity. I also mix and match so that’s helpful with being able to take a look you’ve worn already, look completely different the next time you wear it.” Inspired by her travels around the world, the mood-based dresser should tend to overpack. “I never know what I’m going to wear on any given day so I need options. Thankfully, my father being an army guy, taught me how to properly pack so I can get an entire two weeks' worth of clothes in a carry-on bag.” So what inspires that Dani Evans look? “Asian girls style. Simplistic, but put together. They just get it right. Also Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, to me, are style mavens. I’ve heard people rip them to shreds about their style, but that’s the beauty of being an individual. What you wear doesn’t have to be agreed upon by others. To me, the people with the best style don’t follow a manual or the majority.”

Finding “fashion” to be overrated, the model and designer see first-hand that fashion represents trends, “which is why style is more important, personally. You can have two different women in the same fashionable piece, but the woman that has epic style will make it look completely different than the other woman who’s wearing it because it’s the latest ‘fashion’ moment,” mused Evans. “My first experience with fashion was when I lived with my grandmother. She’d wear these silk, A-lined dresses with structured sleeves and shoulder pads. I’d sit with her at the table and watch her smoke her skinny cigarettes with her gold top finger rings. I didn’t have the language at that age to understand why Bobbie Jean was so dope to me, but now I get it,” reminisced Evans; “It was her style!”

Monrowe – the namesake of her timeless brim line – is about her late grandmother’s husband, her grandfather. “I never got the opportunity to meet him as he passed away when my mother was seventeen years old, but my mom was so close to Monrowe that I and my brother grew up knowing the role he played in our mother’s life. Monrowe was a jazz player in the south back in the ’40s and ’50s,” – the leading influence seen in the tones and structures of each custom brim - “I grew up idolizing the photos of him that hung in our home, as well as his story. I always knew I’d use his name to some capacity later in life,” stated Evans. “They’re sturdy like a men’s brim (the brand is unisex), but easy enough for both men and woman to wear,” shared the designer. With no needed secret to styling a brim, it is for the brave hearts who have the confidence to wear it with pride. “The irony is that I wear brims as my ‘security blanket’ although hats typically demand attention. I find that I’m more comfortable in a brim.” Designed specifically to be worn with that effortless ease, it is a piece that can be dressed up or down. “I’ve worn my brims with a gown and turned around the next day and paired that same brim with skinny jeans, beat-up boots, and a white tee.”

A long-time love and knack for “putting together a look”, it is the influence of her European excursions that also inspires her coveted style. “They take such pride in how they dress which I ADORE! I find when I go to Europe I get that opportunity to get dressed;” and it is that genuine truth to her style that appeals to her loyal audience. “One of my best guy friends who’s in the industry, but the music side, told me — ‘I should risk not getting what I want by telling the truth, rather than getting what I want by telling a lie.’ That resonated with me not only for my career but for life in general. I know a lot of people, but the ones I do life with - although most in the industry - they aren’t of the industry. Which is important for me to surround myself with solid beings that are aware and woke. None of this ego bs” encouraged Evans.

Already with an inspiring resumé, this industry revolutionist intends to continue knocking down barriers and furthering her status as the beacon of light. “I see myself traveling the world even more. Growing and developing Monrowe. Being the second black woman to be the face of Guess. Booking Sports Illustrated in my mid 30’s and representing women being in their prime at this age! Signing another cosmetic contract. Other women must know that I experience and share their struggle and they’re not alone.” Truly an inspiring and passionate muse. Staying humble and down to earth, it is with a refreshing note of encouragement that Evans says to us all: “If you don’t like the story — rewrite the narrative. Nothing in life is easy to remove that word from your vocabulary. You don’t grow and develop in life by having no setbacks or hardships. It’s the difficulties that produce greatness and resiliency.”

As we are all dying to uncover, we could not leave this interview without knowing her day-to-day ensemble and beauty routine: “My go-to beauty look is Dr. Hauschka liquid bronzer, Bobby Brown Eye Opening Mascara, and brow pencil by MAC. My go-to fashion look is a blazer, brim, vintage tee, and a dope pair of black boots or sneakers. Cher and YOKO Ono’s era in the ’70s is my favorite fashion era! I appreciate anything high waisted. The skinny high waist Levi’s with the silk loose shirts. I also fancy some fashion moments from the ’90s. I could live in high waist Levi cut-offs with an oversized collared jumper and sneakers.”

Cover Story: Dani Evans

Ocean Drive

The Couture Garden Party of New York Fashion Week