In this episode, host Anna Anisin speaks with Genevieve Paige Viller, a Miami-based designer and entrepreneur. Viller is the founder of Private Label Styles and Genevieve the Label, and she also operates a luxury consignment business in the same space. The discussion covers how she started, how she developed a custom design practice, how her business changed during COVID, and how she approaches the overlap between work and family.
From the ER to Entrepreneurship at 20
Viller says her interest in working for herself started early. “From a young age, I knew that I wanted to be self-employed.” She describes trying a healthcare path before moving fully into business. She worked in an emergency room for two years and remained close with people in that industry, but she decided it was not the environment she wanted long-term.
She connects her decision to the structure of employment and the kind of autonomy she wanted: “I want my freedom and I want to be able to work for myself and make money the way that I would want to.”
She left that role at 20 and began building what became her first company. “At 20 years old, leaving the ER, I decided to already start building my business.” Her first step was practical: “I started by building my website by myself.”
The First Boutique: Small Space, Direct Access to Clients
After launching online, she moved into a physical space quickly. Within six months, she opened a small boutique, around 200 square feet, inside a salon suite.
“It was about 200 square feet… It was tiny… and I made it work.”
The location mattered because it placed her near clients already spending time and money on beauty services. She describes how salon traffic translated into retail traffic: people would notice what she was doing while coming in for hair, nails, lashes, or other services, then return later to shop and try items on.
The setup wasn’t a traditional storefront, but it gave her visibility and proximity to a steady stream of potential customers. It also fit the stage of her business: small overhead, direct customer contact, and daily feedback on what people wanted.
Moving From Boutique Owner to Custom Designer
Viller’s move into custom design came through personal testing rather than formal training. She describes working with manufacturers and deciding to try the process on herself first.
“There’s no better person to test a design on than myself.”
When she needed a dress for a wedding, she sent a manufacturer a reference image and provided direction on what she wanted. She does not present herself as a technical maker. “I don’t know how to draw. I don’t know how to sew. It’s more of just like, here’s what I want to do.”
The result became a proof point for demand. She wore the dress, photographed it, and says it gained attention quickly. Over time, that original design reached a broader audience through editorial exposure: “This same dress… has been featured in multiple magazines… from the first dress I ever did, not knowing what I was doing.”
Aesthetic and Influences: Vintage Runway as a Reference Point
Viller describes her design perspective as consistent over time. “I’ve always been inspired by vintage runway.” In the conversation, she references older runway work and designers like Versace and Valentino. Her preferences include minimal color and a neutral palette.
She also describes an intention to avoid designing only for a Miami look. Instead, she wants designs that can work across contexts and customers: “I want it to be universal. I want it to be for everybody.”
That preference shapes how she talks about color choices (nude, black, white, and softer tones) and how she positions her brand for clients who may not share the same location or styling norms.
Designing Around the Client: Context, Body Type, and Communication
Custom design, in Viller’s description, begins with reading context and translating it into decisions. She talks about starting with the purpose of the garment and asking questions about the event: where it is, the time of day, how formal it is, and what the client’s comfort level looks like.
She also says she will not replicate a designer dress exactly. She prefers to work from inspiration and adapt it to the client and to what is materially possible. “I look at my client’s body type.” She ties that to honesty about what will and won’t work, while also keeping responsibility for the final outcome: “It’s my name behind what I’m designing.”
She describes this as a process that mixes styling with interpersonal skill. “There’s a lot of psychology behind sales and being confident with what you’re wearing.” In her framing, the role is not only to construct a garment but to manage expectations and guide decisions from the first meeting to the final fitting.
That also includes iteration. She describes the fitting process as a sequence where details may need to change based on how fabric sits on the body. Her standard is explicit: “I am not going to turn a dress into my client until they’re 100% satisfied.”
What Clients Are Buying: Confidence as the Product Outcome
When Anna asks what women are looking for in a custom piece, Viller points to expertise and confidence-building. She says clients come to her because they expect direct advice and trust her judgment.
She summarizes the end result in practical terms: “I’m selling confidence at the end of the day.” For her, the proof is visible when a client sees the final result in the mirror and their expression changes.
This is also tied to how small businesses grow. If clients leave satisfied, they tell others. In her view, confidence is not separate from marketing; it becomes part of how the business earns repeat work and referrals.
COVID, Business Shifts, and Personal Strain
Viller describes COVID as a point where fashion retail changed quickly. “The fashion industry changed completely overnight.” She says she had to pivot and change how the business operated: “I had to pivot. I had to change my business model.”
In the same part of the conversation, she also discusses personal losses while trying to build her family. “I’ve publicly said that I’ve had multiple miscarriages.” She describes the period as a balancing act – trying to maintain a business when shopping patterns collapsed, while also managing marriage and motherhood.
Balancing Motherhood and Business: No Fixed System
Viller is a mother of three boys and describes balance as unstable. “It’s very hard to balance, to be honest.” She says priorities include her children, her business, and her marriage, and the mix can shift depending on the day.
She mentions limited use of AI tools and describes relying mainly on routine and personal execution. Her description of how she keeps going is straightforward: “You just have to go.”
In the episode, she gives a concrete example of how compressed the schedule can be: after recording the podcast, she planned to pick up her children and leave for Disney the same night. The example is used to show how business obligations and family plans frequently sit next to each other without clear separation.
Cultural Background and Where Style Comes From
Anison asks about Viller’s Cuban and French heritage and how it affects her aesthetic. Viller explains her family history: grandparents born in Cuba, great-grandparents from France, and parents born in Cuba. She also mentions a grandfather who was a composer known in the Latin community.
She ties creativity to family professions as well: her father worked as a graphic designer and her mother as an interior designer.
In terms of design language, she explains the blend as a combination of two reference points: “The sophistication that comes from being a French woman, but then also the sex appeal of a Cuban woman.” In her framing, that mix maps to both silhouette and color choices.
Diversification: Custom, Consignment, Wholesale, Real Estate
Beyond custom work, Viller describes running a luxury consignment business called Reload (also referenced as We Love Miami). She lists the types of inventory she carries, including major luxury brands and high-value accessories.
She also describes diversifying across categories and revenue streams, including wholesale work and real estate. “I don’t put all my apples in one basket.” In her account, luxury resale has been performing strongly and is an important part of the current business mix.
Advice to People Starting a Brand
When asked what advice she would give to someone who wants to open a store or start a line, her answer is focused on action.
“You just got to do it.”
She explains that focusing too long on what could go wrong creates hesitation and can stop a project from starting at all. She also notes the importance of research and understanding basic steps, but returns to the same point: “Unless you start… you’re never going to do it.”
Closing: Style as a Practical Form of Identity
The episode ends with a “this or that” segment and a brief discussion of shoes as personal representation. Viller describes a high nude YSL heel as the shoe that represents her and explains why she values the combination of height, shape, and comfort. The conversation returns to the podcast’s theme: style as a choice that reflects identity, context, and intention.
What stands out across the discussion is not a single tactic but a pattern: start small, test ideas in real life, adjust based on feedback, and keep multiple paths open inside the business. The rest of the story is built through repetition of that approach across different phases—launch, growth, disruption, and expansion.
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