CT fashion designer once tweeted by Cardi B gets Times Square billboard

During the reveal, a street act with a crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to Laverne.

“It was not planned, but it just made the experience 10 times better,” she said.

To have his brand in Times Square was a dream Travis said he manifested. In 2019, he said he wrote in his journal that he would have a billboard one day and it would be a “major accomplishment” for him. On April 6, 2022, he also tweeted his goal: “I want a billboard in NYC Times Square.”

The two pictures displayed on the big screen in Manhattan were big releases for IEMBE: the “MINI IEMBE BAG,” the first mini bag in black, and “IEMBE YONCÉ BAG,” a yellow bag inspired by singer Beyoncé.

IEMBE promoted the Yoncé bag with a video of Laverne doing Beyoncé’s Coachella choreography, followed by a Beyoncé-inspired photoshoot.

“In the pictures, you can see different Beyoncé eras. From ‘Crazy in Love’ to ‘Renaissance,’ Beyoncé is represented all over,” he said. “When you think yellow, you think Beyoncé.”

“Beyoncé is next, I can feel it,” he said of hoping to get the singer’s attention. The last lyric of the last song on Beyoncé’s “RENAISSANCE” album is “I’m in my bag,” and Travis said he feels as if it’s a sign. Travis said Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams actually messaged him privately asking to be part of the IEMBE experience

“She said she loved my mom,” he said.

IEMBE is a Black-owned luxury brand that stands for “in my bag” and proposes “you define luxury, a motto we live by,” Travis told Hearst CT Media Group in January. The brand, which sells bags and clothing online, came to life on Jan. 3, 2020.

In April, IEMBE’s “Tiffany Blu” bag was exhibited at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art installation, “Creative Connecticut. “Creative Connecticut” consists of rotating installations that celebrate Connecticut artists and it kicked off by showcasing Travis’ work, which was installed at the entrance of the Hartford museum until the end of July.

“It all started in Connecticut and to know I was in the biggest museum here, still feels surreal,” he said. “I feel like I am livin a dream everyday.”

Celebrities and pop culture personalities like Jordyn Woods, Fabolous, Meek MillBIA and Jim Jones are familiar with the IEMBE brand, and they have been seen wearing the “Biblical IEMBE Jacket” or a bag.

Laverne said she’s been enjoying helping her son’s his vision come to life and enjoys the process.

“I am his official model to the brand and I woudn’t want to do this for anyone else,” she said. “I am so proud of him and what this brand stands for.”

With his dream of a Times Square billboard accomplished, Travis said is planning to fly to Paris in November to shoot his first IEMBE collection which will feature new handbags, duffel bag, clothing and more.