Olivia Smashum
Olivia Smashum
Founder & Creative Director, Blue Olive, has over 20 years of experience in entertainment and digital media. At SoHarlem, Olivia is Designer-In-Residence and also serves as a marketing and design coach for emerging designers.
Previously Olivia was Executive Vice President of Marketing and Product Development at HBO, where she led customer relationship efforts for 25 million subscribers and iconic brands including, Sex in the City, The Sopranos, and Cinemax. As digital distribution transformed the industry, she also played a key role in the successful online launch of HBO Go and Max Go. Her experience in developing strategic partnerships and branded digital content, together with launching brand extensions, are invaluable in her new role as founder of the Blue Olive fashion line and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at SoHarlem.
Blue Olive works with US manufacturers to source the finest quality fabrics and achieve the perfect fit. By using sheer, breezy fabrics, sophisticated colors and flirty silhouettes, Blue Olive successfully creates collections that capture the spirit of endless summer and limitless possibilities through separates that transition seamlessly from day to night.
Olivia is committed to delivering a timeless collection of wardrobe basics created for ALL women and to developing collaborations with emerging female visual artists, with Blue Olive serving as a platform that provides visibility and empowerment globally. Olivia is a graduate of Hampton University and received her MBA from Columbia University.
Blue Olive & Naija Fly Fabrics
Blue Olive collaborates with Naija Fly Fabrics a company founded by Tenidade Morenike Fann. Naija Fly Fabrics is a fashion and textile lifestyle brand specializing in the ethical fair-trade export/import of high quality, unique fabrics made in West Africa. Using a business-to-business model, these materials are sourced for fashion designers and fabric retailers within the United States and worldwide.
This creative collaboration will continue to produce Blue Olive’s signature looks of colorful, perfectly fitting, flirty silhouettes designs and home accessories by Naija Fly using beautifully patterned wax resist-dyed cloth in an array of colors and hues handmade by the Yorubas of Southwestern Nigeria.
