‘For my divas’: How a passion for fashion led Broward woman to swimwear success
When Miramar swimsuit designer Keva Johnson was a kid, she often told her mother about her fashion dreams.
“I’m that girl that likes to look different, and I couldn’t find anything,” said the 43-year-old Johnson.
Today, Johnson has built a swimsuit business that caters to women of all backgrounds, shapes and sizes. She estimates her business averages 300 orders a month. Singers including Ashanti and Ciara are fans of her work.
How fashion business started
Johnson’s fashion journey took her to New York City and back.
Johnson was born in Brooklyn and moved with her family to Broward County, where she lived until the fifth grade. Her family moved to Miramar, and she graduated from Coral Springs High School in 2001.
With a passion for fashion, Johnson majored in apparel design at Florida State University. An internship with Kimora Lee Simmons’ Baby Phat clothing brand in California exposed Johnson to the day-to-day business of the fashion industry.
Johnson was intrigued and decided that she wanted to own a fashion business.
After graduating from FSU in 2005, Johnson didn’t know what her next steps would be in the fashion world. Her mother, Jennifer Douglas, suggested that she move to New York City.
“I learned so much about the grind,” Johnson said of her time back in New York, this time as an adult. “Going back and living there shaped me.”
Johnson lived in New York City from 2006 to 2015 and was captivated by the frenetic speed of life in the Big Apple. She worked day jobs in retail and spent her free time and weekends sewing swimsuits.
In 2016, she registered Keva J Swimwear with the state of Florida. Making swimsuits that reflected Johnson’s Jamaican heritage, affinity for tropical weather and bright colors made her work stand out from other swimwear options. But she found it difficult to gain the attention of buyers for top retail chains.
“At one point I was so frustrated,” she said. “Everyone else was telling me that they love it.”
One day, a man that helped produce Johnson’s swimwear talked to her about material costs, and told her that it wouldn’t make financial sense to continue her business in New York. That motivated her to move back to South Florida in 2015, and she spent the next several years selling her swimsuits in a market where people frequently visit to be near or in the water.
Passion for swimwear
Seamstress Aura Marina Carrillo has worked with Johnson for two years, and the two have a close bond. They met through a mutual friend.
Carrillo, 62, previously operated a factory in Venezuela before moving to the United States. The factory produced ballet gear, leotards and other athletic attire.
“I do this because what I like making more than anything are swimsuits,” Carrillo said in Spanish.
Carrillo works from a Tamiami home garage full of colorful thimbles of thread, sewing machines and apparel cutouts. A small dog named Dylan sits at her feet while she assembles Johnson’s designs. Carrillo is the head seamstress of the three seamstresses Johnson works with to make her swimwear.
Swimwear for sale
With Johnson’s success in South Florida, she prefers the direct-to-consumer method of selling over a mass retailer. Social media has helped her market her work, and she has nearly 90,000 followers on Instagram.
One local customer found her work on social media and admires it.
South Miami event curator Alexis Brown organizes events and has been a Keva J customer for about nine years.
“What drew me to her was the forwardness that her swimsuits were curvy-friendly,” said Brown, 38. “It’s very hard to find swimwear that fits curvier women and looks really cool.”
Brown concedes that while the swimsuits are not inexpensive, she believes that they are an investment because of the fit and style options they offer to women of all shapes and sizes. Johnson’s swimsuits cost more than many other brands and start at $93.99.
Living in South Florida, Brown noticed that few other swimsuit brands made swimwear for women like her with curves. She appreciated Johnson’s swimwear so much that she organized a show during Miami Swim Week featuring Miramar-based Keva J Swimwear and Aude Swimwear and Tantrum Vogue, two other Black-owned swimsuit brands. The Brown Sugar Color Way Fashion Show took place on Saturday, May 30 at Wynwood’s CC Rooftop Social Club.
Johnson makes swimwear for women of all shapes and sizes, and that reminds her of why she does this work.
“These are for my divas,” she said. “I’ve never met some of these women, but speaking to them keeps me going.”
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘For my divas’: How a passion for fashion led Broward woman to swimwear success."
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