Next stop, the launch of Vibe, the premiere mainstream urban culture magazine, where she served as fashion director; after which, Davis’ styling career took off with speed and specialty. She lent her unique taste and image-making prowess to a host of artists and cultural icons, such as Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce, Prince, Diana Ross, Donald Trump, Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J, and Pink to name a few. She’s added “color” and her particular fashion flavor to numerous magazines like EW and Vanity Fair. Davis was brought on as the expert style advisor to the urban cult classic film Paid in Full, regarded as this generations Scarface.
Her writing and opinions seasoned as she penned fashion and culture commentary for international publications and books like Everything But The Burden: what white people are taking from black culture, edited by Greg Tate. She authored Beloved Baby, a scrapbook and journal for alternative families.
At the dawn of the new millennium Davis returned to her first love: magazines-as fashion director and editor-in-chief of Honey, the first book for the globally trendsetting demographic, the 18-34 stylish Urban-American woman, aka the “Urbanista.” In 2004, she went back to basics to work under her mentor Susan L. Taylor at Essence, as executive fashion and beauty editor, while directing the magazine’s Culture section. While at Essence she was the spokeswoman for the groundbreaking initiative “TAKE BACK THE MUSIC” a multi-media campaign to bring awareness to the hyper-sexualized representation and lyrical disrespect of young women of color in mainstream media. She became a leader on the subject, speaking at prestigious campuses like Yale and Spellman, in addition to community institutions.
Davis hosted a session at the 2005 Congressional Black Caucus and spoke at the first Young Feminist Summit as part of N.O.W.’s 50th anniversary. She has gracefully and skillfully taken on both Fox’s Bill O’Reilly and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and regularly appears on CNN. She’s a reoccurring critic on pop-culture TV specials on BBC, MTV, VH1 and BET. In 2006 and 2007, Davis co-produced the Essence Music Festival’s Empowerment Seminar Series (the largest African-Americanmusic festival). She also served as a speaker and/or moderator on the panels “Who You Calling a Ho? and “Sisters Take Issue with Our Images” to record audiences.
Davis has been a frequent commentator and style expert on Metro TV and Women’s Entertainment Television’s Full Frontal Fashion and E! She hosted and co-produced a progressive internet-broadcast fashion news show The Rogue Fashion Report. In addition, she was a project mentor on Where My Ladies At? an innovative interactive online film and educational program. She was commissioned as an expert advisor on Black Style Now! an exhibit and program at CMNY. She is also a frequent consultant for VH1/VH1Soul. She is currently developing an “Urbanista” online magazine and television show and a documentary film and book exploring Black women, race, gender, beauty and identity.
Davis serves on the board of Black Girls Rock!, ImageNation and The Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School. She hosts a monthly career mentoring program, Salon de Shine.