Elisa Johnson is a new business owner and an influencer – though, wait, influencer is a word she despises. The 28-year-old California native – sister to reality star EJ Johnson and daughter of NBA legend Earvin “Magic” and Cookie Johnson – was a performing arts kid who spent summers attending the prestigious French Woods Performing Arts Camp. She naturally excelled at basketball from the time she was six to the time she was twelve, and concurrently spent time preparing, auditioning, and landing lead roles in multiple plays.

During the final few weeks of ninth grade, she lost interest in basketball, and recognized her love of independence, which led her to habitually break school dress code. Consequently many of her Saturday afternoons were spent in detention, just like The Breakfast Club.

Following her days at Campbell Hall High School, the socialite – another word she doesn’t particularly enjoy either – studied Fashion and Business Management at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Just under two years ago, in May 2021, she launched her namesake sunglass brand of timeless and one-of-a-kind designs with an investment from Magic. A month ago, the fashion darling who interned with Coco Breezy, two “amazingly beautiful” Black women and fellow eyewear designers opened her first showroom space in New York City. Today, Elisa discusses the unexpected reality of undervaluing herself, being her own biggest enemy, how optical eyewear may be the next product in the Elisa Johnson Co. portfolio, and the pressure of not just being another celebrity’s daughter.

To begin, how do you feel about the term “Socialite?”

GASPS! I do not like that word. Even the term “influencer” irritates me. Socialite has this negative connotation; at least to me, it feels like you’re just here to be social but without purpose. You’re going to this party, this place, doing this and doing that, but for what? What is your goal? Is it just to be known? That’s how I view it.

Tell me about your relationship with fashion and how you built said relationship.

Having to wear uniforms to school every day activated my relationship with fashion. It took off during my sophomore year at Campbell Hall High School when I was searching for various ways to express myself. First, I chopped my hair off. I wasn’t following any formula per se; I was figuring out what I liked and gravitated towards. I spent a lot of time in detention on the weekends because I was wearing spike Christian Louboutins and other apparel that was out of the dress code, but you know, so what!

By the time junior year rolled around, I knew I wanted to attend a fashion school for college. I wasn’t sure what my focus would be, and even though I was skilled at sketching fashion design, as a major, it sounded very intense … like I wasn’t going to have a social life. I wanted to enjoy college and be sociable, so I chose to attend FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) and pursued my bachelor’s degree in Fashion and Business Management. I recognized early on that comprehending the business of fashion was necessary. Cookie, my mother, studied fashion and worked as a buyer in the past. She, in all honesty, cleared the lane for me.

The daughter of NBA Legend & Serial Entrepreneur Magic Johnson and Sister to Reality Star EJ Johnson? How does that feel?

Hmmm… I’ll be honest, I suffer from chronic anxiety and worry a lot. I took the extra step to pursue an education and obtain a degree in a field that I was truly interested in because I didn’t just want to be another famous person’s daughter who came out with some arbitrary line or something. Even though everyone loved and knew who my father was, growing up felt normal. There was, however, a lot of pressure when I was playing basketball because I felt like I was being watched and judged by others. I admire that my brother EJ has taken that judgment on full throttle; his saying is, “If they want a show, give them a show!” He doesn’t let people or negative comments get to him. I am not there yet; I’m still a work in progress. Fortunately, none of that pressure comes from within our family, and if I have a plan, they always support me.

Through all of that, how’d you figured out where Elisa fit?

By concentrating on what I loved. I knew that I wanted my brand, Elisa Johnson, to become a reality, so I kept my head down and centered the bulk of my time and energy around making my sunglasses. Before my dad agreed to invest – he told me “No” at first – I was selling my personal handbags and such to have the cache to produce samples. Yes, I had a different level of support than most, but I still wanted to demonstrate that I could make things shake on my own.

You wanted to be a singer and actor before becoming an entrepreneur. What happened to those dreams?

To tell you the truth, I prevent myself from chasing my dreams and am my greatest foe. I often think about the possibility of rejection or failure, basically asking, “What will people say and/or think?” and that has been my constant struggle. As a result, I classified acting and singing as pastimes rather than professions.

How’d you land on creating Elisa Johnson Co, a brand dedicated to sunglasses?

I have it in my heart that I want my brand to live within the accessory realm for the foreseeable future. I was obsessed with sunglasses very early. I had an insane collection, and I think the reaction and feedback I was receiving from social media, particularly on Instagram, with many of my followers inquiring where I was getting my frames, started to speak to me.

After a while, I considered how cool it would be to say “these are mine.” There were also times when I was out shopping for sunglasses and didn’t find the style I was looking for. I would see a cool frame but want a different color for the lenses, or maybe the nose bridge needed to be a little bit longer. I finally said, “Let me create what I want.”

So, you present your business plan to your father for the second time after he originally said no. He greenlights it, and then what? 

We launch! I was ready. I had been prepared. I had all the styles and samples lined up and ready to be confirmed with my vendor. I just had to pick a date because I had spent an entire year working on the brand after he initially told me no. I worked all of 2020 because it would’ve been foolish to launch a brand during the chaos of that year. I designed the Janes, the frames that have gone on to become our best sellers that same year.

Who’d you work with regarding your design process? 

Ali Mehrdad Soudbakhsh, a mentor of mine who started the brand Roberi and Fraud then rebranded and created Philó, introduced me to his Hong Kong manufacturer. He simply stated, “Here, this is who produces my products” while most people were attempting to charge me. Ali was telling me, “I want you to do well.” Because of that, he will always have my heart. Regarding the designs, I sketched everything out myself.

Is Elisa Johnson looking to compete with a brand like Ray-Ban, or would you rather stay more niche?

Niche! I understand that it is imperative to have styles that can carry you through for a lifetime. I’m okay with producing some trendy styles. I’m entertaining exploring the optical space. People need glasses. I now need glasses, which is one of the universe’s tricks because I didn’t need prescription glasses until I launched my brand.

On your website, quite a few styles are out of stock. Discuss the realities of managing this brand and the production process.

I consistently underestimate myself. For instance, I had no idea that we would sell as many items as we did during our Thanksgiving Black Friday sale. We set aside 200 styles for Black Friday, and we ended up selling a lot more than that. As a result, many of the styles are now sold out because I wasn’t anticipating us to sell out of our inventory the way we did. That said, the brand is doing well in terms of profitability, but the demand is higher than I predicted. My very small team and I are trying to navigate the best way we can.

How many pairs of each style are you producing per order?

200 for our most popular styles; less for other options.

Finally, have you ever considered moving your brand to a position where it no longer requires the presence of its founder? Think of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and The Row.

Apart from my brand, I do know that I want to collaborate with Kwame Adusei, a Ghanaian designer. So, If I do branch out and work under a moniker that’s not my name, I’d love to do it with him. Furthermore, I want to help other Black designers. As far as my baby, my project, I love my name and want to keep it close to me. I want to keep Elisa Johnson as Elisa Johnson; that is 28-year-old me speaking though my response could be different when I’m 31 or 33.

IG (Personal): @elisajohnson

IG (Brand): @elisajohnson.co

Elisa Johnson photos by Matthew Jackson @kingmattjackson

Eyewear images courtesy of Elisa Johnson Co.