Source: Courtesy of Karl Kani archives / Courtesy of Karl Kani
Karl Kani Launches New Collection Celebrating Three Decades In The Fashion Biz
Before there was Phat Farm, Pelle Pell, Enyce, Sean Jean and the host of other urban fashion brands, there was Karl Kani.
Known for his signature “Kani,” embroidered into his creations, Kani’s clothes graced everyone from Tupac to Nas to Aaliyah.
And coming off the heels of a successful collaboration with UK-based fashion brand PrettyLittleThing, the designer is now set to launch a new collection that celebrates his roots in urban streetwear.
“It’s definitely humbling that our brand was able to connect in hip hop in that way,” the designer told BOSSIP. “We embraced the culture…They can relate to Karl Kani because we came from the same streets.”
Source: Courtesy of Karl Kani Archives / Courtesy of Karl Kani Archives
Kani was inspired to pursue fashion by his father, a Costa Rican immigrant who would take his son with him when he got his clothes custom made by a tailor. His parents later divorced, and Kani ended up living with his mother in the projects in Brooklyn, where he said the other kids teased him about his clothes.
“The feeling of getting rejected was demoralizing,” Kani recalled. “ I realized that fashion was how you stood out in the projects.”
Kani linked back up with his dad’s tailor and asked him to sew a look he’d come up with: a jean suit with linen fabric. He said he wore the outfit around the projects, and soon his former bullies were asking him to make him one.
Fast forward to 1989, and the Karl Kani brand was born. Kani also explained how he gave himself his now iconic last name: “’Can I?’ Was a question that I asked myself. Can I fulfill these dreams? Can I fulfill this journey? That’s now Kani came to be.”
Source: Courtesy of Karl Kani archives / Courtesy of Karl Kani
In 1998, Kani legally changed his name when he became a citizen.
Up next for Kani is a documentary and a line of furniture – he also hopes to open his own nonprofit.
“I think it’s very important that we give back and inspire the next generation of youth,” Kani said. “In the wake of what’s going on with Gucci, we shouldn’t focus so much on what (mainstream fashion) is doing. We should focus on what we can do. We should focus on expanding our own brand.”
from Bossip http://bit.ly/2vcuNjc
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