SyS introduce you “The Original David”
www.theoriginaldavid.com
www.myspace.com/the_original_david
Please tell us who you are, where your based and what is THE ORIGINAL DAVID?
I’m Rakiyt Zakari, based out of the Washington DC metro area. I originally hail from Norfolk VA. I’m Nigerian, though I’ve never lived there it’s a big part of my life. I began designing in 2001, a self named higher end women’s wear line that was featured a few times in WWD, Lucky mag, the Washington Post, Essence and a few others. I used to show in Miami, at Funkshion: Miami’s fashion week…
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The Original David is a line I stared while trying to figure out what to do with 144 white tees that I’d ordered for an event that never happened. I’m a pretty sarcastic person and political correctness is not my forte’, i just don’t think it’s that serious. It seems presently that people are so caught up in race and cultural differences that we can’t be ourselves without being scared to offend. Kids though aren’t like that. So I decided to create characters that played upon certain physical, and cultural stereotypes. All of these characters are Davids. They maybe different in many ways but when it’s all said and done they (we) are basically the same.
How do you produce THE ORIGINAL DAVID products and how many quantities do you make for each design?
I make each Original David shirt by hand, cutting out each piece and sewing it together. The shirts are cotton the characters are felt. The tags are made from leather that I brand with the logo. The quantities are limited, though each shirt is made to order. We don’t keep stock, it’s Fresh with no expiration date
