Meet Dakarai:
Dakarai grew up in Cleveland (Garfield Heights)and was always a creative individual, he at one time got really depressed and put all of his thoughts into work and in comes Lame Brotherhood clothing. Ok but enough biography lets get on with the interview
Who are you? and tell Vintage Cardigans about your mission and your background
Dakarai Ashby from Cleveland OH. Currently living in Pittsburgh but looking to relocate to Atlanta within the next year or so. I am a fashion designer/artist and I have been working on Lame Brotherhood since I was a sophmore in High School. My mission is to show people that you can overcome all of life's obstacles. They are called Obstacles because they are meant to be gotten over. Being popular or cool doesnt mean a thing if you arent who you truly are. I show how life can be hard but worth living through my art and fashion. I dont speak the truth, I show the truth through art and expression. All of my designs have a hidden message behind them.
LOL, I know this is unprofessional of me, but how do you pronounce your name?
My name is Dakarai and its pronounced Dah-Car(vehicle)-Letter "E".lol haha I have to use that way to pronounce my name all the time. Dont worry about it.
What do you wish people would understand about working in the fashion industry?
One major thing I wish people would understand about working in fashion is that you do NOT have to be gay to be a fashion designer. I dont get that as much as I used to but I really used to get so irritated when people asked was I gay because I love clothing so much.
Where do you get your design inspiration?
My inspiration for my designs usually stem from a deep depression I was in back in my senior year of high school. All the deep and abstract stuff is what my mind was full of when I was going through. My art also stems off of what others may go through or can go through. I know its not a good thing but honestly I sometimes take shots at the media and HYPE. Its all in fun but I never play games. Im a very serious person even though I like to clown around.
Do you want to discuss what happened your senior year in high school?
My senior year in high school me and my girlfriend at the time broke up after a year and a half. We had the same friends and a lot of our friends were more of her friends. When we broke up all our friends became her friends and left me. So that sparked a major depression because I was alone with my bad thoughts and had nobody to talk to. When someone came around to talk to they'd walk out on my life too so stuff got harder. It got to the point were I was seeing disturbing images just from hallucinating, and I had nightmares. I put on a mask at school so nobody would be in my business, but when I got home I took that mask off and became a very dark person. I didnt know how to deal with my problems so I started smoking to bury my issues in weed. It definitely worked though I dont encourage drug use but it worked for me for sure. I began seeing these faces (Hallu) that would comfort me and make me feel better for the time being. It sounds weird but they were like my imaginary friends. The drama was still there but the Hallu faces would tell me "Fuck that, get over it and chill with us." That was just all a part of my extremely wild imagination mixed with the weed though. It sounds so crazy but its all true. Eventually the drama faded and some of the friends came back and I am doing alot better now. This is half of the story but its just too long to discuss in an interview like this one.lol
What is the best perk in being a designer?
The best perk is getting first dibs on everything you design. I can ship a box of clothing off somewhere for a store to sell but I always have that one special piece in there for me.haha
How did you go about making this career choice? What was personally important and appealing to you about this career?
I wanted to be a fashion designer because I could never afford my favorite lines like A Bathing Ape, BBC/Ice Cream, LV etc.
What type of education did you have/ are you obtaining and knowing what you know now what route would you recommend for aspiring designers?
I didnt have any type of education when it came to this industry. I mean yeah Im in college now but Lame Brotherhood was well established way before I got here. Im just learning what I need to know in the future now.
What college do you attend?
I attend the Art Institute of Pittsburgh
What sacrifices did you have to make to have this career?
Sacrifices I had to make was not buying shoes as much. I am a big sneaker head..but having LB as such a huge responsibility I cant really buy shoes as much anymore. The only time I bought shoes with LB money was for prom weekend last year. The TK Societys came out that weekend and this guy was gonna sell them to me 4 days ahead of time. I had to use $140 out of my Lame Brotherhood account for that.haha It was stupid but I was sh***ing on everybody at Cedar Point that weekend.lol
What is a typical day for you like?
A typical day for me is..
Wake up
turn on my macbook
check the fan page, twitter, facebook and email
Start new designs
maybe chill for alil bit
design some more
then sleep
NO HOMEWORK!! F*** THAT! jk
Has there ever been a time when you have had difficult obstacles to face?
Theres always times where I feel like LB isnt going anywhere because I still get looked over. I always feel like Im stuck in the same spot but I know at the end of the day LB is going to be huge and I will get the spotlight one day.
Who is your biggest customer/buyer?
My biggest customer???....hmmmm Im not sure it may be my wife Char'e. She usually buys everything unless its white because she's messy. ahaha
OK so there you have it Dakarai up close and personal. Now you see that even fashion designers have personality. Now something I need to put on my checklist is to buy an Crewneck from him! Wanna know where to go? Well go to Heart and Sole on Conventry, and an online store is in the works that I will definitely keep you guys posted on.
Thanks Dakarai hopefully we can keep in touch for Networking purposes
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