Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Douglas.
Brandon, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story starts in Kingston, Jamaica, where I was born. When I was a baby, my mom and I immigrated to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and years later, moved to Lithonia, Georgia, where I grew up.
I’ve always been into art. As a kid, I was always drawing things. I especially loved to draw buildings, and made-up planets with corresponding continents, borders, everything. Reflecting now, I think I just loved to draw out things I wished to see in the world. Around Middle School, I started drawing dresses. I stopped after a while and didn’t show too many people; I’m not sure why. The homophobia and false importance of gender roles which society pushes on young boys is probably to blame. It could also be that as a child, I had a new hobby every week. Anyways, that phase didn’t last long, and after it, I stopped drawing as much.
I first started getting into clothes in high school for very normal reasons, specifically self-esteem problems and girls. As puberty was finishing, I was also seeking to express myself more. I went to a high school with mandatory uniforms, so my options were limited. We could choose between 3 colors of shoes, so I thought cool shoes would be the best place to start experimenting. However growing up, I could never ask my mom for stuff like Jordans. I was already selling candy during school, so I saved up for a few months and bought my first pair of Jordan’s from a classmate in 10th grade. They were some beat “Space Jam 11’s”, which I wore every day for the next few months. I got taxed, but at least they were real. From that pair, I traded and sold and bought shoes for a while on this Facebook group called ATATF, and by the end of 2013, I had a collection of over 20 Jordan’s and Nike SB’s. As I got more into street fashion, I found out about Donda and the stories of some of Ye’s understudies, like Heron Preston and Virgil, and that opened my eyes to a lot.
I started skating in 11th grade, and though I stopped a year later, I was so inspired by skate culture that I decided to launch a skate brand called Crvxx. I brought on a lifelong friend, and we embarked on that journey. We knew nothing about business, or streetwear really. But, I was to be the designer, and he the businessman. It was my first business experience, and the skills I learned and the mistakes we made gave me the tools I’m currently using to build B.A.D. Denim.
I still don’t think of myself as a fashion designer. I just like to make things and happen to be making clothes at this point in my life. From a very young age, I knew I’d create things with my hands. I was always pretty good at math and very good with all sciences in school, so I thought I’d finish and go study engineering. In 12th grade, I took economics in high school and loved it so much I decided to make it my major and to study in Atlanta instead of moving to Arizona. It was also an excuse for me to explore fashion more, as my interest in it began to pick up.
Over the last two years, I’ve gotten a lot more into fashion; I think that’s partly due to my environment. Two of my best friends during that phase were models. I also think I began to truly recognize fashion’s role as an art form. This brings me a newfound appreciation for its effects on me as an individual and the world at large. I think all art is created as a form of self-expression, a tool to say things that can’t actually be said. Beyond that though, I believe artists, consciously or unconsciously, use art as tools of self-exploration as well. Through creating, I think a lot of people learn more about themselves. That’s definitely what I’m experiencing through B.A.D Denim, and I’m so grateful for it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My biggest struggles along the way were a lack of skills, lack of support, and finding a balance between personal growth, and growing in my art. These made for plenty bumps in the road.
I’ve always felt really unsupported in my artistic endeavors. I don’t come from money, and my parents have never put a dollar of what they did have into any of my creative ventures, so getting funding my ideas was always the most insurmountable challenge. That’s a theme that remains till this day. That lack of support meant I had to learn to be more independent and learn how to handle many parts of a business on my own. I know the lack of support which I cite affects me on a deeply personal level, so I as I grow, I look forward to understanding more and more of the effects it has on me and the man I’m becoming.
You don’t know what you don’t know; you know? Until I actually started trying to sell things for Crvxx, the skate brand I started out of high school, I never knew how much went into creating and selling clothes. From manufacturing to marketing, I’ve learned so much and still have so much to learn. As sewing and graphic design are concerned, I’ve taught myself everything I know so far. I learned by watching YouTube, then doing for others. I was picking up graphic design and tailoring jobs for people all throughout college.
As a result of being self-taught, I constantly need help figuring the next step out, and sometimes, with no one to turn to; I get really discouraged. I never felt like my loved ones took me seriously, and that weighed on me a lot in my late teen years. At the time, I felt that people who love you should, if able, try to help you with the things that you’re passionate about. So questioning why my loved ones didn’t show me the love I expected, in exactly the ways I expected, was an internal struggle I battled with alot.
I’m realizing another struggle as I get deeper into the world of fashion. This opaque veil of vanity which seems, to me, to have blinded so many of the people involved in this industry. However, I feel that is a topic for another day!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about B.A.D. Denim – what should we know?
I create. I’ve created paintings, logos, marketing strategies, drawings, 3-D models with AutoCAD programs, financial models with Excel, clothes, you name it.
My clothing line B.A.D. Denim is, thankfully, more focused. At B.A.D Denim, we make limitless, genderless apparel, and I think that sets us apart. Our clothing isn’t all structured around genders or size labels. We make clothing for the future. The ultimate vision for B.A.D Denim is: to change the world by changing the way people interact with apparel; to change the way businesses interact with the inputs that go into the things that they make and the way individuals think about how they consume. That forward-thinking vision is what I am most proud of too.
I plan to push that agenda forward through incorporating sustainable operational standards into everything we do. We also plan to support new technologies, and push, through strategic partnerships and marketing, the value of reusing and making things last. For example: in our first few months, we are crafting products from recycled fabrics, and we are already partnering with a local restaurant to make our B.A.D. Dyes from their plant-waste.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
First off, all the glory of whatever I’ve achieved belongs to God. Shoutout Big God. My mom is my rock when I get really down, so special shoutout to her as well!
I believe that we’re all just reflections of our experiences. Everyone I’ve ever interacted with has played a part in my unique life experience. So, if I have ever interacted with you, thank you for being you!
Contact Info:
- Website: baddenimus.com
- Email: brandonanthonydenim@gmail.com
- Instagram: Baddenimus
Image Credit:
Photos by Dierra Font (@h0txgirl on IG) and Nicole Hernandez (skull.lady)
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.
