DURKL’s Fall ’09 Lookbook

Washington, D.C. – the most powerful city in the world and the origins of half-smokes from Ben’s Chili Bowl, Go-go music and the brand DURKL. A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit the DURKL office to speak to Will about DURKL and the current setting in Washington. If you can make it outside the shadows of politics, you have definitely accomplished something great in Washington to me.

EM: Occupation and Position

Will, Co-Founder of DURKL

EM: Can you tell us a little more about DURKL’s concept?
DURKL is a clothing line for the independent individual who doesn’t want to follow the leader. We pride ourselves on being creative and taking chances with it. Most clothing brands wouldn’t put out a pair of grey denim with blue back pockets. We do, and they sell out immediately. Our customers appreciate that and look for us to provide garments that push the limits. Am I sure that a store will pick it up? No but I couldn’t put out a line that wasn’t risky. I love to do something different to create a reaction. We want to offer products for the independent thinker.

EM: What neighborhood do you closely identify with? What makes your community unique?
I grew up here in D.C. , and have lived on 14th Street for five years now. It’s kinda my ice. When I grew up here as a little kid, 14th St was a fucked up place. Tons of drugs, hookers, homicides, hell it’s the street the rioters burned down during the 1968 riots. Now, it’s totally different and that’s where the grind goes on in D.C. It’s where you will find every type of culture coexisting, which is really tough to find in this city. It has become the cultural and creative center of the city and that’s where I am and want to be.

EM: What are your thoughts about being a DC-based Company?
The town is like a double-edged sword. I love it and I hate it. What I love about being in D.C. is the constant improvement it undergoes. It is a city that is constantly moving and growing. A city that is full of opportunity and full of underground scenes that are off the beaten path. There is so much cool shit going on in the underground here that no one sees…and I think that secrecy is something we crave. We like living our lives off the map in a certain way.

What I hate about being in D.C. is the unfounded lack of respect the city and anything creative that comes out of it gets. D.C. is not thought of as a creative city or even as a “legitimate” city, so as a clothing brand being based here, we have to grind twice as hard. If we were to pack up and move to NYC without changing a thing about the brand except switching the name to DURKL NYC, we would undoubtedly be looked at differently. That shit is lame.

EM: Are you an ambassador of this subculture?
My old roommate was an official Kentucky Colonel, and I was always so jealous. Can we call me a “Kentucky Colonel of this subculture”? Kidding. Seriously though, I would consider everyone involved with DURKL an “ambassador” because there are so many different pieces of the puzzle in D.C. (and the creative community), and everyone we work with is a piece of that puzzle. With DURKL, we try to link together all the pieces. So in a lot of senses DURKL is more than just clothes. We want to shed light on what is really going around D.C.’s independently creative minded people, whether it’s musicians, bloggers, brands, artists, Djs, etc etc. No one really knows about this subculture, because no one is writing about it or showing it in the media.

Brothers Cole and Will Sharp of DURKL

EM: What is the greatest item you’ve found in a local garage sale?
An original Joey Fatone doll

EM: Where are your favorite local spots to eat?
Taqueria Distrito Federal – in Columbia Heights
Pho 14 – in Columbia Heights
Five Guys – Chinatown
Sticky Rice – H street NE

EM: What about Ben’s Chili Bowl?
Ben’s was one of the only places not burned down during the riots of ‘68. It’s a landmark that stood the test of time. It was a landmark, an icon, and a symbol of this city then and still is now. U street has changed a lot and Ben’s is the bridge between old D.C. and new D.C. The half-smokes are also tight as shit. Maurice is the man too!

EM: What bands are at the top of your playlist at this very moment?
Late of the Pier – who were featured in our current Spring ’09 Lookbook.
Junior Boys – the new album is fucking amazing!
Out Hud
Hot Chip
Rattler

EM: What is your favorite bedside read?
Non-Fiction

EM: What is your favorite place to visit when you travel abroad?
Barcelona. We go there for Bread and Butter twice a year. It’s a European city without the pretentiousness, which embraces the weird – a perfect mix of a gritty European city to me. Having a bad time is impossible.

EM: Lastly, what kind of projects do you have coming up?
We have a collaboration shade coming out this summer with SABRE. We only made 100 pairs of sunglasses in two different colors that will be released domestically and internationally. For apparel, we’re collaborating with a few European and Australian companies. Also, we have a local music project that will be produced locally but loved internationally.

For more news and updates about DURKL, please visit their website.

Photo/Source: DURKL