Cloth Talk: A Conversation with PRSNLTY

As South Florida not only remains constant at becoming the mecca for creatives, it shows strong signs of over-saturation, with everyone wanting a piece of the pie. While originality and exclusivity becomes a rarity, one brand in South Florida has unintentionally made it their mission to only give the world the real and forever stray away from the wackness. The fye staff over at PRSNLTY has become the stomping ground of a handful of original based and promising creatives, who came together to create numerous eye-opening and jaw dropping clothing collections. All pieces featured, along side a wide range from this and previous collections, can be purchased over HERE.

So let’s not waste anymore time and present this discussion with two of PRSNLTY’s head honchos Shawn C & Joseph Daniels.

First off, tell us who you are and what is PRSNLTY?

JD (@JDBrainstorm ): I’m Joseph Daniels, Half of PRSNLTY’s design team and Creative Director.

SC (@itsshawnsea): I’m Shawn C, CEO, PRSNLTY is a lifestyle brand. It is a collective filled with other talented artists, designers, photographers & musicians.

Why did you decide to choose designing fashion as the catalyst for your career?

SC: It honestly just happened, I was always into clothes growing up so when the opportunity approached of creating a brand I was like fuck it? What’s there to lose.

JD: It was a natural progression from what I’ve always been doing which is creating art, I started Drawing , then I learned Graphic Design, then I thought how do I get this art to the people? Fashion.

According to you, what is a favorite part of designing?

JD: My favorite part of designing is taking in the greatness of the finished product. We stress over so many little details and choices while creating that its great to see it all come to fruition.

The clothing for your newest collection that you created are no doubt great, but who and which things were your inspiration while creating such designs?

SC: Inspiration comes from many different sources like music, history, experience & travel mostly. This last year I’ve been living in Tallahassee so with that new environment it put me in a new mindset to create. As far as who, mostly the youth, streets & culture. The internet really makes it easy to see what everyone’s interested in.

Overall in your eyes, who do you believe is the most influential fashion designer?

SC: Nigo, Pharrel & Anwar carrots

JD: Most Influential? Marc Ecko. Who else had their finger on the pulse of street wear for as long as and as strong as that guy? Gotta give credit where its due.

So if you had the choice of all of the designers in the world to work with, would that person be your choice?

SC/JD: Pharrell, hands down.

What skills do you think are necessary to have a successful clothing brand?

SC: Work ethic, patience, determination & confidence.

JD: Vision, determination, and all that but i think the most important skills are the technical ones. Somebody GOTTA know Photoshop, somebody GOTTA know marketing….all this stuff is important.

How big of a role does music play in your designing process?

SC: Music is the key to all of this because it’s like a grounding point. I believe music plays a huge role in fashion & vice versa so them being so connected really eases up the process. Currently I’m listening to Tycho anytime I have to design , study or any time I need to focus.

JD: Music helps keep me focused. I’m a visual person so its easy for me to get distracted by the smallest things when I’m stuck in the middle of a design, so some good bass heavy beats help keep me in the pocket.

Is computer and technology involved in your designing process? What kinds of software do you use?

JD: Heavily. What I like about Illustrator and Photoshop is how much more precise and calculated you can be. I’m that person that looks at small details and alignment issues that others may not even see…. But its important to me!

Is traditional art involved in any way?

JD: Definitely, I started as a traditional artist way before I learned Photoshop so I like to find ways to incorporate that and give our brand its own personality. Not everyone has a true artist on their team (we have a few actually) so its great to get to play to that strength.

How do you stay up to date, or ahead of time, regarding fashion?

SC: We usually work at our own pace, we have resources to databases with trend forecasting but usually we just do what we want & it happens to flow with whatever’s going on. We’re pretty involved in the scene so we’re constantly seeing people’s new ideas & it helps us see what direction we need to take. We are currently trying to mix trends with our designs but sometimes it does or doesn’t make the final cut.

What motivates you to be a better designer and from your normal life what kind of ethics do you follow and put up in your work?

JD: I used to criticize myself so much as an artist and designer (and as a person) so that’s why now I just want to make sure my designs are original and that I’m happy with them before I ever get another person’s approval. Other than that all my motivation to be better comes from seeing those around me do better. I’m super competitive like that when it comes to art and that’s why I LOVE having artist friends.

What is your philosophy about the art of fashion?

SC: The art of fashion is representation. Clothing represents you , you can tell how someones day is going by how they’re dressed. If I throw on sweatpants and a hoodie please don’t bother me, but if I throw on some vans, skinnies & a dope tee then I’m ready to walk around with confidence. It’s just moods we all go through. The moment we are about to put something on, our mood can effect the outcome. That’s the beauty of it.

JD: Im not big on making rules for art but one that’s definitely important to me is that Fashion and Art alike should just be an original expression of your ideas or concepts. Whether you’re inspired by something you’ve come across or you just simply think “I could do that better” I think you should always be bringing some original new take on whatever you do. Biting is for losers.

What do you consider the important facets of the fashion industry?

JD: I think work ethic is hands down the most important thing. EVERYBODY , literally EVERYBODY , has good and great ideas but the visionaries are the ones that actually DO IT.

Where do you see your brand in ten years?

SC: One store opened, shipping constantly worldwide, collaborating with most brands & artists. Probably doing the same shit were doing now just on a higher scale

JD: Very established. People know our brand and style and respect it. Like SC said, we’ll be doing the same shit we’re doing just on a bigger scale.

If you had to describe your brands style, what would it be?

JD: We’re a brand that gives Art to the people through street wear and couture. I don’t like to box us in too much because I think our biggest strength is our potential to grow and try new things.

SC: Florida lifestyle (water life & different cultures), home-made & positive. Very clean & simple designs. We want to expand into more designs correlating with the mind/ brain as well as more meaningful messages.

How do you handle the stress?

SC: We usually don’t, we usually are stressed most of the time because of deadlines we’re trying to beat.

JD: I don’t deprive myself of ME time at all. I think everyone knows what recharges their batteries and you owe it to yourself to take some time for that before you burn yourself out.

What has been your most memorable challenge so far?

JD: Getting backlogged with over 70+ orders for Black Friday. We were so hype about all the love until 20 minutes later it sank in that we had to produce and ship ALL OF THAT in a timely manner. That was a fun weekend.

SC: Being able to really be in control of everything going on with production. We started off screen printing and would mess up every shirt, now there are never any mess ups & less problems when it comes down to physically having the garments. A lot of brands struggle with not being able to get shirts made or they need 2 shirts but every shop is charging them 50.00 for the 2. But us, we could make it and it’ll only cost us a little labor. It’s just dope we can really make anything right now within our means. Shout out to Eemahnee she’s been working on her sewing and it’s going to play a vital role in our next innovation.

How comfortable are you working hands on with models and other designers?

SC: Very comfortable, models/designers usually get a dope vibe off us cause we’re really just normal people and they usually fuck with the clothes which makes everything 1000 times easier.

JD: I love that people are willing to work with us, its a special kind of respect when you can acknowledge that even though we do similar things but YOU respect MY work enough to want to work together and vice versa. I love it because it always ends up being something neither of us would have came up with on our own.

Does your work reflect your personal fashion taste?

JD: Definitely. Its the greatest feeling to wear what you make but at the same time we all have different personalities so I don’t try to limit our brand with the old “I wouldn’t wear that” mindset.

What are your future plans for PRSNLTY?

JD: Newer. Bigger. Better. I’m all about expansion and growth and I plan on being somebody that can make that happen for Personality. Just be on the lookout because we’re taking chances and trying new things already.

SC: More collections, more collabs, a fashion show && getting our product into new stores.

Any closing thoughts? Anything to plug?

SC: New website dropping, new collection , a few giveaways, everything ! Stay focused & never lose sight.

JD: Don’t wait too long to chase your dreams.