I spent three formative years of my life living in the United States. Washington DC to be exact, or, ‘Chocolate City’ as some often lovingly refer to it. I went to Highschool in DC the same year that a gang shootout in the District Zoo was headline news, and at the end of the decade that had labelled the city the ‘Murder capital of the US’. Of course, these statistics had very little bearing on my life, relatively tucked away in a quiet suburb of the North West quarter of the city, and mainly focused on driving my second hand beige Buick Le Sabre. In fact, it was the car that most often brought me in to contact with what it must have been like to grow up on the opposite side of the city. Unbeknown to me at the time, Buick Le Sabre’s, and the much fabled Crown Victoria were signature rides of a drug dealer, more commonly found on ‘The Strip’ a couple blocks from the Capitol. The mixture of dissapointment and confusion on the officers faces when a white kid with a ‘British’ accent rolled down the window was always comical to me.
The poverty found in much of the city was always at complete odds with the stunning wealth of it’s minority. This is afterall the capital city of the most powerful nation in the world, heaving with politicians, ambassadors and intellectuals. The combination seemed to have a strange effect on the city’s culture. Maybe this was in part due to it’s proximity to Philadelphia and New York, that many of the creative souls from the city felt it easier to hop the train to one of those more established centres of music, fashion or art, I’m not sure. Either way, growing up there at the start of the 2000′s, it often felt decidedly devoid of any cultural movement or particular identity as a city. There were no rappers really coming out of DC, the music scene largely consisting of G0-Go music, and there was certainly no discernable fashion brands making any headway out of the city. It wasn’t until after I moved back to London that Commonwealth opened on U st, alongside the Stussy DC store, and the much maligned Wale began making noise outside of PG County. Gentrification was filtering into the inner city areas in a big way.
Durkl have galvanized the diamond district in the last 5 years in a way that no other brand seemed able, or willing to do. Bringing together the unique attitude, vibe and aesthetic of the city’s amalgamated habitat to form collections that have built in strength and quality season on season. It was this that motivated us to collaborate with the Durkl guys over at Second Son, combining on the ‘Capital Connection’ series that gave rise to our Second Son x Durkl ‘Sherlock Pack’ hat & pipe, which is still available to purchase here.
“DURKL is an independent American sportswear/streetwear brand based in Washington, DC. Through the unique culture of our nation’s capital, we strive to inject our original city lifestyle into creating authentic and relevant clothing for today, while progressing year to year. Our High Quality, Low Standards motto, reflects the sophistication, dedication, and consistent quality that goes into each of our pieces while keeping the delivery of our style gritty, diverse, and intelligent.
DURKL is currently sold in over 100 boutiques internationally, as well as at their flagship retail location in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, DC.”
