Sheku Tarawallie Speaks on his fashion inspirations
Sheku Tarawallie Speaks On His Fashion Inspirations, His Childhood In London, The Growth of His SWAVOR Clothing Line, Working with Nike and His Plans for 2020.
I’ve always been a huge fan of fashion but more so streetwear fashion. My knowledge about a lot of different upcoming streetwear brands expanded when I attended the Fashion Institute of Technology down in Chelsea, NYC. I became more familiar with brands like KITH, 40oz NYC when 40oz Van was building his name with the snapback hats, Pyrex, BEEN TRILL and others that were heavily related to the scene of SoHo fashion. Now, we’ve seen a great amount of rising clothing brands like Tier NYC and Visionary Society just to name a few, dominate their market by taking old traditions and techniques of marketing and advertising and modernizing it to adapt to todays fashion culture. Another brand that comes to mind in the midst of all of this is SWAVOR which is run by Shek Tarawallie, a Maryland-born creative who also spent some time in London throughout his life.
Using some of what he picked up in London along with his Maryland roots, Shek created a brand that not only displays great quality and authenticity but a brand that represents a deeper meaning than just clothes. “I knew I had to tell a story that was different from theirs.” Shek said. “I needed to make something that people would attach themselves to beyond the garments.”
I had the chance to catch up with Shek to talk about his brand, his fashion inspirations, growing up in two countries and how that played a role in his brand inspiration, co-collaborating with Nike, and what’s to come for 2020.
1 - What personal inspirations did you have growing up that motivated you to get into fashion?
It's amazing because I used to get asked that and had no idea what my answer was to this question. But I would say my earliest introduction to fashion was definitely through my mother. At a very young age she would let me pick out my own clothes & she would critique my choices. My aunts would all compete on what kids had the cutest outfits at parties etc. So I would say from a style perspective, my mother was my introduction. Movies also became a very important influence as well. From a fashion business standpoint, there were a couple clothing brands at my old high school in London that inspired me. I couldn’t believe that they were turning their ideas into garment & that everyone in our hood was wearing it. It was a legitimate business. Something that was rare in my neighborhood if you know what I mean. So seeing that as a proof of concept made me realize it was possible. Sometimes that's all you need.
2 - Who were some of your outside inspirations in fashion? What major designers or celebs did you look up to?
I was blessed to have amazing male influences. My older cousin worked at Lacoste in Central London. He had amazing style. But on top of having amazing style, he had an amazing knowledge of style and where things came from etc. Both my father & my step dad also had amazing style. So it was always kind of around me. My uncle had outlandish style, shiny suits & velvet loafers. Sometimes a little too outrageous, but it was fashion nonetheless. When I got older of course Kanye West is in the DNA of every black creative and possible just every creative from 2005-2012. There is nobody more influential. There is nobody that shifted the flows of culture more. No matter how you feel about him in the present day the fact still remains. However, before Yeezy he didn’t really have a brand. So in 2011 when I was starting out, I was looking for the stories of Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren, Nike, Adidas, Puma. How did these brands create these massive names for themselves? I read books on the Gucci family, Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Vera Wang, Alexander McQueen, Ozwald Boateng, just trying to break down how they did this. I wanted to be as big as them but still have my rooted planted on a street level. I wanted to be as prominent as them, but still connect to the everyday person.
3 - Being that you spent some time in London as a child, how would you explain the difference between European fashion and what you were exposed to in the states?
I am from Maryland. Kanye has gone on record saying that this is where he developed his style. I think Maryland is a very underrated place in terms of style. We have our own culture, our own style, slang, everything to be honest. However, the institutions of fashion are in Europe. So it was mesmerizing. I can’t even explain it. It was just a huge rush of things all coming at you at one time. The common uniform was the tracksuits and Air Max’s. You had the people in West London & Central that dressed a little more upscale. The trench coats & polos with the crisp jeans and the worn Stan Smiths. You could go to Savile Row and see the best tailoring on the planet. This is before H&M and Zara had made it to the states. So I was experiencing those stores in their original form before they exploded. I think the biggest difference between fashion here and there is just that the institutions are over there. They have the most fashion capitals. They are a lot more intertwined with different cultures in Europe from my experience. One could make an argument that Its similar to New York in a way but that's just one place. I will say this, in the area where I grew up, they only wanted to wear American brands. Nike, Ed Hardy, Ralph Lauren etc. It was a status symbol at the time. It's much different now though I feel.
4 - You started your own fashion brand called SWAVOR. Can you explain the brand and the inspiration behind the creation of it?
So I came back to the United States and went straight to college. I graduated high school at the age of 16. No idea what I wanted to do but I knew that I wanted to be a business person. A legitimate business person. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case my first years back. So I was at a community college switching majors every semester it felt like. We had a bunch of hustles we were running in the cafeterias. So I had a reputation of the “guy who can get you whatever you need.” But we got caught by security. So we had to stop everything we were doing and one day we fell on the concept of starting a clothing line. But to me it was just another hustle. By the shirts for $5 sell then for $20 & everything is all good. I had no idea where to start at all and the idea kind of fizzled out. One day Lebron had a major sneaker release. This is when malls used to let you inside to line up outside of Footlocker. I look over and there is a guy with a kiosk saying he can print shirts. I was like “You can really just make clothes?” It seemed so impossible before that very moment. In that moment I was like yea this could be it for me. The next day one of my friends blurted it out, “You should call it Swavor” . The graphic designer that was working for us at the time made a logo. The rest is history.
5 - On your website it says “We take historic time periods. We modernize them through fashion.” Can you elaborate on that.
The competition was very very high in Maryland at the time. You had Formal Eye, Borgata, Lux Brands, Swavor, LOUDpack, so many amazing brands emerging at one time. I knew I had to tell a story that was different from theirs. I needed to make something that people would attach themselves to beyond the garments. Something that could be in a museum and on the street. That intangible story of the Gucci loafer. That intangible story of the Jordan One. Like I needed that element of storytelling in my clothing or I would get lost in the mix. So I decided I would create these time period collections and use the art on the clothing to tell the stories. So when it was laid out on the website, it would be chronological. The first time we did this was the Alexander the Great collection. We documented his birth, his biggest battles & his death. It had huge acclaim and we built the following off of both fashion & ironically history. People were debating the pieces. People were emailing me correcting me on my accuracy. Kids writing papers in high school about the clothes. I knew then we had hooked on to something that could be similar to a Marvel Universe. We just had to keep telling stories. As the brand evolved, we gained a reputation of meaning. “The clothes all mean something” or “The clothes are a part of the story”. It's a pretty cool reputation to have. In more modern times, the clothing acts as merchandise for movie scripts that haven’t come out yet, my own political views, my own views of the world & I explain what they mean on my website every single time.
6 - What’s your opinion on the state of streetwear culture right now being that it’s currently thriving with already existing brands as well as new ones?
I saw what Virgil said in his interview. Like any designer I was initially outraged. I always had an interesting view on streetwear. My goal from the very beginning was “to be the first brand that blurred the lines” and then the entire industry....blurred the lines. So I was always in this space of playing both sides. Wanting to impress everyone conceptually, but knowing that the average person still wears tee shirts and that quality will always always always be in style. The full quote of what he said was people are going to go back to their archives. Whether it be, thrift stores, older clothes from before etc. to develop their style. That concept doesn't sound that crazy to me. I know the headline through everyone off, myself included. But let's dig deeper. There is a nostalgic feeling you feel for some reason when you see a rare Vintage Nike crewneck that has aged . Like you know that piece was made in a different era. While streetwear and the fashion world always looks to the future, I think people will be playing both sides of the fence. The fast fashion market has just decimated the integrity of fashion now in my opinion. Maybe people start going backwards to find that integrity. I don’t think streetwear is dead I think it's going back to its original form. Forget the brands, forget what the trend is, what is the integrity of your style? I think that's where we are in streetwear.
7 - Before 2019 ended you did a collaborative project with Nike where you co-created a pair of Air Max 95’s. Explain how you were able to land that opportunity and what did it mean for you to co-create such a classic sneaker from the iconic brand.
Nike has a lot of programs that give artists opportunities to showcase their skills and talents. An amazing company. Amazingly spirited people. I was selected to participate by the people at Cultivator. There were 1000s of artists that were on their radar and I was so happy and blessed to be apart of it. It meant everything. My initial design was like some crazy colorful design etc. but I looked at it and was like this isn’t me. This isn’t the essence of who I am. This story needs to make sense. My old school uniform in London was black/blue. We didn’t even look like we were dressed for school to be honest. Everyone was envious of our uniforms. We would try to sneak in with sneakers instead of dress shoes. So I just wanted to make a sneaker that my friends, in my old neighborhood, would appreciate. And they did. I got acknowledgement from my old school my old teachers. It was such a blessing & I thank Nike for giving me that moment.
8 - If you had to choose one brand you can collaborate with, what brand would that be and why?
Nike. I have read Phil Knight's book three times. I don’t think there is a white man I have related more to in terms of psychopathic passion to make his idea work. I know the roots. I know the started from the bottom story. I know about Bowerman, the trips to Japan, Blue Ribbon, all of it. Nike is my favorite brand. American and his family owns the majority share of the company. Besides that, anything LVMH. Bernard Arnault is just a wizard. Like, forget about his net worth. He sees value in things and builds them. Adidas, the first brand to embrace hip hop culture. Puma, the brothers brand that rivals Adidas to this day. I mean I could be here all day listing people. But those are the ones off the top of my head.
9 - What advice would you give to aspiring fashion designer looking to build their own brand?
There are no blueprints. Take inspiration from other brands, people etc. but understand they were in a different time and a different era. Stay young. Keep youth around around you. Stay true to yourself and be genuine with your audience. People love feeling like they are apart of something. Don’t lose your connection to your audience to be fake poppin on the gram. Don’t sacrifice your integrity ever. Ever. That will take you further than anything else will.
10 - What can we expect from Shek Tarawallie and Swavor in 2020?
Like I said earlier, there is a new age in streetwear. The brand is going to be a little more politically driven. But for my first collection of the new decade, I really want to create a classic collection that will age well. In 5 years, 10 years you will still wear this hoodie. Similarly to how we look at those vintage Adidas, Nike hoodies or sweaters and say “Damn thats fire”. The brand is playing the long game & so am I. I hope to reveal more of my story. The kid with Sierra Leonean parents that started a clothing company with $191.78, no investors, no loans, never toon a design class, got a degree in Psychology, works as a Project Manager & still somehow rose his brand to prominence. That sounds like the American dream. But I still have to get there. I think 2020 we make the proper adjustments as a company. Expect classics, but thought provoking graphics. Graphics will be rare but when they are in a collection you can’t look the other way. We are in an era that needs dialogue, that's the essence of what Swavor is. We will be bringing that back moving forward.