RASHEEDA
BILLY DREASE WILLIAMS
SARALIME
SELF MADE
JONATHAN DALYNN
Fashion: JONATHAN DALYNN INTERVIEW
CHAMP MAGAZINE
The Boy Hollywood
CHAMP: What’s goodie man. What are you up to at the current moment?
Jonathan Dalynn: Tryna watch them Lakers play in about 25 minutes that’s all
CHAMP: Same here. Want them to go all the way this year man. Now in terms of the clothing line. How did the whole thing start with you?
Jonathan Dalynn: I actually was doing this since I was in highschool. I wanted to take an art class in a vocational class where you go to work straight after school but when I went to sign up for it, they told me that I needed to take an art prerequisite and I didn’t take any art all throughout high school. So I took this course called Beginner of Culture and print making and then that was when I first began to make a T-Shirt. I made a T-Shirt and the teacher really liked it and he was willing to help me and work with me to further my talent with the t-shirt thing because that from point on, everyone was going on other things and I was still doing t-shirts and getting graded on t-shirts. I had the love for t-shirts.
CHAMP: From there, how did it start growing? Were your boys involved in the growth of the Jonathan Dalynn project or was it solely just on you?
Jonathan DaLynn: A lot of my boys like the stuff, but back then this was my way of standing out from everybody else. I didn’t have to shop at Macys back in the day ‘cause I’m from a real small town. This was for me to just standout from everybody else rockin’ Rocawear and Phat Farm and stuff like that. They wanted to help but I was kinda like naaah I’ll just go and push this myself and I’ll just stand out from y’all. As I got a little bit older, I tried to apply for a fashion school that has a real good fashion program, but I didn’t get accepted so I actually applied for the military and I joined Air Force. That’s where I saved up my funds and tried to work on my line from that.
CHAMP: In terms of your experience in the military in Iraq, how was that whole experience?
Jonathan Da Lynn: Well, I was actually in Iraq for seven months. It was a real eye opening experience. Iraq is really a beautiful country, but of course what they gon’ show is where the troops are kicking down the doors and all this other stuff. They gon’ show bodies and blown up cars, and stuff like that, but there’s actual places in there. We went to visit this palace and it was beautiful. He had everything like this guy should be on Cribs. Gold swimming pool, and the people over there are actually nice. They want to be liberated but I don’t know to what extent America’s willing to take to make or if the democracy is something they wanna do. I know Iraq is a beautiful place and just seeing things over there as far as like how we operate in the military kinda structured my clothing line and the way I wanted to take it because before I lived in Iraq, my line was to have a shirt with meaning to it and once I went to Iraq, I kind a sat down and realized a lot of people in America take for granted what we do. They burn flags and feel what doing is immoral, but there’s also good things that we do so I wanted to show the good and the bad side to let people know that the military isn’t just all bad.
CHAMP: In terms of the clothing you come out with, what do you focus on or are most known for in terms of clothing that you come out with?
Jonathan Da Lynn: The most known for would be “Claim To Fame”. It’s real unique in the fact that 90% of the fitteds you see and are selling is made by New Era. My shit is I tried to go to New Era and it’s a big process. For a little guy like me they’re not tryina holla at me so I just took it a whole ‘nother route and found some great people that’s willing to help me and I got good responses for my fitteds. I’m currently in real good contact with Niles from Strictly Fitteds (strictlyfitteds.com). He’s really endorsing my fitteds and he stands behind me. Anytime I got something new I shoot him a fitted and he puts it on his website and does a little blast for it. I try to incorporate history, aspects of the military…I have one fitted called the “Fly Boys” fitted and it’s like a tribute to the Airmen and their colors on the back of their tail clip was red and now they wear all red jackets ‘cause they’re retired. The original fitted was an all red fitted, and I came out with it in the winter time. I put the leather brown and on the underside it has a tire print. A lot of people see it and they like it but they don’t know what it actually means. When they read about it they’re like “Wow! I didn’t actually know all that”. I’ve actually met the airmen and they’re really good people.
CHAMP: I didn’t even know that was the history behind that. In terms of pieces that you guys put out, how many do you put out a year?
Jonathan Da Lynn:I’m still tryina work on a correct back up schedule ‘cause it’s kinda hard ‘cause I guess you could say I’m doing all this out of pocket so when people buy stuff from me it’s really coming from me it’s not coming from China or something like that. Everything I do is made in America and it’s all pretty much made by me so when I build my stuff it takes me awhile to get it but with my hats I build like 50 pieces, the t-shirts are like 50-100. As far as the seasons, I try to do a spring, summer, winter, fall. Right now I just got a whole shipment of fitteds and I had already dropped my summer in January and what I have now is the new Summer so it’s Spring ’09 and Summer ’09.
CHAMP: What are some of the tools that you use when you’re creating your stuff?
Jonathan Da Lynn: As far as the fitted caps, pretty much I design everything through either Photoshop, Illustrator, or Corel Draw and I know a lot people don’t like to use Corel Draw for fitteds and they call it a poor mans Photoshop, but for the first three or four seasons, I designed everything in Corel and it sold well so if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but as far as my fitted caps, everything from there is digitized and then it’s sent out to the people.
CHAMP: Your based out of VA. How’s the fashion sense over there and what other clothing companies on the come up should we look out for from there?
Jonathan Da Lynn: The fashion sense out here in VA is pretty cool. I like the city where I’m at because we have Cream, we have another store called Soul Brother, and they pretty much have a strong hold on everything out here. As far as other brands that are up and coming? That’s kinda hard to say…A lot of them I tried to reach out to and contact and they really don’t wanna holla at me so I wouldn’t really be able to begin to tell you who’s up and coming or what. I just know that there’s a few brands up in this area that are doing some pretty good things but again I don’t really know too much about them.
CHAMP: Of course being from VA. Have you had any Chris Brown sightings?
Jonathan Da Lynn: Lol. Nah not recently but I do have one. Like last week me and my boys went to the mall and as we was leaving the mall, they have an actual radio station in the mall and Chris Brown had just stopped by the mall so we had just missed him as we were leaving out. He does come through on a regular. Him, The Clipse, and Pharell are always coming through Commonwealth. You should come out here one day you might run into somebody.
CHAMP: Yeah man, The Clipse we’re just up here a month or two ago man it was crazy.
Jonathan Da Lynn: Those guys are good people man
CHAMP: No doubt. Have you been able to spot any celebs rockin’ your stuff?
Jonathan Da Lynn: I haven’t honestly been able to see anybody I wish I could. That would be some good press for me but I haven’t really seen anybody.
CHAMP: I’m always interested in trying to connect hip hop with fashion designers ‘cause of course in hip hop we gotta have the fashion up as well –
Jonathan Da Lynn: Oh no doubt.
CHAMP: Who’s your top five artist right now that you’re listening to on the regular?
Jonathan Da Lynn: Ok. Definitely for sure number one gotta be The Clipse, number two I don’t know if you heard of this up and coming guy named J Cool.
CHAMP: Nah never heard of him.
Jonathan Da Lynn: He just got signed to Roc Nation. He was here last week with Wale. He’s really on the come up. I’d have to say Wale, I’m really digging Lupe Fiasco. Kid Cudi..I like his Day N Nite single but I listened to some of his other stuff and it’s kind of social to me.
CHAMP: Yeaaah I’ve been thinking the same thing lol.
Jonathan Da Lynn: Lol. Yeah I guess you can go ahead and throw him in there since I put Wale in there and my boy Kanye West. That’s the crew I’m rockin’ with right there.
CHAMP: What else can we expect form Jonathan Da Lynn for the rest of the year man?
Jonathan Da Lynn: Well I’m ‘bout to drop the summer line in about a week or so, revamping the website just to make it look a little better. The summer line will include tees, fitteds, and in the fall we’re gonna introduce the new sunglasses, and I might try my hand in a little cut and sew this year. I’d have to say look out for the summer and late fall.
