I get so interested in any sort of creative movement,
especially locally. So when my interest in local designers peaked I knew I
wanted to get involved and contacted first person I thought of who happened to
be a friend of mine. Handcrafted in
Richmond VA, Stuart King, 23, has put his heart and soul into creating and
producing Rec League- a new line of men’s street-wear. The collection currently
consists of various jackets, t-shirts, pants, bags and even joggers all created
with the idea of durability in mind. Being a fan of many outdoor apparel
brands, Stuart wanted to create his own idea of menswear that was not only
functional but also aesthetically pleasing. I had the awesome opportunity to come chat with him about Rec
League and all he’s been working on,
including being on of the designers presenting during the RVA Fashion Week
Designer Showcase. Immediately stepping into his apartment shows how much he
puts into his craft. His room is filled with pattern samples, sewing machines,
fabrics of many kinds and especially his wardrobe including a great sneaker collection.
Its obvious Stuart is serious about Rec League because he surrounds himself
with his work. He lives in a space where he is constantly around anything he’s been working on and anytime you live in your
passion, it shows in the work you produce..and boy is it good.
How was Rec League started and do you work with
anyone else?
S: Rec league was started after I had an attempt
sort of at a t-shirt company that I wasn’t really feeling any more, just kind
of got tired of the name- and also wanted to be more hands on with everything
so I wanted to start a cut and sew line. Rec League primarily consists of me
and Luke Fracher who is the co-owner of Round Two RVA and also Will Paxton who
handles all the graphics that I use for the small rounds of t-shirts
that I plan on doing. But really Rec League wouldn’t be much of anything without
outside help from other people around the city like Maria Parenti, Pat
Perez and Matt Hill and a few other people that kind of make everything
happen with me from start to finish on each product.
How’d you meet those people, just
networking around Richmond?
S: Yeah, Pat and Maria run a line called Safari International, Matt Hill I met through them and he’s just really interested in
how everything works so sometimes we work together and he’ll have me cut out
patterns and things like that and I’m trying to teach him how to sew. Luke and
I met a few years ago, but we really didn’t become business partners you could
say until like 6 months ago.
What made you get into designing, since you didn’t
major in fashion design- what made you want to work with clothes and textiles?
S: I’ve always kind of had an interest in it since
I was in high school- which I can really credit to a good friend of mine named Joel Robinson. I think we were just sitting in the back of our astronomy
class and he showed me a new Bape look-book or something like that and then
introduced me to Supreme and websites like Hypebeast and things like that. I
was always interested in outdoor clothing like from L.L.Bean or Eddie Bauer or
things like that, I’ve always been the kind of guy that’s gonna wear the
same pants for like a month straight so I got into it because I wanted to make
clothes for myself and because I couldn’t afford the clothes that I wanted.
Yeah I can relate to that- What do you aim
to do with Rec League?
S: I really just want to continue making new pieces
and eventually get my pattern making down well enough to the point where I can
send my patterns to manufacturers to make them in bigger quantities for me. And
also continuing to do shows locally and around the east coast probably.
Where can people find your work as of
right now?
S: As of right now, no where really. Every now and
then I’ll just do a small round of shirts whether its pocket t’s or printed
t-shirts and I’ll put them in Round Two. Just selling them to friends around the
city but really right now its kind of in the beginning stages. I’m working
out all the samples and getting them ready for production so you probably wont
see Rec League in any stores until 4 or 5 months from now, depending on when I
get the manufacturing going.
Have you always known how to sew or
did you teach yourself or learn?
S: I really taught myself, the first time I ever
touched a sewing machine I was a freshman at VCU and for some reason I decided
I was gonna make a jacket for some project. It was crazy to do that because I
had no idea how to sew or how to work a sewing machine- I actually sewed the
whole thing together with the presser foot up, I didn’t know what that was so
it was all super zig-zagged and really choppy looking. And then I kind of put
it aside for a little while and I was doing wood working and then halfway
through my senior year I decided to do the 1991 screen printing thing and then
made some 5-panels from scratch with a sewing machine. They
really didn’t turn out that great but it was really rewarding for me because I
actually made it ya' know. I think after those hats I decided I really wanted
to teach myself how to sew, so I was pretty much self-taught. Haberdash did help me out a lot, I did an internship with them- always have
love for those guys.
Are they in Richmond?
S: Yeah, they’re on Main Street- they handle local
brand’s screen-printing needs and some cut and sew things.
Ok awesome! By the way, what was your major [during undergrad]?
S: My major
was craft and material studies focusing on wood-working and textiles.
As you can see Stuart puts a lot into Rec League! I was very excited to get involved with him and can't wait to see what else they have in store for this year. I highly encourage anyone in the area to come out to view what Stuart has been working on with Rec League and support him along with other local designers at the RVA Fashion Week Designer Showcase at the Broadberry next Friday May 2! [More info HERE]
For more information on Stuart and Rec League check out recleaguerva.com
and on Instagram:
*Rec League logo courtesy of Stuart King // Rec League*
-R.
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