DON KAKA
Photography by Audryana Cruz
Hair and Makeup: Chloe GingoldModels: Chrystal & Chrystian BrooksStyled by Don Kaka
What’s in a Name?
By Chloë Zofia & Tori Nergaard
The first thing to know about Los Angeles-based luxury clothing brand Don Kaka is what’s in the name. Don is the first name of the founder and designer. He explained to MERDE Magazine that “Kaka” is a respectful way to address an elder male relative in Kurdish. The English equivalent could be likened to a friendly “sir” or “brother,” though Don noted that some people feel uncomfortable saying the word Kaka. However, that discomfort is simply misinformed. In Kurdish dialects, it’s a respectful address. In other dialects, the word has been used negatively in racist slurs against the Kurds, most often by Iraqi extremists. Don Kaka reclaims the Kurdish word as an empowering cultural namesake to lead the rich energy of his brand.
Don Kaka’s Master Plan is as follows:“1. Create the most exquisite pieces of clothing humanity has ever known 2. Use money from that to fund Research & Develop of new fabrics of the future3. Sustainably mass-produce clothing of the future at an affordable price”(Sourced from donkaka.com)Thus far, Don is crushing step one. His designs feature some of the rarest, most sumptuous materials on earth. Centuries-old fabric sourced from France and pure silk velvet are two examples, both featured here on models Chrystal and Chrystian. Don isn’t about paying thousands of dollars to score a runway show at LA Fashion Week. Instead, he lets his designs speak for themselves on social media. Through networking and word-of-mouth, Don Kaka is slowly steadily gaining notoriety for showcasing some of the most luxurious materials the industry has to offer.
Don’s work favours contradictions. His contemporary streetwear jacket and hoodie silhouettes play rough with the heritage textiles he uses to construct them. Yet, this blend of past and future meld together, complemented by old-world-esque draped dresses cut mini for contemporary eyes. His piece de resistance is a hoodie cut from a 150-year-old textile, modernizing the past and dripping in paradox. For the fifth issue of MERDE, we imagine his designs on a distant world not quite traceable to the past or the future, much like Don’s work. Stay tuned to see what the future holds in steps two and three of this Master Plan.
Follow Don Kaka’s design journey on Instagram @thadonkaka
