We were lucky to catch up with Devonte Cozart recently and have shared our conversation below.
Devonte, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I’ve always been passionate about fashion. In high school is when I felt the desire to pursue my clothing line. The adrenaline of getting ready for school consist of finding the perfect outfit to leave the house. On this day I’n particular, it was picture day forour yearbook. To be honest, my mindset was fixated. All I cared about was getting the right picture and being labeled best dressed. From middle to high school, I was best dressed. I was labeled “unique dressed”. At the time I didn’t understand it, I was angry and decided not to take any pic for the year book. This experience put into perspective that I’m different from others and I do stand out. Which inspired me to create my clothing brand, RatedRareclothingco. It speaks on who I am as a individual, expression of being rare is distinctive. Dare to be different and stand out.
Devonte, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
It all started with a vision. I love clothes and styling is were my passion for creating came from. Being raised in Brooklyn, NY it allowed me the free range to invent and be creative. In my home- studio is where the magic happened. I launched my clothing line, March 15th, 2020. I created an collection, called the strap and patch. This consist of varsity jackets , joggers, hoodies, sweatpants, T-shirt’s and hats. The concept is to combine streetwear and couture. I as the designer creates the sketches, concepts and overall design. Once I’ have my foundation, I tailor my communication to my manufacturer to make my vision come to life. What a process; it took trail and error to find the rhythm. It all worked out with consistency, hard work and dedication.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
As a African American male, growing up in Brooklyn, NY. We dreamed to a minimum, where as I always dreamed big. Starting my business, I did the work alone. I just went into without doing much research, more so learning as I went. My mindset, it’s in me- not on me. As I approach my first sketch , I didn’t know what I was creating. I let the pencil linger, until I came up with about 10 looks freely. Me not knowing, my work was still being considered a ruff draft. I need this transfer over into a mock up. A mock up is pretty much a draw out digitally of your look. So the manufacturer is clear to execute. Putting my trust into my manufacturer I sent over my sketch for him to create. Within 10 date I received my items. I experienced a few errors, from wrong material to sizing. At that point, I looked at it as an investment- Because I knew it took consistency, most importantly being meticulous.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I launched My Clothing line, Ratedrareclothingco in March of 2020. I was so excited and eager to display my talents. I received tons of “I’m proud of you” and “good job”. Which was great, it kept my moral high. As I begin to get my feet wet, I notice I was getting more praises then actually purchases.. haha I had to position myself and brand to be taken serious. I decided to do a pop out to display my work , in addition to a website so I can reach other audiences. This is the approach I’ve taken, which oven seen success. The year of 2022 has been a reflection of my journey, how I need to check and adjust consistency to see better results. To stay consistent in my work to get better traction. When your doing everything alone, it’s more challenging and takes more time to see success. As I continue to grow and expand,the goal is to have a team to support me during my journey.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Ratedrareclothingco
- Facebook: Ratedrareclothingco
Image Credits
@viisiionography