How to make it as a fashion designer when you're not from New York or Los Angeles. One Fredericksburg man takes on the challege.
By Michael Black
The sounds of hair clippers and friendly chatter greeted me as I entered The Barber Shop & Company, located in Fredericksburg, VA. My barber, Ricardo Ramirez was just finishing up a client and informed me there were two people ahead of me as I walked by his station. He was rocking a fresh pair of Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 sneakers, designed by Kanye West, with a light distressed denim custom black long sleeve shirt under his barber apron. He had on a dad hat. Ricardo was always dressed fresh.
His personal style is important to him as he’s transitioning into a new career, not just as a barber but also as a fashion designer. His clothes are a mix between GQ and urban. Brands like H&M and Forever 21 have inspired him to create similar designs, but add his own twist. Fabric plays a crucial role in his design process. Whenever he goes back to New York to visit family, he stops by the fashion district in Manhattan to stock up on a variety of fabrics. He learned to sew from the women of his family but also refreshes his memory through videos on YouTube. .
For him, it’s a direct outgrowth of his work as a hairstylist.
“I’ve always been into image. It kind of goes with the job title almost as a barber too. You gotta look fresh, you know. All around,” he said.
It’s a major challenge though. No only is fashion a tough industry to crack, but it’s also all the more difficult in a city like Fredericksburg that doesn’t have a design community or visibility to major buyers or shops. His story represents that of many artists and designers in small towns taking advantage of low rents while pursuing their art. But the concurrent challenge: how do they get noticed?
By Michael Black
Originally from the Bronx, New York, Ricardo and his family relocated to Virginia when he was 7. He wasn’t conscious of barbershops at the time because he father always gave him and his brothers haircuts, mostly buzz cuts, at home. But once he entered the sixth grade and started to develop his ‘swag,’ Ricardo decided it was time to graduate from his father’s haircuts and hit the barbershop.
His first experience at the barbershop was successful. He remembers leaving with a clean fade and feeling inspired to cut hair. He and his brothers wanted to go back all the time and keep their hair looking neat. But it wasn’t in the budget to go too often.
“Since then, I was always paying attention,” he said. “Like every time they cut my hair, I just watched them in the mirror and asked questions, you know. But yea, it was definitely there when I started getting inspired more. I wanted to get my own pair of clippers and try it out.”
Starting from the bottom with no experience, Ricardo began practicing on himself at home with clippers he had purchased at a nearby Sally Beauty Supply. His father and uncle used to cut hair, so they showed him how to hold the clippers correctly and became his mentors. Once he became more comfortable cutting his own hair and learning how to fade, he moved on to his brothers and eventually friends. By the time high school came around, he was meeting more people to practice on. Some of his peers had noticed his skills were improving and encouraged him to try and work in a shop.
While in high school, Ramirez was working at Costco and still cutting hair on the side. His boss at the time, who also get’s his haircut by Ricardo, happened to cross paths with a barbershop owner looking for potential barbers to work in his new shop. He passed the word on to Ricardo, and a couple weeks later he began taking free training classes. About two months after classes, he began working in his first shop under an apprentice program.
“Now you have no control who was going to come in and ask for a cut, you know. You just gotta do whoever walks through the door. So that definitely helped me expand my variety of people and hair types,” Ramirez said.
He is currently still working at the Barber Shop & Company in Fredericksburg, He prides himself on having the cleanest fades and the strongest clientele.
Only recently has he tried to enter fashion. He wears some of it to his job.
By Michael Black
Ricardo’s clothing line, Kardo (Know And Really Do) is starting to buzz locally around Northern Virginia. He recently made an Instagram page specifically for his brand and has received positive feedback from his followers. Some of the items he is selling now is long-sleeve shirts with his logo branded on it, custom dad hats, bomber jackets, and denim.
Most recently, Nokio of the popular R&B group, Dru Hill contacted him and inquired about a custom jacket he saw on his page. Ricardo made another one specifically for him and sent it out a couple weeks later. That was his biggest accomplishment to date.
Moving into the future, Ricardo wants to travel and work on obtaining more high-end clients for both barbering and fashion. His services will still be offered to the public and to those who have been loyal and supportive over the years. He’s exited and focused on the next chapter to balance out both of his passions.
By Michael Black