Brand name
Carl Williams represents the “American Dream”. Son of a Costa Rican mom and Panamanian dad, Karl comes from a modest family from Brooklyn, New York.Young Karl dreamt of combining his passion for Hip Hop music and fashion. He didn’t know how to do that, but he believed in himself.
During Karl’s initial rough start in Los Angeles the question that had obsessed him for years, “Can I do it?”, remained unanswered. He kept asking himself: “Can I do it? Can I build a fashion empire? Can I become the ‘Ralph Lauren of the streets’?” Karl didn’t have the answer for all these questions but it did provide the basis for his new name, Kani, a variation on "Can I?". With a stylish "K" replacing the "C" in his first name, he ventured his own optimistic reply, Karl Kani.
The Godfather of Urban fashion
Carl Williams was the first black man to launch a Hip Hop Fashion brand and became one of the 100 richest African-Americans in 1996 according to People Magazine. He created the baggy pants and inspired many other to follow into his footsteps. Karl paved the way for many black designers and is the true ‘Godfather of Urban Fashion’.
‘The Originator’
Kani is also known as ‘The Originator’. Karl was the first to set the trend of merging hip-hop with fashion. He spotted an area in the market that previously was ignored and paved the way for other Hip Hop Fashion brands. Being the first African-American man to launch a Hip Hop Fashion brand, Karl inspired many others to follow in his footsteps. His many achievements earned him the title of the ‘Originator’.
The White House
Kani’s work didn’t remain unnoticed. In 1999 Karl had the honor to present his latest collection at The White House to President Bill Clinton during an informal fashion show.In 1996 Karl’s company was rewarded by Black Enterprise Magazine and in 2002 he received an ‘Urban Fashion Award'.
Awards
Kani is known as one of the most influential black designers of urban fashion in the United States. With such acclaimed success Black Enterprise Magazine named Karl Kani-Infinity Corporation the most successful African American owned firms worldwide in 1996. And this was just the tip of the iceberg.
In 2002 Carl was honored with an ‘Urban Fashion Pioneer Award’ for his lifetime achievements during the Urban Fashion Awards.
Celebrities
Throughout the early 1990s, Karl Kani set the tone for much of urban fashion, especially in the music industry. Rocking Kani clothing became both a symbol of success and a fashion statement. Karl Kani became a well known brand and many known Hip Hop and R&B artists like Tupac, Aaliyah, Baby, Cash Money, Heavy D, Kelly Clarkson, Lil’ Kim, N Sync, Nas, Dr. Dre, Ice T, P Diddy, Kool G Rap, Ed Lover, Mike Tyson, Heavy D, Big Daddy Kane, Pete Rock, CL Smooth, Notorious B.I.G., Next, 112, Redman, Tatyana Ali, Snoop Dogg, Three 6 Mafia, Tyson Beckford and Will Smith have rocked Karl Kani clothing. As well as Tom Kaulitz
Tupac Shakur
Karl Kani and Tupac Shakur are ultimately credited with being the co-founders of the Hip-Hop clothing world. Together, the two embarked upon a journey to bring some of the millions of dollars mionrities spent on fashion, back to the urban communities. Tupac wore a lot of Karl Kani clothing. We can see many pictures of him in sweats and tee’s all bearing the Karl Kani logo. .When Karl Kani met Tupac he told him he appreciated him wearing his clothing line and said that he would give Tupac cloths to wear since he was reppin for him. Tupac said that he was a black business man and he wanted to support his efforts so he would pay for all his cloths.
Celebrity quotes
P Diddy
“You know one of the reasons why I always praise this industry is because you can be a self-taught clothing designer and still make millions or even billions of dollars! (…) Karl Kani is self-taught, but a lot of people don’t know that.” He paid further homage to Karl Kani, who paved the way for him. Diddy stated that he celebrated the path he carved for me, this couldn’t have happened without him.
Baby
“Karl Kani's clothes speak like our music does; he combines street with bling in the same way we do. Karl wants his clothing line to be where the trends are and where things are happening and that's where Cash Money is. Where things are happening big time."
Jay-Z
“I had the Karl Kani shit on. If you looked at my clothes you could see I was out of there.”
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