ColdLust Promotions introduced the UK to Eddy Knoxx and we got to meet her!
Eddy Knoxx, known for her brand DVMN Pigeon, also makes music! You can check out her SoundCloud here all I can say is – clean beats with that 808 bass that makes you screw up your face; nice tone; dope flow and hooks that hook you! She performed for the first time ever at Muse Soho in London, and even though she said she was nervous and had sweaty palms you wouldn’t have guessed it at all! She smashed it!
If that wasn’t enough she hosted a Damn Pigeon Pop-up shop the next day, then went on to Bournemouth to do it all again! The pop up stocked her current collection: joggers, tops, jackets, boots, accessories and kids wear, along with UK/London inspired pieces like metallic bombers with a graphic of Big Ben on the back. It was here that we got to catch up with her and find out more about her. Check it out!
Can you explain what Damn Pigeon is for those that don’t know?
DVMN Pigeon is a clothing line; we also host parties and make films. My boy makes films, my brother does screen writing, I do the fashion and SIYA does the rapping. DVMN Dreamers is the collective but DVMN Pigeon is the branch to the clothes.
Can you tell us a bit about you and how you came up with Damn Pigeon?
I’ve been doing it for 4 years…The first thing I ever made was a black hat and it said Damn Pigeon It had paint on it- yellow and white paint like we were shitting on the competition. That was the whole premise around it. When you get shitted on by a pigeon you’re like “ Damn Pigeon!” and my boy just kept reading it “Damn Pigeon” and staring at it, and he said it like [Dahm~Peshon] I was like “That sounds way better than Damn Pigeon!”
Where did you learn/are you self taught?
I didn’t go to school for it, no. It just fell into my lap. I knew this girl who could sew and she didn’t have a place to stay. I said if you come stay with me I’ll buy your weed, food all that, just sew in my house for me. That’s how I got my hat, she did it and that’s how things just started rolling
How did you feel the first time you saw someone famous wearing your designs?
Good as a bitch!
Eddy Knoxx – Co Founder of Dvmn Pigeon
Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the success you’ve had or do you just take it all in your stride?
I’m taking it all in my stride and sometimes it’s overwhelming because you always want to make the best shit. You want it to be different, and the best and fly and the nice cut and for it to fit right and look well, and keep people coming back. That gets overwhelming. I want to the whole world to be wearing my shit, but I’d rather have regular people wearing it than famous people- I know that sounds weird!
What’s your favourite part of being a fashion designer?
Looking at and buying fabric and fabric sourcing is my favourite part.
Do you have your favourite places to go?
Oh yeah, I go in the hood to get my fabric. I go where no one else goes and I get it for a good price. They’re good people over there.
What is the inspiration behind your current collection and what has influenced you?
My current collection is influenced by the 80’s. My shit is always on some 80’s shit. I listen to NAS, Jay-Z or Wu-Tang a lot. I think like “What were they wearing back then?” and I look it up and they have on these sick-ass overalls, oversized coats and the boots and that’s what I like.
How long does the process take, are you already working on your fall/ winter collection?
Like a month. We drop a limited collection every month. So you have to stay on it or the shit’ll be gone! Let’s say I bought this fabric, right? *Picks up a top beside her* and I made 20 joggers and 20 tops or whatever, I can’t get it anymore because I don’t make fabric I just source it so I can’t get it anymore. That’s another reason why people fuck with it. You’re not gonna see a lot of people wearing it, you’re not gonna go to H&M and see it!
Do you think a certain type of person wears your clothes, if so what is that person like?
This may sound weird but a regular person like me. With a regular house, regular job, regular kids, regular bills- you know what I’m saying? I don’t get the Kanye crowd the Hype Beast crowd or the Balmain crowd, the super high design price point crowd-I don’t get that. I just get the regular Jones that wanna look nice. They don’t want to shop at H&M. It’s that perfect middle ground.
Which designers would you like to collaborate with?
Probably Bape. They’re always doing some far out shit. I like their patterns and camel colours. Bape is chill as fuck.
I noticed on your site you sell mystery boxes with different prices?
Yeah! We just fill it up, and we don’t fill it up with bullshit, because some brands will do stuff like that just to get rid of old stock. I hook ni**as up with my boxes, I put some hot shit in there-and around Christmas time they’re super cheap. Like 2 joggers, 3 shirts and a hat for $150.
Now your music!
You performed last night, you’ve already said it was your first time performing and you enjoyed yourself!
Yeah it was lit!
I’ve listened to the tracks you have on SoundCloud, I’ve had Gorilla FOOT and Coldest Ni**a on repeat! What’s your process when making a song like that?
This will sound crazy but Gorilla Foot came about-I was in the booth and my ni**a said “Stop sounding like Drake!” and I was like “Drake?!” and he said “Yeah, your Draking right now!” So he put on a beat and I just came out with the Jamaican accent-it was a freestyle- I did it one take. Peoples jaws dropped in the studio like “The fu*k?!” and said “Keep that and let’s get outta here!” and that’s how Gorilla FOOT was made. And Coldest Ni**ga I made that shit up in my whip. That’s what I usually do. The process of me making a song is I ride the beats in my own car and I’ll make a hook. And If I can’t get it out of my mind, I just call my Producer and be like “Yo I gotta come in, I got some shit right now”
What types of music are you in to and what did you grow up listening to?
Fucking everything. My dad listened to people like Jill Scott, Music Soulchild and a whole bunch of Jazz shit and Earth Wind and Fire. My mom is white so she listened to David Bowie, but I listen to a lot of music; Fleet Wood Mac, Amy Winehouse I love Nirvana and Jay Z. Everything but Country and Heavy Metal, I can’t.
To celebrate the end of LGBT month AZ mag are asking people to share their coming out story. Would you care to share yours with our young readers?
Yeah! My coming out story was simple. I was in college and I didn’t know the girl that well. We were starting to become friends and she just asked it out of me, like “You’re gay, you’re gay, you’re gay! I see you looking at that girl. I see the way you’re looking at that girl! You’re gay!” And we were in the computer lab and I can remember going “Fuck it! I’m gay! Fuck it.” And she was like “I bet you feel a whole lot better now?! Now you have to go tell your brother.” So I text my brother and I’m like “Bro. I think I’m gay” and he replied “Duh! I knew that!” I said “Do you think I should tell mom?” And he said I should. I told my mom and she cried for like a day and she was over it. I’ve been a tomboy my whole life, so it wasn’t like I ever wore a dress, got my nails done and then I’m like “I’m gay!” It wasn’t a surprise.
Would you say your gender and sexuality has hindered or facilitated the journey of your success?
Fuck yeah! It’s the Dykey-ness of me that’s hindered my success. I can’t just go get Venture Capital, I can’t just go put a dress on and go in a boardroom and have people give me money because I’m sexy. I also can’t go in there and have rich white men give me money because I’m gay and dress like a man.
What advice do you have for anyone on the come-up, trying to follow their dreams?
It sounds cliché but my advice would be to own who you are and push that whatever brand you represent, whatever you’ve got going on try to own it first and then push it cause a lot of people just don’t own the full amount of themselves.
What Advice would you give any AZ readers hoping to come out to their family or friends soon?
I had some little girl hit me up on Instagram and she was lie “Yo, I’m gay and I can’t tell my dad” and I told her “If you come out today I will send you boots and a free outfit!” Just come out today. You’ll wait and wait and wait but they’ll love you regardless. She did, and I sent her some shit and he was cool about it. I just think that when you’re ready, nobody can tell you when you’re ready but whenever you are just tell the truth. That shit is mad weight lifting. And you know gay is just like, nowadays it’s ok! But some people’s parents are weirded out by it. At the end of the day you can’t treat your children like that and expect them to jump on you when you’re ready-fuck that.
Do you have a lot of guy friends?
Yeah? *Thinks about it* Yeah! All the homies are guys! I got Siya and Reyna… I got like 3 dyke friends and my girlfriend has all her female friends.
Are you and Siya close? That’s how I found out about you because she was wearing your brand.
Yeah she’s my best friend and she always reps it. I’ll ask her “Yo Sy, don’t you wanna have something with like a hidden logo” and she be like “No ni**a! What’s the point in that?! I want DVMN here and here and here!”
What does the year hold for you what would you like to do next?
I just wanna be really big online. My ideal thing would for me to be a stylist for regular people- an online stylist. You hit me up, you wanna spend some bread, you got a budget and have $200 or whatever- you pay me and I’ll style you and you ain’t even gotta worry ‘bout it. People let me do that because they trust me. They be like “I’m sending my money just make me anything! This is the colour, I know it’s gonna be fly” That’s what I want to do for people. I want people to gain confidence…“Oh you didn’t think you could dress like that? You look fly right now, you gonna get some p*ssy toniiiight!” ha-ha
Danielle & Eddy
You would think that having the amount of success she’s had so far, coupled with her popularity that it would go to a person’s head. But Knoxx is grounded and humble, clearly talented with an incomparable drive to succeed and with the same obstacles we all have. Only good things can happen if she carries on the way she’s going!
Check out:
Eddy Knoxx on Instagram
Eddy Knoxx on SoundCloud
Very good interview! Was excited to read this. Interested to see an interview from Siya aswell, that would be real cool.
Well done on the launch.