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Five Minutes With FERG
We caught up with the rapper who is an overall renaissance man, and talked fashion, perfect gifts and kicks.
Even if you live under the proverbial rock and have never heard of FERG, you would be hard pressed to miss his sense of fashion. And although the rapper’s style and music are widely recognized, his early fashion endeavors are less well-known.
The Harlem-born rapper, née Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr, came of age in a household that encouraged self-expression through clothing (tales of a young FERG in Versace have made the rounds). The senior Ferguson had his own line and store (Ferg Apparel), laying much of the ground for FERG’s own creativity and business acumen.
With this mix of encouragement and a good deal of self-starter ethos, FERG started his own fashion creations with Swarovski crystal-encrusted chains (which caught enough attention to be outright stolen from his friends and early adopters).
Tell us about your fashion endeavors, such as Devoni:
Creating my own fashion endeavor has always been a dream of mine and Devoni was really the first step. During quarantine, I had time to sit down and think about what I wanted to do when we came out of the crisis. In that time, I made it a priority to build out the team at Devoni so that we could start getting it out into the world. It’s a dream come true to be able to launch Devoni, and it is amazing to see people wear art pieces that I’ve created and, in turn, further understand my heritage and my story.
What are your favorite sneakers these days?
I love the Comme des Garçons foams, Flightposite, the adidas Kobe 2s, Nike Shox, Air Max 95s and, of course, the all whites Nike Air Forces.
I like really regal-looking jewelry. The type of jewels you would see or imagine a pope, prince, princess or a king wearing.
Can you give us one sentence around the top 5 sneakers you chose from sothebys.com?
These are all the sneakers that I’ve collected or missed and still wanna have.
As a sneaker collector, how do you choose which sneakers to buy?
Sometimes I like the style of the sneakers but not to wear them, and that is ok for novelty or display reasons. But the shoes have to look good on my feet and complement my clothing in order to become a staple in the collection.
Fashion is really a language and a form of self-expression.
Same with jewelry—what attracts you to an object?
I like really regal-looking jewelry. The type of jewels you would see or imagine a pope, prince, princess or a king wearing.
We’ve seen you in a wide range of looks. What is a perfect outfit in your opinion?
A perfect fit is a white t-shirt and jeans. It’s classic and always looks good.
You have a sense of how fashion can be a tool of self-expression. What kind of advice would you give to young people trying on different things?
Dress depending on how you feel when you wake up. Fashion is really a language and a form of self-expression. When you dress with thought and draw inspiration from certain people and places, you will also attract people from those worlds if the intention is right. It’s almost like cross-marketing, you collect pieces from different inspirations and make it into your own. I love to bring influence from all the people I get to work with across the world into my style.
You often mention art as a way to connect with people. Who are your favorite artists and why?
Mark Rothko, Renell Medrano, Jahlil Nzinga and Kara Walker. Mark Rothko for innovation, Renell for her eye color and texture/subjects she curates, Jahlil for creating his own hieroglyphs and Kara Walker for giving us black history through aesthetically cool characters that seems palatable but leads you to and through the grim history of the African American experience.
What was the best gift you ever received?
Best gift I ever received, or gave myself, was my driver’s license! I just got my driver’s license this year.
Hint, hint, what gifts are you coveting this holiday season?
All the Trinidadian Air Force Ones for myself and a white gold Rolex with the meteorite face.
What are you planning for this holiday season?
I’m just gonna chill with friends and family and count my blessings. It has been an interesting year, and I am thankful to be able to continue working on myself and my career.