Dee & Ricky

Do you remember those buttons Kanye was rocking at the Louis Vuitton Spring09 fashion show this summer? Yeah, well the heart lego button was the creation of young fly entrepreneurs Dee and Ricky Jackson. “The Twins” are known throughout the fashion and music circuits of New York. They have appeared in fashion spreads and advertisements in the world’s most influential style magazines. These two young 21-yr kids from Staten Island ended up styling an entire Marc Jacobs fashion show- that’s HUGE and crazy… makes you wanna just follow your dreams completely huh? lol… The Twins are a part of what I like to call “a new breed of cool”, lol, style and music and everything just seems to have a peculiar vibe these days. The way many of us “80′s babies” are expressing ourselves is so ridiculously unique. People like Santogold and Janelle Monae are also examples of this “new breed of cool” as well. I found an article about Dee and Ricky and I’ve posted some of the notes and interview from it below:

They [Dee and Ricky] have had their portrait painted by renowned fine artist Kehinde Wiley and have popped up in advertising campaigns for Puma, Nike, Supreme, and A New York Thing, as well as in editorials for Teen Vogue, The New York Post and Paper Magazine. Recently, the Twins’ accessories – belts and brooches by Dee and Ricky- were commissioned by renowned fashion designer Marc Jacobs for his New York Fashion Week Spring 2008 ready-to-wear runway show.

Kanye sportin’ a Dee & Ricky brooch
at the Louis Vuitton Fashion Show this summer

Marc Jacobs Fashion Show
featuring Dee & Ricky Accessories

Check out this interview they did:

Tell us about yourself.
Dee: I live in Arlington Housing Projects in Staten, Island, NY. I’m 21 years old, and I’m one third of the internationally famous recording act Jackson Swinton.
Ricky: I am Ricky and I am an extraterrestrial.
Who would you most like to style with your Lego belts and brooches?
Dee: Michael Jackson Or El Debarge. They’re cool..Yeah!
Ricky: I would want to put our belts and brooches on an official Lego Minifig.
What’s the worst fashion faux pas?
Dee: Tight Pants I hate them!
Ricky: The sagging of the trousers.
At what age did you begin to feel passionate about fashion and design?
Dee: Probably around 11 or 12 years old. I was always wanting the newest garments and such.
Ricky: Yeah, me too. Probably around 11 or 12 years old.
Where do your creative inclinations stem from?
Dee: Everywhere, just random, nonsensical stuff.
Ricky: My surroundings, basically. My backdrop.
Who do you consider to be personal icons within the fashion or art world?
Dee: My style has no father.
Ricky: Yeah, word.
Do the two of you have any major differences in personal taste or style?
Dee: Yes, we most definitely do. It depends on the day though.
Ricky: Yeah, Dee likes men. LOL.
How did the Lego-belt/brooch design come about?
Dee: Our boy Ari got us into this accessories game. He originally gave us the idea of making belts out of toys and then we came with the Legos and really started doing our thing.
Ricky: Yeah, On The Go Ari and our whole team set things up for us then we put our flavor in it and took it to the next level.
At what point did you come into contact with Marc Jacobs?
Dee: Our boy Matt Goias brought us to a party in The Hamptons and we got introduced to Jason Preston who was Marc’s boyfriend at the time.
Ricky: Yeah. Then Jason liked our belts and showed them to Marc and I guess he was feeling them too. From there it was a wrap. A few days later we got the call that they wanted to commission us to make accessories for the Marc By Marc Jacobs runway show.
What has that relationship (with Marc Jacobs) been like?
Dee: We don’t really talk but I stay whooping him out in guitar hero, chea!
Ricky: It’s all pretty grand. He’s mad cool. Very open-minded and he loves our style and energy.
How would you describe your aesthetic as designers?
Dee: Ummmmmmmm. Whatever Ricky said.
Ricky: Hanna Barbera meets Muppets In Space.
Is the goal to make a career out of designing?
Dee: Yeah, I’m also thinking about going to flight school.
Ricky: Yeah but not just designing. I wanna try everything we come across.
What projects are you currently working on?
Dee: Getting ready to drop the Jackson Swinton album but also working on some top secret shit.
Ricky: Mainly Jackson Swinton right now but we’re also gonna bring back some of our vintage stuff and some artist collaborations that we gotta keep on the low.

For more info, check out: Dee and Ricky / Jackson Swinton
interview source: nitrolicious.com

The Twins featured on the Satorialist Blog

The Twins at a Camp Beverly Hills Photo Shoot

The Twins with Marc Jacobs