PRESS
CANVAS REBEL
Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stanton Ridley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Stanton thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
This is a great question. For me, I think I knew this freshman year of college at Hampton University. This is the year that our clothing brand started and I knew then that designing clothing came at a natural pace for me. It was also clear how much I enjoyed it. Now the actual plan/path professionally, I had no idea how that would happen, but I did know that it was possible.
Meet Stanton Ridley
By // Jenny Tran
Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stanton Ridley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Stanton thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
This is a great question. For me, I think I knew this freshman year of college at Hampton University. This is the year that our clothing brand started and I knew then that designing clothing came at a natural pace for me. It was also clear how much I enjoyed it. Now the actual plan/path professionally, I had no idea how that would happen, but I did know that it was possible.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
For me, everything started as a teenager at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington, New York. Going to a private Catholic School was a super pivotal moment for me as it is where I first discovered designing clothing. We had a certain day throughout the school year called “Dressed Down Day”, where students would pay about $5 to wear their own clothes to school for the day outside of the normal school uniform. For my friends and I, this was a big deal as we could show off our cool sneakers and outfits. On one of these particular days, my brother and I decided to make vest that I would wear for Dress Down Day. That’s a great moment in my life as the first item of clothing that I ever made with was with my brother Sterling. From there, I literally made clothes every single day, and most times I had no idea what I was doing technically. I had to learn how to make clothing as I went along.
UNFAMOUS MAGAZINE (PARIS) FEATURE
SBSJ was featured by our friends at Unfamous Magazine based in Paris, showcasing looks from Collection V “Shadows of the Mess You Made” and our ‘Basic’s’ Line. Magazine Issue #01 is available for purchase to view the feature.
CANVAS REBEL
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Giselle Rodriguez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Giselle below.
Hi Giselle, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Well it all really began when I was a little kid and largely attributed to my parents. My father is an artist. He went to school for art and started a business designing and constructing Caribbean carnival costumes. Growing up in New York City with my mom, my mother had this penchant for interior design so each room in our apartment reflected a different color. My dads house was the antithesis and gave off this old antique vibe. Think old furniture, slightly squeaky wooden floors and oddly shaped key holes on doors. He had a bunch of different art that he created from when he was younger hung up on the walls throughout the house. In retrospect, my entire life was exposed to art as a result of my parents interests and the ways in which they designed their homes which I think naturally rubbed off on me while inhabiting those spaces. Leading into my interests of pursuing different artistic mediums such as writing, photography and fashion.
Meet Giselle Rodriguez
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Giselle Rodriguez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Giselle below.
Hi Giselle, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Well it all really began when I was a little kid and largely attributed to my parents. My father is an artist. He went to school for art and started a business designing and constructing Caribbean carnival costumes. Growing up in New York City with my mom, my mother had this penchant for interior design so each room in our apartment reflected a different color. My dads house was the antithesis and gave off this old antique vibe. Think old furniture, slightly squeaky wooden floors and oddly shaped key holes on doors. He had a bunch of different art that he created from when he was younger hung up on the walls throughout the house. In retrospect, my entire life was exposed to art as a result of my parents interests and the ways in which they designed their homes which I think naturally rubbed off on me while inhabiting those spaces. Leading into my interests of pursuing different artistic mediums such as writing, photography and fashion.
When I was in high-school I was really into modeling and style. I always admired looking at the way people accessorize their clothing and followed many fashion bloggers on tumblr. I had this weird obsession with playing dress up in my house and constantly trying on different outfits. During this time in my life, I was sort of figuring out ways on how I wanted to express my individuality outwardly with the clothes I put on.
Fast forward to the beginning of college, i developed an affinity to writing. I would randomly write poems in my notes and quickly realized how easy it felt for me to rhyme words together. As my time throughout college progressed, I developed an interest in photography due to my love of being in front but also behind the camera. Leading to the purchase of my first camera. My sophomore year, I decided to study abroad in London and took a few trips to a few other European cities and started capturing all these moments. The summer of 2015, Ianded me an internship in a wework space where I was surrounded by a ton of different entrepreneurs starting their own ventures and felt inspired to finally launch my blog (originality conquers) that I had been rationally toying around for some time. The blog became a way for me to express myself artistically through my eyes behind the lens. Call it a digital collection of my travels and moments.
Now lets fast forward a bit further to 2018, the year after I graduated. A good friend of mine from college reached out to me and asked if I wanted to join his team and help with furthering his fashion brand. Immediately decided that I wanted to because of how much I saw the vision. At this point, I could say this was the start of me deciding to pursue an artistic path professionally. It’s been 5 years of being involved in this fashion brand and I am excited to be apart of the journey and all that is coming next.
Giselle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hello there! My name is Giselle Rodriguez and I was born and raised in Manhattan, NY. I am a sister, aunt and creative. I went to school in Manhattan on the upper west side until the 6th grade and then transferred to boarding school in Washington D.C. from 7-12th. During my time in boarding school, I developed an interest for modeling and started modeling in school and did some photoshoots on the side. I became quite consumed with following street-style bloggers on tumblr. I really got into fashion street-style in middle school onto high-school. I am not sure if this is due to my schools uniform policy or stemming from my earlier years in school in Manhattan where I would be sauntering throughout neighborhoods observing others’ unique sense of style.
SERIESS MAGAZINE
Somniis is the hidden gem you never though you’d find. The eco-firendly label accentuates a godly image of Black regality through it’s exclusive style, and the brand’s Founder & Creative Director, Stanton Ridley, is navigating the brand with purpose. After making his mark at Hampton University, Ridley maneuvered his way to Parson’s School of Design, and now has secured his Fashion Week debut. The Long Island native self-describes Somniis as beautiful, luxurious loungewear - garments that leave you feeling fly and encourage you to take pride in your look, but more importantly, yourself.
“When people see me, I want them to know, off the bat, that I have good character”, says Ridley. “Although I think the way you dress is not the defining thing for who you are, it kind of shows a reflection of how you think about yourself.”
Ridley’s newfound gift was discovered through alterations he would make to jeans in his own wardrobe. Drawing inspiration from New York’s 2010’s “Lite Feet” dance craze, Ridley would sew larger jeans tighter to fit the look of the skinny jeans era. Curious of his fashion skill, Ridley challenged himself to create an original vest piece and, with the help of his brother, hand sewed the garment, unlocking the door to Ridley’s purpose. Once Ridley reached college, he quickly caught the eyes of his peers from wearing his own one-of-one artistry, eventually leading to Somniis’ inception. With the help of friend and graphic designer, Garrett, Ridley would release collections as a buildup, but revealed that each piece was truly a one-of-one.
STANTON RIDLEY IS NAVIGATING FASHION BY HIGHLIGHTING BLACK ELEGANCE
Somniis is the hidden gem you never though you’d find. The eco-firendly label accentuates a godly image of Black regality through it’s exclusive style, and the brand’s Founder & Creative Director, Stanton Ridley, is navigating the brand with purpose. After making his mark at Hampton University, Ridley maneuvered his way to Parson’s School of Design, and now has secured his Fashion Week debut. The Long Island native self-describes Somniis as beautiful, luxurious loungewear - garments that leave you feeling fly and encourage you to take pride in your look, but more importantly, yourself.
“When people see me, I want them to know, off the bat, that I have good character”, says Ridley. “Although I think the way you dress is not the defining thing for who you are, it kind of shows a reflection of how you think about yourself.”
Ridley’s newfound gift was discovered through alterations he would make to jeans in his own wardrobe. Drawing inspiration from New York’s 2010’s “Lite Feet” dance craze, Ridley would sew larger jeans tighter to fit the look of the skinny jeans era. Curious of his fashion skill, Ridley challenged himself to create an original vest piece and, with the help of his brother, hand sewed the garment, unlocking the door to Ridley’s purpose. Once Ridley reached college, he quickly caught the eyes of his peers from wearing his own one-of-one artistry, eventually leading to Somniis’ inception. With the help of friend and graphic designer, Garrett, Ridley would release collections as a buildup, but revealed that each piece was truly a one-of-one.