They say "never say never" but when talking about fashion enthusiast, designer, and entrepreneur, Kaimel Rule, I've never seen him in a bad outfit-- not even mediocre. When it comes to men's fashion and style, he rules. Even his last name declares it! With the launch of his brand, Reservation, he's about to dominate along with several other projects underway.
Scroll down below for style shots of the multi-talented individual and an exclusive Friday Feature interview with Pumps and Lipstick:
Xiomara: Describe your style.
Kaimel: I would describe my style as young, elderly, different, and unexpected. The young and elderly come from some of my looks. For example, some days, the choice will be a tight fit collard shirt and slacks or chinos, and others it’s a skateboarding T-shirt and Camo shorts. Every human is unique and different in his or her own right, and usually that shows through his or her choice of clothing. The unexpected comes from me not being scared to try things that normally wouldn’t seem to work, or things that I’ve never, or rarely seen been done before.
Xiomara: What are the top three brands you're loyal to?
Kaimel: Number 1 would have to be Ralph Lauren Polo. It’s sad that they’ve done away with the rugby division of it because that was definitely one of my top inspirations for my work. Polo has always been timeless, and that is something I constantly push for. The Hundreds is a close second, not so much because of their clothing, which are high quality and stylish, but for their loyalty to their brand, way of marketing, and designs. Staying true to the way something began while becoming incredibly successful is rare. It’s not for everybody, because some brands want and need change, but the ones that don’t, and still strive are simply beautiful.
Xiomara: What inspires your style?
Kaimel: Life and everything within it! More specifically, my attitude, my mood, and experiences I’ve been through. There’s always something on one's mind, and I feel as if that plays a part into what somebody is about to dress themselves in. At times I’ve been inspired by what other people wear, but not often, so I can say that my feelings have always inspired my style.
Xiomara: How has your style evolved over the years?
Kaimel: By the looking at the photo timeline of my life, it goes from smaller, to larger, to much smaller. As a kid before I started choosing my own clothes I wore a lot of IZOD, paired with weird looking plaid shorts. During the rebel stage of middle school/high school I wore a lot of skateboarding T-shirts that were small, but then I would switch into a jersey that was an XXL, when in reality I needed nothing more than a Medium. I'd say my style was always nice, but off the wall at times, so it has evolved into something fairly simple paired with great coordination.
Xiomara: Who are your fashion/style icons and why?
Kaimel: Pharrell Williams from The Neptunes/N.E.R.D because that was really the first person ever that I could totally relate to, well aside from being a musician. In the time that I was growing up, the acceptance rate for African Americans being 'proper', and being involved in 'Caucasian things' was very low. As a person who grew up getting made up for listening to Rock music and Skateboarding, the movement at that time was perfect. He wasn’t looking for acceptance and neither was I. An honorable mention goes to Kanye West, pre-Amber Rose of course.
Xiomara: As a man with multiple talents --fashion enthusiast, blogger, graphic design artist, entrepreneur-- what are some of your current projects that you're working on?
Kaimel: Well, the line for my brand is an everyday process. I like to have loads of designs saved up for picking and choosing. The critiques I got on the first shirts I put out were great, and I plan to release my first few pieces very soon. With that, updates to the information on my website, as well as the design will change. I’ve been designing things here and there for people when approached about it, plus going to start working with someone on their own clothing line. I am also working with something that has to do with food. I came up with the idea, and will be designing the label for it. I’m excited to see how far it will go.
Xiomara: What are your opinions on Men’s fashion today? Something missing or want more of?
Kaimel: Everything looks pretty good to me. Lots of different styles are becoming available to men that were never available or accepted before. There are many choices for a man to catapult his style on the daily, so my only opinion really is, be yourself.
Xiomara: Biggest pet peeves in style that make you want to scream?
Kaimel: I try my hardest not to point the finger at what anyone chooses to wear, because at the end of the day it's all on them, but I’d have to say, overmatching and unoriginality. I’m big on tones, not colors, so most of the time I’m not even really matching, but too much of one color is the death of some outfits. A person’s own conscience is the top judge on their originality, but others can tell when something is forced.
Xiomara: As a sneakerhead, what are the top three sneaks you're looking to cop in 2013?
Kaimel: Jordan has been making a strong comeback, dropping many sought after shoes latley, so I must have the Grape 5s (V), The Black/Blue 1s (I), and the White/Black/Red/Grey 8s (VIII).
Xiomara: 10 years from now, where do you see yourself in your career?
Kaimel: In 10 years, I see myself maintaining a successful company, which under the umbrella includes, continuing to design quality clothing for a timeless brand, styling people for shoots, videos, spreads or whatever it may be, and still designing logos and things of that nature for people like I always have. That’s what I see within 5-8 years. In the total of 10 I would like to open up a center for children to teach design and other things within the digital genre. I would like to be able to provide jobs, knowledge, and my vision of a proper style to people all over. Life is a blessing, and I would feel accomplished with myself by the things I created, plus warm in the heart for the things I can possibly do for other people that never got the chance. I love to inspire.
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For more on Kaimel Rule, check out his blog Reserved Gentlemen and follow the fashionisto on Twitter. Peep an exclusive video by my blogger friend, Kim Christophersen, of Sequins + Studs featuring Kaimel and his brand here. Stay tuned for more on his brand, Reservation!
Photos courtesy of Kaimel Rule.
