[Just Don](https://justdon.com/) is the epitome of Luxury Sportswear. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself. Chicago's Don C has turned two words that used to be considered oxymoronic into his trademark. As we quickly approach 2020, fashion has seen an unmatched influence of sportswear on high fashion. But it's nothing new. Don C has been running this game forever. The longtime collaborator of Kanye West and Virgil Abloh has always seen the opulence in sports. Remember his [caps trimmed with actual python](https://justdon.com/products/nba-3)? It'd be impossible to forget.
With his new FW19 line, the [RSVP](https://rsvpgallery.com/) Gallery co-founder continues the legacy of sports' influence on fashion, and he does it quite well. Flaunt got the chance to catch up with Don C at LA's RSVP, as he walked us through his new collection and the five "teams" that emerged from it: Team Islanders, Team Jungle, Team Sound, Team Dealers, and Team X.
“Just Don FW19” Photography by Ken Tisu + Luke Sirimongkhon
**Tell me about your vision for Just Don FW19.**
I envision it being a sports league with different teams. Originally there were four teams, but now we have five. It's the Islanders, the Jungle, the Sound, Team X (Team of the Future), and the Dealers. With Just Don, everything is inspired by sport, and I try to do a luxurious, stylish approach with sports references and sports silhouettes.
**Do the teams mean something specifically to you?**
Yeah, these teams are themes that I'm into. I'm into animal graphics. I'm into military fabric. I'm into music and music based references…. A lot of my references are retro. With the Islanders, the Sound, and the Dealers, it's all retro based. I thought of having a futuristic team. So, I created Team X. That was a team that I could play with other non-retro themes.
**When crafting garments, do you put forward quality or affordable pricing?**
Quality. Because I'm doing everything with my own resources. I try to do things the best I can, and then price comes afterwards. That's the reason why my brand is kind of small and niche. That's also the reason why I work with bigger corporations; So I can make things that reach more people.
Just Don FW19
Photography by Ken Tisu + Luke Sirimongkhon
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I don’t know if you peeped, but each panel of this boxing short is hand sewn. That shows the level of craftsmanship that goes into it. That's a lot of labor, but that's the level I want because I feel like nobody else does this. Nobody else will sit back and laser cut each panel, but it gives it that character with each one. I feel like no one else is putting that attention into product because everyone just likes it real quick. Usually this is saved for high fashion. For something like streetwear or an athletic brand, it's not the norm.
**Do you keep all genders in mind when you're making a collection?**
Yeah, it's a menswear collection, but because we have an audience in Japan and China, a lot of the men are a little smaller than American and European men. So, we started sizing down to small. And now, with this ready-to-wear collection, we make extra small to fit women.
**I like that you do the same garments for women and men. I feel like a lot of times, the women's garments don’t look as good.**
Well, that's how we dress now. It's like everybody wears the same thing.
Just Don FW19
Photography by Ken Tisu + Luke Sirimongkhon
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Just Don FW19
Photography by Ken Tisu + Luke Sirimongkho
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Just Don FW19
Photography by Ken Tisu + Luke Sirimongkho
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**I know RSVP is super big in Chicago. How was the transition to LA? Do you see the same kind of hype or influence around the gallery?**
We keep it pretty lowkey. We've been open 2 years. But what we do is we try to build community. Everybody virtually enjoys each other's company today. So, we try to have in-person events and talks. We just try to build community in person.
**Do you try to incorporate Chicago in your pieces?**
Oh yeah. If you notice, a lot of my references are Chicago based. Like my hangtags, you can see a nod to the Chicago flag. A lot of my sound references have Chicago references. It's funny. There's a reference to the Pelle Pelle jackets that I used to wear back in high school. Definitely the style is all Chicago.
Just Don FW19
Photography by Ken Tisu + Luke Sirimongkho
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Just Don FW19
Photography by Ken Tisu + Luke Sirimongkho
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**What would you say is your favorite piece from this collection?**
I'm a big outerwear guy. So, the time and energy that I put into these outerwear pieces. This is all cut leather. We figured out how to make the piano keys be separate keys. This is just art. You don't even have to wear this. You could just hang it up on the wall, the same way as a painting.
**Did you go to fashion school?**
Nope. I'm self-taught. I'm just a consumer that turned into a designer. But, like I said, we're building community, and consumers have the best input. They consume it.
**Do you ever see yourself not doing sportswear and going into more high fashion…. I guess sportswear is luxury now.**
That's what I'm trying to do! "Luxury Sports". For instance, I'm known for basketball shorts. But for this season, we did them out of Italian velvet. This fabric would normally be used for a tuxedo, but we made a pair of basketball shorts.
Just Don FW19
Photography by Ken Tisu + Luke Sirimongkhon
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With our t-shirts and hoodies, it's not just screen-printing. We do hand embroidery. Artwork. This is _time_. This is all labor. It's not just a regular pair of pants… We learned things. In our first season, some of our snaps were coming off and stuff like that. So, that was embarrassing, just having to go through that learning process.
**What do you see happening next with Just Don?**
We're really trying to put attention on the ready-to-wear collection because I want people to see how Just Don is a fictitious sports league. Eventually, I want to be an actual sports league. I want to take this on the road. I want to do shows which can double as a sporting event and entertainment. Everyone's into everything now. People don’t say "let me go to a music concert". People are like "let me go to this gathering". It's always about building community.
