Daniel (Danielo) Charles-O’Tudor is the one-half of the men behind Distant Relativs, the environmentally conscious streetwear brand. The brands’ focus and motive are to promote community while appreciating our similarities as Africans. Also as human beings in general. Promoting a sense of care and interconnectedness. The other half of the brands’ direction and vision is Karl Laurent Gomes.
Daniel is 20 and is from Lagos, Nigeria. However, he is currently based in Kigali, Rwanda. He is studying Entrepreneurship at the African Leadership University. He enjoys creating anything he can imagine, bringing his ideas and concepts to life. Over the past few years, he has achieved this through fashion designing, event planning, design, music management and videography. To Daniel, design is a form of self-expression.
Co-owning and designing for Distant Relativs has helped him cultivate his creative side. He started designing to showcase his imagination on paper. He thought the stories, truths, feelings, and cultures should be expressed through design and fashion. It is evident just how much of an imaginative person Daniel is through his creative process. He describes receiving inspiration both when he is awake and asleep. Sometimes waking from sleep to jot down notes of patterns, designs, and imagery.
Additionally, when he receives inspiration, he mulls over them, brainstorming to make it specific to himself and his brand. To him, no ideas are original. Everything has been done before, but what makes it different is how he executes it. Infusing elements that are distinctive to him is always a goal. With his team, designs are revised at least 3-4 times, making sure they coincide with their vision. The first impression is always a consideration; especially with the energy and feeling the design gives. They also consider their patrons, thinking about what they would like, their perception of the designs, and if they’d wear them.
Moreover, his inspirations in life consist of his family first. They all have an entrepreneurial spirit that drives them to create great things. He cites his brother as an example, who is the creator of Screwdrivers, the best pouch cocktails in Lagos. After his family comes his friends, who represent the variety in his life. Celebrities are not far off, with Rema, Matthew from House of Tayo, Clint of Corteiz, Taofeek of Head of State, Wole from Against Medical Advice and the PITH crew.
In terms of personal style, comfortability matters most. Daniel states that his go-to looks are jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt or a silk shirt, flair pants and slippers. Always rocking a causal and laidback look.
If you are looking forward to hearing more from Daniel and Distant Relativs, they just released their Summer Satisfaction Tees, BBB Crop Tops, and D.R Trucker Hats. They also have a limited edition collaboration with Flove; Rwandas’ #1 tote bag company.
https://linktr.ee/distantrelativsAll Professional Photography: @edens_photography on Instagram
