Karl Kani launches ‘Can I?’ campaign, celebrating fans of the brand and their creative journeys

‘Can I?’ was a question Karl Kani as a young Brooklyn boy deliberated when yearning to build his then hobby into an international brand.

“Can I be successful? Can I come from the inner city and accomplish my goals. Can I build a brand that’s going to dress Hip-Hop and be the face of Hip-Hop? I didn’t know the answer to those questions, but I knew if I called myself Kani, then every day I would have to answer those questions, yes, I can.”

After years of building his brand, the then Carl Williams committed him to this incessant question by legally changing his name to Karl Kani and moving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn to pursue his passion with only a credit card and $1000 in his pocket.

Karl Kani’s ‘Can I?’ campaign celebrates the ups and downs that are part of the journey to reaching success, highlighting the brand’s core values of self-belief, creativity, expression and confidence.

As part of the ‘Can I?’ campaign, Karl Kani have chosen six creatives and fans of the brand to provide a window into their worlds, to share their how their hard work, determination and self-belief has impacted their creative journeys and encouraged them to answer ‘Yes, I Can’.

Meet the seven creatives below who will be releasing short films on pursuing their passions as a career over the next few months.

Stefani Nurding
Stephani is a pro-skater, model, Mother, and founder of SALON skateboards, she uses her platform to challenge the stereotypes associated with skateboarding, shaking up the male-dominated industry.

Kanah Flex
Kanah is a south London born-and-raised, self-taught flex dancer, movement artist, and
autistic activist; seeking to raise awareness of the disorder and challenge stereotypes
associated with autism and society’s ideas and expectations of normality.

Koby Martin
Koby Martin is a Ghanaian born, British emerging artist on an upward trajectory who uses his life experiences to illustrate his paintings turning struggle, tragedy into triumph, merging influencers from his motherland and London together. Throughout his career, Koby has been responsible for various creative contents on a global level for artists including the debut album cover for Krept & Konan, Nico & Vinz, and Jessie J.

RoxXxan
RoxXxan is a Birmingham-raised British-Jamaican Grime MC and one of the few LGBTQ+ female performers in the scene; RoxXxan proudly represents the LGBTQ+ community and has performed alongside MCs such as P Money and over DJ sets by Goldie, Skream, and Benga.

Silai Estatira
Silai Estatira is a Hip-Hop and spoken word artist who explores multifaceted themes such as societal injustice and individual spirituality. Drawing on both shared and personal experiences, Silai plays with words and rhythm in order to create music that is profound, dynamic, and refreshing.

Tori Taiwo
Tori is an emerging London based photographer and founder of Her Cuts, a platform
celebrating natural afro-textured hair and women who embrace their natural hair. Tori has overcome homelessness and living in a hostel to pursue her career as a photographer.

Milo Harley
Milo is the co-founder of Dukes Cupboard, one of London’s most renowned thrift stores for vintage sportswear. Milo left university with no money and no idea of what he wanted to do, only the passion he always had for vintage clothing. In 2015 Milo went sober and put everything he had into Dukes Cupboard, alongside his business partner which enabled the pair to grow Dukes Cupboard from market stall to physical Soho shop. Today Duke’s Cupboard has become the heart of the London streetwear community.

Stay tuned for our upcoming interviews with some of the Karl Kani ‘Can I?’ ambassadors over the next few weeks.

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