We all go through phases in our lives, our experiences adding and subtracting from who we are. Djibril Diallo sees his life in Acts. In the earlier Acts, the ones of childhood, we practice conformity. It’s the Act of following what we’re told, trying to mold ourselves into something easily recognizable. Everyone goes through this phase, Djibril included. “I’ve also practiced conformity and I feel like I regret that but I feel like I needed to do it because everyone has a stage and I think this is the third act.”
A lot of our conversation ended up centering around this idea of conformity and the challenges of transitioning out of our old molding. Djibril has this idea, a representation of himself. Mathematics. It’s a brand, an identity, a way of thinking and living. To him, formulas in math are no different than the formulaic nature of the fashion industry. Rituals and customs imposed on the individual to provide comfort and uniformity at the sacrifice of developing unique tastes. “I feel like our ability to transform ourselves in different ways whether it be through fashion, through music, through different types of art forms, it’s just a beautiful thing,” he tells me. “For me, Mathematics represents my creative freedom, my creative process.” It’s Djibril’s own, handcrafted formula that changes with each Act of his life.
We sat in the Salmagundi Club, a historic art gallery where new artists are discovered through an institution of old traditions. This juxtaposition, the old and the new, was an intentional part of setting the stage of our interview. Djibril wants to redefine what it means to be formal, beyond suits and dresses, corsages and high heels. He doesn’t want to forget the old ideas of fashion, but he does want to introduce a new acceptance of styles. From Takashi Murakami to Virgil, he loves artists and designers that not only innovate, but collaborate. “If you were able to work with someone on a deeper level, your designs will come out beautifully, right? Because now you understand the aesthetics of the person that you’re like styling or the person that you’re trying to design for.”
Djibril has big plans for what Mathematics can be. It’s still in its early stages, but his third Act is getting started. I’m hoping in the near future to do a follow-up and showcase visually what Djibril is envisioning. In the meantime, he’s got to go through his process. “People are so afraid to make a mistake. I love making mistakes…cause I know I could get better and I love getting better. I love progression.”
I love this idea of breaking and remaking identity. It’s the contradictory nature of life, when old becomes new becomes old. It’s the avoidance of stagnation where mistakes are the sole way forward. It’s about adding and subtracting, messing with the formulas of the old guard.
I asked Djibril for some last minute fashion advice. “If you’re really trying to be fashionable, up your material, I don’t want your hoodie to be 80% polyester and 10% cotton…Stop getting jeans from Shein.” Words to live by. I’m excited to see where Mathematics takes us all, especially Djibril. “My future is as bright as it can be. And so, I want to document these things through my design.”
Kill Vanity 
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