Theft of Light

Derrick Cruz, the visionary designer behind Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons, sent me his lookbook introducing his new accessories collection titled "Theft of Light." In addition to creating things that are visually stunning and meticulously crafted, Derrick is an Urban Storyteller. To Indigenous people, storytelling was a sacred process. It was the rich imaginations of the storytellers who tried to explain the relationship of humans to their natural and supernatural environments. Native people did not distinguish between the physical and supernatural because everything was viewed as a vast continuum; whether it be animate or supernatural, the world existed in 'real time' and in a conscious state of existence. Every living thing was a member of one large family: the four elements (earth, air, fire and water), plant, animal and human worlds were connected to each other. I think Derrick is intuitively aware that modern people are craving to live in harmony with Nature...we desire more natural, intimate relationships and long to understand our place in the cosmos. His latest collection is perhaps then, a Call of the Wild...check out his website to view the entire collection!



"Nature is your school, your laboratory, the gateway to liberation, and the panorama of God's manifold majesty. Seek to know the lessons it is ready to teach; all things are as Brahman as you are." ~ Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 10



"Theft of Light" is conceptually situated at the crossroads of Native American Mythology and an urban outsider instinct, it introduces large and bold looks, re-purposed traditions and creatively up-cycled materials." The line an homage to Derrick's late father, Jose Rafael "Jun" Cruz (1951-2009) and his Puertorican Taino roots. He explains, "the images I've shared with you are snapshots of what that basic tribal tendency looks like in my head – illustrations for a chapter in my personal book of myths."

Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons joined forces earlier this year with Odyn Vovk. Together they kicked off Fashion Week Spring 2010 early (with steel-toe boots I might add) on 9/9/09, in New York's East Village. Odyn Vovk [oh-din va•hk] translates to One Wolf. As stated in the program, the name reflects “cunning, wisdom, searching, dreams, magic, transformation, death, rebirth, and protection.” You can check out the details from the show here ➵ ➵ ➵