Journey into the world of Trinidadian streetwear as we sit down with the visionary Creative Director, Coyell Herbert, the driving force behind the iconic brand, Don Wvrldwide (pronounced “worldwide”).. In this exclusive interview, we delve deep into his creative psyche, tracing the roots of his inspiration and exploring the urban grit and philosophy that define Don Wvrldwide.

Loyalty Collection. Photo via donwvrldwide.com

Tell us about yourself.
My name is Coyell Herbert. I’m now 25 years of age and my birthday is October 10. I am the Creative Director of Don Wvrldwide and an entrepreneur. I’m starting two new businesses this year: a marketing agency and a clothing blank supplier.

What inspired the creation of the Don Wvrldwide brand?
I always liked clothes. Growing up, I was the type of person who would overdress to go to the supermarket. I would annoy my friends by overdressing to watch my neighbors play hockey. I would enter dress up competitions at Queen’s Royal College [my high school] to win tickets to parties and not even go to them.

I ended up on the business side of fashion on a whim. It was a side effect of a journey I was on. During my gap year after finishing high school, I did a lot of personal development and got into the habit of writing down my ideas. I went to a house party and overheard a friend boasting about his clothing brand, and I felt that I could do it better and be humble.

After the house party, I was washing the car and the name and the whole concept just came to me and I wrote it in my little book. Don Wvrldwide was based on a lot of my influences at the time: business books, movies like “The Godfather” and “Star Wars.” The term “don” refers to a mob boss or kingpin. I did additional research and found that in other languages, “don” means monarch or leader. My goal with the name was to change the negative connotation of the word “don” in the West to a more positive one.

Another source of inspiration for the brand was Carl Jung’s concept of the integration of the shadow. Everything that’s wrong with you is wrong with the world. But you have to master your shadow. You learn leadership and accountability so that you can use your aggression positively. That’s why the brand uses dark themes and imagery but has a positive message.

Would you consider Don Wvrldwide to be a streetwear brand? Why or why not?
Yes, at this point, but we’re working on making things more high-end. Bu,t of course, we don’t wanna lose our core audience. So, our offerings in the future will be similar to a mafia hierarchy in a way—like there will be street stuff but also more high-end, luxury type of things.

Some say streetwear is dead. Do you agree?
I can understand the argument. Most people speak about it with an American bias because American media companies control mainstream thought. Streetwear used to be cheap and affordable, but since Virgil [Abloh] and others popularized it, it became high-end. Resale of brands like OBEY and Supreme also drove streetwear prices up.

I can understand arguments that it’s dead, but lots of kids are bringing it back and doing their own things. And they understand how to start a business. But I can see both sides. I’d say that it’s not dead.

A lot of people are dismissive of streetwear, claiming that it’s all just screen-printed tees and hoodies. What do you say to that?
People can say what they want and have their own opinions. There is some truth to it, but streetwear is more of a culture. It’s more than just T-shirts. People embody a lifestyle with streetwear. You can argue that designer stuff is about buying into the lifestyle behind the logo. Streetwear represents a culture.

My Year Collection. Photo via donwvrldwide.com

What are some of the challenges of the streetwear space in Trinidad & Tobago?
The ease of doing business is hard. In Trinidad we don’t have access to a lot of payment methods like Stripe, a lot of people don’t have credit cards or even bank accounts. Another challenge is the “foreign is better” ideology that people have. Don Wvrldwide is local but it is not seen as local.

Building a brand from the ground up is hard, especially when you’re not supported by any machine. Doing marketing and staying in front of people is faces is difficult.

You pointed out that your brand is “local but not seen as local.” Could you elaborate on that?
From the get-go I was into fashion and things that seem international. With the brand we try to maintain international quality with our photoshoots, videography, and marketing. It’s interesting because this has lost us sales. What I do doesn’t seem like something a Trini would do. We don’t buy into the beach culture and Carnival culture and that confuses a lot of locals.

To what extent is the brand representative of Trinbagonian culture?
I didn’t consume much Trini culture growing up. I was the weirdo on Tumblr and YouTube looking at Odd Future, Kanye, Justin Bieber, so that’s what I identified with. That is what I liked and shaped me growing up. I wasn’t into soca and dancehall to a big extent.

I wouldn’t say Don Wvrldwide reflected Trini culture but the internet culture I was exposed to. I used to get laughed at a lot for wearing denim jackets and OBEY hats until they later became popular here. Don Wvrldwide is a combination of what I consumed as a child and the philosophy I subscribe to because the brand is to an extent an extension of me.

Enforcer Collection. Photo via donwvrldwide.com

What are some of the major milestones you’ve achieved with your brand?
I don’t think what I’m doing is necessarily me, it’s like I’m just an outlet for my brand. So, I don’t see it as milestones, but as just life. I don’t really process things like that. We (Don Wvrldwide) have stuff in some stores with a big poster. When you go outside, you see people in our clothes. Everything that is happening now, I saw and felt before it happened, so it doesn’t mean anything now. There’s an experience I always remember. I once did a delivery for a dad and his son. I saw them opening their packages and smiling and reading the messages in the packaging and they were really happy. They couldn’t see me though because I was in my car.

I get messages from customers on social media all the time. People always ask where they got their Don Wvrldwide pieces. I can live off this business locally and I think that’s really dope. People cherish the pieces and treat them as something international.

Loyalty Shorts. Photo via donwvrldwide.com

What is the motivation behind Don Wvrldwide?
That’s a question I am also trying to figure out. I started the idea as a teenager in 2018. I really wanted to get philosophy out for people of my generation. I wanted to understand why people are drawn to dark things. I wanted to create a generation of leaders and my medium is clothes. My aim is to connect with people on a personal level to become better. Through the brand I interact with people— customers, models, photographers—and I feel like I’ve impacted them positively. Because I’ve experienced what I wanted to in my head, I am continuing out of discipline. It’s just discipline because the ideology has to get out there regardless of how you feel. I’m just doing it because I said I was gonna do it and I see how it has impacted people.

Someone came up to me at a pop-up shop and said how much the brand meant to them. To stop would be selfish. A leader is for others, not themselves. I genuinely do not believe that life is about pleasure. Not that you shouldn’t do things you enjoy, but if you just live for pleasure, life is no longer pleasurable. Responsibility is different; you do it because you have to. I have to embody the brand’s ideology and the best way to teach is by example.

How frequently do you release new pieces/collections and what’s the design process for each?
There wasn’t much of a plan with respect to releases; when ideas come, and I feel inspired I design. But now, because I’ve done this for so long, I can create new ideas or remix previous ideas to create something new. I drop one new piece every month. There’s no design team; it’s basically just me. There’s no process. It’s never the same. The My Year collection was a list of affirmations I wrote for myself on my wall.

The Enforcer collection was inspired by a trip to Georgia in 2022. We were in Atlanta just vibing and I saw a t-shirt with the word “Enforcement” on it and I did some research. These things just happen and it’s not necessarily me. “Enforcer” is also a personality type; there’s a brand of security cameras called “Enforcer.” People make all these connections but it’s just an idea.

The Loyalty line was inspired by Robert Pattinson’s Batman. The color scheme comes from that movie and the dog motif represents loyalty. The Box Hoodie was inspired by Virgil [Abloh]. A hoodie with a box on the back where you can write whatever you wanted seemed like something he would do so I did that.

Because of how consistent the brand is, I listen to music that evokes the feel of wearing the clothes when designing—plenty of Yeezus, Donda. Sometimes I design in silence. It’s not necessarily a process; it just happens.

Who/what inspires you the most?
As a person? Batman. I’ve realized that in the media, we keep watching the same movie or archetype over and over. Batman and Itachi [from anime series, Naruto] is basically the same character, just reskinned—they both lost their parents and are dark. Transformers is the same story as Cain and Abel, Jesus and Satan. Aside from Batman, the Bible. As humans we love stories. If you can tell an archetypal story in a new way, people will be drawn to it. I can only speak as a man because I am one, but as a man, Batman is a good archetype for men to follow.

What are the most crucial skills needed to succeed at what you do?
Learning to articulate yourself for people to understand. Learning to build and destroy your ego. Learning to trust people, meaning that you need to be comfortable to give people your ideas and execute them without you being there. Be comfortable giving people the opportunity to execute on your ideas. We all interpret differently and they can make it greater. You learn to let go of your ego and it keeps you out of a scarcity mindset.

What words do you live by? Why?
“What do I know?” I’m probably wrong about everything I’m speaking about. I used to argue with people a lot but then I realized that I was regurgitating other people’s ideas. When I think I know everything, I realize that I know nothing.

Don Wvrldwide’s IG: @don.wvrldwide
Coyell Herbert’s IG: @coyell
Don Wvrldwide’s Website: donwvrldwide.com

Article by Ren Wilson, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Alexa Dyer, Graphic Designer, PhotoBook Magazine

Don Wvrldwide Decoded: Coyell Herbert's Creative Manifesto