Kerry Alaric Cheeseboro
Apparel & Home
Alaric Designer presently has three brands of products — the first two, AfroSelí and Barbados, consisting of a total 11 collections of products.
AfroSelí — derived from combining “afro” meaning “African” and “selí” which is a Native American word for “(life) spirit” — gathers design inspirations from Kerry’s Ghananian heritage from his father’s side of his family and from his Arapaho Tribe Indigenous Peoples lineage on his mother’s side. Within the AfroSelí brand there are five lines of apparel and other creations.
Adinkra symbols, originating from Ghana, are visual representations of proverbs with significant historical and philosophical meaning are widely used across Africa and in the diaspora.
Meaning patience, self-containment, self-discipline, and self-control, the Adinkra ani bere symbol represents some main practices that bring us personal and communal peace — all qualities that make for happy homes. The Ani Bere collection brings bright positive and general peace with each of these home decor items.
The Arapaho Flag was created in 1936 as a sign of respect and remembrance for the Arapaho War Veterans. The three colors used each have a different meaning and symbolism: Red is for the People, Black so the People will be strong and un-fearing of death, White represents knowledge to be passed on to the young. The Arapahoe tribe flag design makes a bold and proud statement on a variety of casual attire.
The original language of symbols of the Arapaho tribe(s) promote more ideological suggestion than literal representation. Geometric and freeform shapes imply both figurative ideas and tangible objects. When appreciated as a language, the symbols often embody both ideas. The vibrant use and mix of colors highlight these figures that visually and cultural resonate to this day.
The Swahili word for “tribe,” the Kabila design is a graphical cross-referencing of the more geometrical elements of Arapaho (Indigenous American) and Akan (Ghanaian) symbology.
“Kéya” is an Indigenous Peoples word for “turtle,” a sacred figure in Native American culture and major idea in the Arapaho (Earth) Creation legend.
“Mtindo” is the Swahili word for “style,” and the Mtindo collection integrates the iconically African colors of red, yellow, green, and black colors into a variety of stylishly hip and urbane plaids.
The move from NYC, USA to Barbados proved to be an endeavor with incredible creative inspiration, for it wasn’t until the move to Barbados that Kerry even first considered designing fabric, and consequentially, clothing. So it is no surprise that Barbados proved to be ripe for design esthetics and ideas.
Bringing Barbados’ Ghanaian inspiration into a design that pays homage to Ghana’s Kente roots into not just the Barbados flag colors, but its ideologies as well, including “panels” representing the flag’s iconic trident, the island’s beautiful sea, land, and sky, and the mingling of cultures within its predominantly African-descended heritage.
“Bim” by way of “Bimshire.” A majority of ex-pats who have, for generations, made Barbados their second (if not first) homes, and these series of plaids employing the colors of the Barbados flag is a respectfully knowing nod to their continued influence and support.
The colors of the Barbados flag — Ripe Mango, Resolution Blue, and Black — make for an iconically and stylistically striking visual combination. Implementing them into stripes of varying weights further highlights these colors as both globally brand identifiable and casual fashion forward.
The trident of Poseidon — featured in both the Barbados coat of arms and prominently on the Barbados flag — is shown as “broken” to represent the breaking of colonial rule in Barbados and independence from the British Empire. (The fact that it is also stylishly iconic might be coincidental.)
The name and circle logos for Alaric Designer were intentionally created to stand out, be bold, and strike as easily brand identifiable. They also happen to be quite stylish —whether in full gradient color glory and in one-color iconography — and add flair on a variety of apparel products.
