REVENGE OF THE BLCK NERD

St. Louis has long been a hub for raw creativity and bold expression, and BLCK NRD is one of the freshest voices rising out of that energy. Founded by Brooklyn Kingsburough and William Humphrey, the clothing brand is more than a label—it’s a lifestyle. Their designs fuse intellect, street culture, and individuality, creating a look that’s unapologetically sharp and unmistakably St. Louis.

Brooklyn and William built BLCK NRD with the vision of celebrating authenticity while challenging traditional ideas of style and identity. From their earliest collections to the buzz they’re generating today, they’ve stayed committed to pushing the culture forward while staying true to their roots.

DELUX sat down with the duo to talk about the inspiration behind BLCK NRD, their journey as entrepreneurs, and how they’re setting out to make an impact in both fashion and community.

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BLCK NERD Instagram: @blcknerd_apparel
Online Store: www.blcknerd.com
Go Follow: @willblcknerd + @brklynstl

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Origin Story – St. Louis has a unique style energy. What inspired you to launch BLCK Nerd here, and what was that first spark that made you say, “yeah, this is the lane I’m carving out”?

BK. I have been designing, producing items for myself and others since 2015. Will and myself have been talking about working together for years. Both of us had brands and had experience in business. I’ve worked and managed clothing stores. One evening he hit me with I got this idea for a line BLCK NERD it perfect for who we are. Then we grew from that point. Started with the basics items for brand recognition, next producing garment for the office or the streets. 

WH. The inspiration behind Blck Nerd came from my partner Brooklyn and I understanding the need for something new and creative in fashion in our City. We wanted to push a brand that represented style, proper fit,that was different an had a cultural appeal.

Name + Identity – The name BLCK Nerd is a dope concept. What does it mean to you personally, and how do you want it to resonate with the culture?

BK. When I heard it the first word I thought of was POWERFUL. BLCK has the power to absorb light and light produces color, just as NERDs absorb information of his or hers passions and produce all the everything we find useful to us today. BLCK is Excellence.

WH. The name Blck Nerd means everything to me when it comes to my idea of fashion. The original Blck Nerd logo is designed of puzzle pieces with the C in the Blck solid. We designed this logo using puzzle pieces to represent the mixture of everyone and the C solid representing the culture as a whole. Blck is beautiful ,sophisticated, elegant, classic. Nerd is different unassuming, forward thinking, focused.

Design Aesthetic – When people see a BLCK Nerd piece, what do you want them to feel? How would you describe your brand’s signature look in the fashion world?

BK. Confident. We’ve experienced in the past nerds as being awkward or feeling out of place. We are no longer awkward we are the ones the run the place. We are the Drafters, we are the Builders, we are the Technicians, we are the CEOs. As we develop we you’ll be able to wear us in the boardroom to the bank to the bar to the club. 

WH. Good question. When someone sees or purchases anything Blck Nerd I want them to understand that there’s a hidden design in almost every piece. My partner Brooklyn is a graffiti /graphic artist by trade and his origin is in graffiti so he tends to hide a lot of nuances in Blck Nerd pieces. Our goal is to ensure each piece is made with quality fabric that has a soft feel and good fit. We tend to embroidery a lot of our signature pieces and so when you see a Blck Nerd piece, you know a lot of time has been taken in each piece.

The Grind – Starting an independent clothing brand isn’t easy. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced coming up, and how did you push through?

WH. The grind is one of the most important parts to starting any new business. I think the first challenges we were met with starting Blck Nerd was finding the right manufacturers and people to help in our creative process. Making sure we had the right materials , the right people to help bring our ideas to light, securing a little finance and most importantly, making sure all our business was handled, licensing, copyright, etc. We are pushing through with believing and never giving up and understanding you have to slow walk before you run. We are just getting Started!

BK. Consistency. Communications. We both have been business owners and getting schedules aligned was challenging. But we stayed consistent in our communication. We share hats around here so we can stay on the same page. 

Collaboration Energy – St. Louis is full of creatives. Are there any local or national artists, designers, or brands you’re looking to collaborate with in the future?

WH. St. Louis is definitely full of great creatives There are a ton of people we will love to work with, End, 39 Castles, House of Vision, Heir as well as Vans, essentials the list is endless… skies the limit. We definitely wanna get into some of the colleges we got some dope color waves for any university.

BK. We are open to working with who down to work with us. We have a new Golf line that we are producing called IRONHORNS GOLF co. So our options are unlimited. 

Community + Culture – How does BLCK Nerd rep St. Louis and the culture at large? Do you see the brand as more than fashion — maybe a movement, a statement?

WH. Blck Nerd was born out of the fashion concepts of St. Louis, Missouri and Brooklyn, New York, but represents a fashion culture as a whole. We wanna take it back to pure designs that look good, feel great, using quality fabric with vibrant colors, that are affordable.
The movement is simply be different!

BK. As one of the owners I’ve been repping STL and it’s culture since I landed. BLCK NERD is a moving statement. We are empowering our brightest and smartest to keep innovating in style.

Looking Ahead – Where do you see BLCK Nerd in the next 3–5 years? Expansion, new collections, maybe even dropping outside the city?

BK. The next 3 years we will have successes in establishing both brands.

WH. We have been looking ahead since day one. We are overly excited about dropping our new golf line called Iron Horns Golf Co. Iron Horns is something new and we are excited about it. We are putting a twist on traditional golf apparel! We will be offering items for men and women golfers that we believe will appeals to the masses . In the next few year We plan on being in a few different cities with New York, Phoenix and Chicago being our first targets. We have a lot of roots in these cities and hope to expand in the upcoming summer

For the People – What’s one piece of advice you’d give to the next young creative in St. Louis who’s trying to launch their own brand or hustle?

BK. Stay growing your Vision. Keep consistent with how business is handle. Once you catch a solid groove ride the wave. As a Nerd keep developing innovative ideas that will help evolving the culture.

WH. This May sound cliché, but the one piece of advice I can give is stick to your plan and never give up! Never let no one tell you you can’t never let any one discourage your idea. Put it on paper , make a vision board whatever you can do to see it in your face daily. Talk to those around who do believe in you, Tap into your spiritual side and make it Happen!

BLCK NERD Instagram: @blcknerd_apparel
Online Store: www.blcknerd.com
Go Follow: @willblcknerd + @brklynstl