Meet Luke Rainey, Founder of DAGGER

Nestled in a cosy corner of the Michelberger Hotel Cafe, I see Luke Rainey sipping on a cup of coffee. Initially greeting me with a handshake, he quickly turns to welcome me with a warm embrace and any pre-interview jitters I had faded away entirely. It’s not every day you meet someone as genuine and as warm as Luke – the founder of the Berlin-based label DAGGER, a brand using “emotionally intelligent design” to rewire the conventions of streetwear. Hailing from Ireland, and now based here in Berlin, Luke is a designer with a genuine passion for self-acceptance and community, elements that have been translated into his authentic approach to design. Over coffee, Luke and I discussed the importance of roots, the power of community, falling in love and how emotionally intelligent design could be the future of streetwear.

SLEEK: Let’s start from the beginning. How did DAGGER begin?

Luke Rainey: DAGGER started in 2020, during the first lockdown. Like many other people, I found myself unemployed after losing my job at one of the concept stores here in Berlin. It was a time of real uncertainty, and it forced me to stand back and reflect. I had to think, what can I do in this situation? I’ve always worked in fashion from a retail perspective, but I always knew I wanted to branch out into design.

When I lived in London, I managed Dover Street Market before moving on to a management position at Balenciaga. At DSM, I’d watch brands come into the stores, building from a t-shirt to an entire collection and I felt inspired, knowing that could be me. The pandemic really gave me the opportunity to apply my knowledge of retail to design. I didn’t have any money or design experience, but I managed with some small funding from the government and Youtube tutorials on how to use Photoshop.

S: What was the inspiration for DAGGER’s first collection?

LR: The first collection, which really set the basis of the brand, was inspired by the letter I received when I was let go from my job. They finished the letter off with “We wish you all the best with your professional future and personal wellbeing.” I wanted to take that sentence and turn it into something positive. This quote ended up being on the back of the first t-shirts I made, and it’s since inspired our slogan “All the best.” I didn’t predict how well the t-shirts would do in lockdown, but they sold out twice. I guess so many people were experiencing something similar to me and I think the tees came at a time when people really needed to see something positive, something to give them hope. With each release from then on, the structure of the t-shirt and the graphic design stays the same, but the message changes. We’re always changing and growing; this is something that I feel is important to reflect on.

S: You describe DAGGER as an “emotionally intelligent design for people who understand the power of self-acceptance” – what defines it?

LR: From the beginning, I have described DAGGER as “emotionally intelligent design” and I always want it to be that way. It’s about a purposeful approach to design, design for meaning. The tees will always mean something – to me and other people. It’s never designed for design’s sake. It’s a personal process of me reflecting on a feeling that I want to talk about, and translating that into a concept. I’ll spend time writing sentences, phrases and poetry in an attempt to condense my thoughts into a statement for a t-shirt. In some streetwear brands, the messaging can be somewhat aggressive which adds to this toxic masculine stereotype of being tough and strong. I think DAGGER really goes against this. Although the name of the brand itself is harsh, the messages in our designs are fueled by genuine emotion and story. 

S: What can you tell us about your own experience with self-acceptance?

LR: DAGGER was born from self-acceptance. It was born from a time when I had no choice but to accept my situation and move forward. It’s about making peace with yourself, and that way you can really grow through struggle. These moments of struggle are important, they open the door to a whole new understanding of yourself. I think the moment when you are able to accept your roots, is when real change happens. 

S: And self-acceptance is very much intertwined with PASSION – the theme of our most recent issue. As part of pride month, DAGGER released a tee that embodies both of these qualities in a tribute to the Stonewall Rioters of 1969, through the graphic “Be Gay, Do Crime”. Why did you choose to reference this particular protest?

LR: With everything we do at DAGGER, our t-shirts for pride had to have a purpose. Pride is naturally very important for me, but a big part of its history is entirely forgotten in a sea of rainbow-washing. The t-shirt is a tribute to the Stonewall Rioters of 1969, who fought in the streets against police in a fight for liberation and equality. We have pride because of Stonewall, and so the t-shirt is a kind of nod to the people who got us to a place of freedom. The statement “be gay, do crime” is about the strength and resilience of the gay community, a community that has suffered through hardship just to be accepted as themselves. 

S: DAGGER’s SS22 collection is called OXYTOCIN  – the love hormone. Why did you choose this name? What was the inspiration?

LR: I chose the name because I fell in love. It was just before the second lockdown when we had a little bit of freedom again. I just didn’t see it coming, and it hit me like a tonne of bricks. I guess in a way the collection is almost like a love letter to my boyfriend, you know? The statement I used for the collection is “IT’S THE CLOSEST WE ARE GOING TO GET TO MAGIC,” which was something I had said when I was trying to explain what it felt like to be in love with him. DAGGER really is a kind of diary for me, it’s a documentation of different moments in my life. So, OXYTOCIN was an important collection for me, because everything changed the moment that I fell in love. 

S: With the fashion industry becoming oversaturated with brands, what’s unique about DAGGER?

LR: I think what sets DAGGER apart from other streetwear brands is that it’s focused on emotion, something that isn’t really talked about in street culture. It’s a culture filled with traits of toxic masculinity. I also think our authenticity and honesty are what make us unique. With other streetwear brands, there’s this kind of veiled wealth that benefits from the struggles of the working class. As a queer working-class creative, I can’t help but be influenced by my roots, growing up in Ireland with really nothing apart from the close-knit community around me. My story, and subsequently the story of DAGGER, is real and I think people appreciate this. 

S: ​You collaborated with photographer Rita Lino, a photographer who is also a part of our extended community here at SLEEK. Can you tell us a little bit about this collaboration?

LR: Rita is an incredible Berlin-based photographer, with such a unique energy. It was really so great to work with her. We facetimed, and exchanged ideas for the shoot. Having someone like her really believe in the brand gave me a whole new perspective on the vision. It was a really special collaboration, where we both respected one another and just wanted to lift each other up. With a limited budget, I could only afford 3 hours in the studio but Rita seriously delivered. She came to the studio, arms filled with cameras, a smoke machine and just good energy. We pumped up the music and just went for it. It was so interesting to see how she translated my pieces through imagery, and she really just understood it. Even the models thanked her after the shoot, and said how amazing it was to work with her. She really has a special energy. 

S: As we speak, you continue to go back to the idea of community. Why is community important to you and DAGGER?

LR: From the very beginning, ‘community’ has really been at the heart of DAGGER. For the very first collection that I made in lockdown, I collaborated with Alex James – a friend of mine who is a photographer from Glasgow. I sent him the shirts over, and he shot them with his friends. It was a very organic exchange, and it really embodied everything that I believe in. Coming from an underprivileged background, I learnt from a very young age that the only way to get by is together. In those environments, ‘community’ is so prevalent and it’s really a form of survival. It’s about looking out for others and helping each other out. It’s about friendship and shared respect. So naturally, ‘community’ was always going to be a part of DAGGER because it is a part of me. Community is what is instilled into you from the very beginning. Your character is built from the people that you’re around, your family and your friends. Even if you fight that your whole life, you’re going to get to a point where you have to look at yourself in the mirror and say: “This is who I am” and there is so much freedom in that.

As our conversation came to its eventual end, and our coffee cups sat empty on their saucers, I noticed that I could probably sit and talk with Luke for hours. Watching him speak so passionately about DAGGER, from the perspective of his roots and community, made me feel inspired and got me thinking about the new wave of creatives emerging into the industry. Creatives who choose to be inspired by their roots rather than bound by them, who understand the beauty of working with others rather than against them, who are able to create in the freedom of self-acceptance, rather than in ego. It’s designers like Luke, who work with a genuine passion, that have the ability to encourage conversations and bring people together. For my final question, I asked Luke what passion meant to him. He replied almost instinctively as if he knew exactly where the question was heading, “Passion is purpose.”

Follow @wearedagger and shop the collection online at dagger.store.