Taron Barnes transitions from local basketball product to stylist for the stars

Taron Barnes long believed recognition doesn’t come in Philadelphia until someone else stamps it.

The morning of Jan. 2, his phone flooded with people sharing a video that would solidify, in his mind, he was doing something special with his less than two-year-old designer brand.

The night before, Kevin Durant had sat down at his postgame press conference to field questions about the Brooklyn Nets’ four-point road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. But his frustrations about the loss were a moot point.

The two-time NBA champion and 2013-14 league MVP hunched over the microphone donning a black overcoat, solid black T-shirt and a one-of-one New Era black fitted cap with the logo of Barnes’ Drip Sold Separate apparel line on the front and his No. 7 stitched into the right side.

“Everybody just started tagging me in it and sending it to me,” Barnes said. “I was literally laying across my bed. I was about to get something to eat, looking at the menu of the place. Then all the notifications just started coming to my phone.”

The 27-year-old North Philadelphia native sprang out of bed and went into his living room to watch and rewatch Durant’s presser while wearing a wide grin.

Since starting DSS in 2020, Barnes’ perseverance has taken him places he never imagined. The loss of a loved one nearly put an end to the whole operation, but creating helped him deal with the grief.

Barnes stands 6-foot-3 and carries himself with a certain confidence, partially because he’s usually the best-dressed person in the room.

His mother, Lynthia Scott, takes credit for sending him on the designer path. Growing up, she made sure his clothes matched, outfitted him with the latest pair of Jordans, and preached the importance of being well-dressed.

“I always talked to him about presentation and how you should always be well-carried,” Scott said. “A person’s first impression is when they see you. Before you open your mouth, it’s, ‘What do you look like?’”

By late middle school, Barnes branched off and coordinated his own clothes. Friends and family started commenting on how he carried himself, turning to him for fashion advice with questions like, “Does this look OK?” “What do you think of these?”

While the world was still quarantining in July 2020, Barnes polled his Instagram followers and asked if they thought he should become a designer. He wasn’t overly confident in the idea at the time, but still decided to gauge his peers’ opinions.

“Then I was just like, forget what everyone thinks, for real,” Barnes said. “If I want to do it, I’m just going to go for it. I came up with Drip Sold Separate right there.”

He started thinking about math classes from his time at New Media Tech Charter School. Exponents in algebra became the driving inspiration behind the DSS logo.

Barnes’ design process isn’t anything overly complicated. That works to Barnes’ benefit because he’s often out and about, reaching into his pocket when he’s struck with a spark of creativity.

“I don’t write it down or anything, I just do it right there while it’s fresh on my mind,” Barnes said. “In the midst of me creating something, something else might come to my mind and I’ll just start creating more on that.”

Barnes conducts all of his business through two iPhones. The free app PicsArt, a digital illustration app, is where the magic happens.

Once a design is finalized, Barnes uses a manufacturer called Far From Ordinary, a Canadian streetwear brand that produces his hoodies and sweatpants. His hats go through New Era Cap Company.

On May 15, 2021, Barnes’ cousin, Charles “BR” Campbell, whom he saw more like a brother, was murdered. He was 31.

The last two years have been an emotional roller coaster for Barnes, who still fumbles for the right words to describe the loss of his cousin.

“I was under a rock for a while,” he said. “I didn’t know what was next. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of that slump.”

Campbell’s death was the tipping point.

“It’s that double-edged sword,” Scott said. “The loss was heavy but it’s also like, ‘Let me keep this going to make him proud.’ [Campbell] supported Taron. He believed in Taron.”

Today, Barnes continues to keep his slain cousin’s name alive, adding “Long Live BR” to any and every acknowledgement. They were inseparable, whether it was playing basketball or bonding over the early days of fatherhood.

“Ever since we were kids, we’ve always been together,” Barnes said. “That’s my best friend, my brother, my biggest critic, my No. 1 fan all in one. … It was like I either thug it out or give up on it.”

The tight-knit community of Philly hoops has served as Barnes’ gateway to success.

Basketball was Barnes’ primary focus growing up, playing at Prep Charter High School in South Philly and then at New Media Tech. He played one season at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, transferred to a junior college in California, and moved home to attempt to play at Temple.

Barnes never played for the Owls, but he did get an opportunity to play pro in Spain. Between the birth of his now 8-year-old daughter, Skye, having to leave the country for nine months, and being paid poorly, he realized a pro career wasn’t in the cards.

DSS was born shortly after.

One of his first clients was Kahleah Copper, an old friend from Prep Charter who won the 2021 WNBA title with the Chicago Sky, becoming Finals MVP and most recently the EuroLeague Women’s MVP.

» READ MORE: After being a WNBA breakout star last year, North Philly’s Kahleah Copper is ready for an encore

Barnes also has a relationship with Marcus and Markieff Morris and Dion Waiters, NBA veterans from Philly. They introduced him to one of his best friends, James Johnson, in 2017. Johnson played with Waiters in Miami but has since been shuffled to the Brooklyn Nets.

Six degrees of separation helped Barnes land his first NBA client, Dorian Finney-Smith of the Dallas Mavericks. Then came 13-year NBA veteran Wayne Ellington, from Episcopal Academy. Ellington gifted a whole line of one-of-one DSS hats to all of his Los Angeles Lakers teammates.

“When I was at a real low point trying to figure out what I wanted to do, Wayne was one of the guys that always uplifted me regardless of anything,” Barnes said. “He always supported me with anything, so once I came to him with the idea … he was like, no questions asked.”

Fast-forward to March 2022, when Barnes was sitting at home watching the Boardroom podcast featuring Durant and his manager Rich Kleiman. An ad popped up encouraging viewers to visit their website and shop the Boardroom clothing line.

Barnes didn’t feel the Boardroom line reflected Durant’s style. Spontaneously, struck with some creativity, he pulled out his phone. It just so happened the “D” from the DSS logo fit perfectly in the middle of the Boardroom logo.

The night before the Nets and Sixers were set to play in Philly, Johnson invited Barnes up to his hotel room to hang out.

“I closed the door, turned around and took like two steps,” Barnes said. “I look up and I see KD sitting right there on the couch. I started getting nervous. I’m sweating for like 30 minutes. But I’m just trying to keep it cool.”

He thanked Durant for wearing the DSS hat in January, then mentioned his qualms with the Boardroom merch. The 6-foot-10 future Hall of Famer craned his head and said, “Cook it up then.”

Barnes pulled up the hat, sweatpants and hoodie designs he’d already packaged together. Durant popped up in his seat and paused the music in the hotel room.

On Sunday, May 15 — the two-year anniversary of Campbell’s death — the DSS and Boardroom merchandise collaboration dropped and stamped Barnes’ work.

“I’ve always been confident in anything I do,” Barnes said. “When I first started Drip Sold Separate, I wasn’t confident in it because it’s something I had never done before. Now I’m at the point where I know what I’m doing is tough.”