Central grad turns flair for design into career

By Lynn Taylor Rick, Journal staff | Tuesday, March 25, 2008

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Donald Bradford started making his own clothes out of necessity. Today, he makes them for a living.    

Bradford, a 1998 graduate of Central High School, designs clothing for Macy’s department store in New York City. The 28-year-old specializes in men’s designs, designing for the Macy’s brand Men’s Inc.

Bradford began unknowingly dabbling in design in high school, when he shot up to 6 feet 6 inches tall and found it difficult to find fashionable, affordable clothes. His mother, Janet Burgoyne of Rapid City, gave him a cursory lesson in sewing and Bradford took it upon himself to create a wardrobe.

At first, Bradford strove to make his clothes like the fashions his classmates wore. “I didn’t want homemade clothes. I wanted clothes like everyone else was wearing,” he said.

Eventually, after more and more people commented on his style, he decided to embrace his sense of fashion. “I realized I could make stuff that was cooler than what everyone else had,” he said.

From then on, Bradford proudly sported bell bottom jeans when straight legs were still the rage. He embraced wild fabrics and designs and developed a look of his own. “They were really wacky and wild for Central,” he said.

When Bradford left for the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, he expected to study and find a career in computers. He didn’t realize that fashion was an option. But even among his computer science friends, his sense of style couldn’t be muted.

He recalls his computer friends looking at his funky clothes and suggesting he give the fashion design department a try. He did and the rest is history.

“As soon as I realized that that was a possibility, it was on,” he said.

Bradford graduated from the University of Minnesota and took an internship in design in New York City. Bradford said that while working as an assistant and intern, he continued to create his own styles, wearing them most days. People took notice. Within a year, he was given a position at Men’s Inc. at Macy’s designing clothes.

“Everyone knew I was making my own jeans and shirts and T-shirts. I knew they would do well and they did,” he said.

Even now, Bradford is amazed at his quick rise in the fashion business, especially considering that many of his peers came from powerhouse design schools.

He credits much of his success to his education and his upbringing. “I actually attribute a lot to the education I got in Rapid City,” he said. “It was all these great teachers I had that got me started. … I went to Wilson and South and Central — it was just more than pure education. I learned how to get along with other people.”

Burgoyne, a math professor at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, never expected her son to pursue a career in design, but she’s hardly surprised by his success.

“He approaches his job … he puts his heart and soul into it. It’s more like a work of art,” she said. “He’s really an artist more than anything.”

Bradford remembers the first time he spotted one of his artistic creations on a person walking down the sidewalk in New York.  

“I got really excited, pointed at him and said ‘That’s my shirt.’ His reaction was, ‘No, I bought this shirt,’” Bradford said.

Bradford explained himself and had a chat with the guy. “It’s actually really exciting,” he says of seeing his designs. “I just can’t get over it when it happens.”

In his job, Bradford handles everything from production to the specific designs themselves. While many designers have a two-year lag between a design creation and the design becoming available to consumers, Bradford works with only a three-month lag. It means he’s always moving, and that’s just the way he likes it.

“I’m actually at a really happy place,” he said. “I never guessed anything like this would ever happen to me.”

‘What great clothes’

When Samuel Berney walks the halls of Rapid City Central High School, he does it in style. His brother’s style.

Berney is the younger brother of New York clothing designer Donald Bradford and the recipient of his brother’s fashion gifts.

Samuel’s mother, Janet Burgoyne, says the clothes have caught a few eyes. “My younger son is a violinist. … He had to perform (for a contest) and one of the judge’s comments was, ‘What great clothes.’”

Who is he?

n Donald Bradford

n Clothing designer for Macy’s in New York City

n Son of Janet Burgoyne and Sam Berney or Rapid City, and Dan Bradford of Ridgecrest, Calif.

n 1998 graduate of Rapid City Central High School

n Got his start sewing his own clothes in high school to accommodate his 6-foot-6-inch frame. Yet, his mother noticed an early passion for style when she sewed for him as a child. Even then, he would request certain button treatments or fabric changes or ask for a specific cut to his clothes. “He was always a creative little kid,” Burgoyne says.

Contact Lynn Taylor Rick at 394-8414 or lynn.taylorrick@rapidcityjournal.com.