Blackbirds (Away)

An Excerpt from an Interview:
 
"The myth of Ziryab struck me as impossible—not because I doubted he existed, but because I couldn’t understand how someone so influential could be left out of common history. A Black man. A former slave. He played thousands of songs by heart, opened one of the first music schools, and added the fifth string to the oud—an early version of the guitar. He introduced the three-course meal, seasonal fashion, crystal glasses, and even hairstyles like bangs. Yet most of us, including myself, had never heard his name. Can you imagine?
 
Before designing anything, I need a story—something rooted, something real. So we built this jersey around the red-winged blackbird, Ziryab’s Western nickname, as a tribute to a forgotten legacy. This isn’t about being trendy or woke—it’s about questioning why we’ve never been taught to question. When Muslim rule in Spain ended, over a million books were burned, erasing generations of knowledge. I can’t bring those books back, but I can tell stories through fabric, color, and intention. Long live Ziryab—the Blackbird who helped shape the world, and who now lives on in our work."
 
- Creative Director, Shek Tarawallie