Growing up on 5 acres in Choctaw, David D’Angelo Caldwell spent a lot of time outside, riding bikes and playing army. But when he wasn’t immersed in nature, he was busy creating.
Captivated by everything related to fashion, Caldwell would sketch the models he saw in magazines and use his mom’s sewing machine to rework his jeans, adding embellishments with stitching and paint, or fraying and cutting them to achieve a distressed look. He also taught himself how to make hats from recycled sweaters and other unique fabrics, selling them to friends and local boutiques in Oklahoma City.
Caldwell designed a few pieces for FX’s “The Lowdown.”
“I always cared about my appearance growing up. I was always connected to fashion that way,” says Caldwell. “I always wanted to be different.”
Fast forward several decades, and the kid who won “best dressed” in high school is now a fashion designer whose bespoke leather jackets have been spotted at the 76th Emmy Awards, on Esquire.com, on red carpets and in Sterlin Harjo’s latest production “The Lowdown” — actors Keith David and Peter Dinklage can both be seen wearing leather jackets by Caldwell.
A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Caldwell moved to New York City in 2008 to hone his craft through an internship with designer Zac Posen.
Caldwell then made his first New York Fashion Week presentation at Spin Magazine and appeared as a contestant on Season 2 of Bravo network’s reality TV show, “The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection.”
In 2013, Caldwell and his wife, whom he’d met at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in 2011, relocated to Tulsa. He spent the next 10 years working at Black Optical in Brookside, where he first met Harjo and would help him style his eyewear.
Caldwell didn’t make a return to sewing until 2023, when he says a buying trip to Paris reignited his love of the craft.
“I made some jackets and pants to wear while in Paris. After returning I was shopping at Abersons and tried on a John Varvatos leather shirt jacket. That’s when I decided to make my version of it,” Caldwell says. “I had no intention of starting a leather jacket business until my clients started inquiring where I got my jacket. This (was) when I had a lightbulb moment to start making jackets to sell.”
His studio is located on the third floor of Center 1, 3509 S. Peoria Ave.
This past April, Caldwell debuted his spring collection during a trunk show at Abersons. After working for years out of his garage, he recently opened his own studio on the third floor of Center 1, 3509 S. Peoria Ave.
Danny “Danny Boy” O’Connor, founder of The Outsiders House Museum, likens Caldwell’s work to “the old Hollywood tailors of the ’90s who made one-of-a-kind pieces for all the up-and-coming celebrities.”
D’Angelo has created multiple custom pieces for O’Connor, including the jacket he is wearing.
“My main man, David D’Angelo, is hands down the best when it comes to making custom leather jackets in Tulsa. The guy’s got a real gift,” says O’Connor. “For the Broadway premiere of ‘The Outsiders’ musical, he made me a suede hoodie jacket that turned heads, something you’d expect out of New York or L.A., but it was crafted right here at home. That’s the magic of David.”
Caldwell is excited to offer this unique fashion experience to Tulsans.
“Having a design studio where clients are part of the process and design decisions, and where the product is created right here in Tulsa, I don’t think there is anything like this in our city,” he says.
Visit daviddangelocaldwell.com to shop Caldwell’s designs.
