3D Artist: Kurabu Soda
Photographer: Ian Kobylanski
Styling: Joshua Samuels
Words: Ross Hook
“The legacy I want to leave is one where we’re making a real fucking difference to what is ending up in landfill, and changing the way people see sustainable clothes.”
In an industry saturated with glossy lookbooks and fast-paced trend cycles, Joshua Samuels is quietly building something unique—something rawer and far more intentional. Conceived from the shed in his mum’s back garden and stitched together with vintage threads and London grit, his self-titled label isn’t just another brand; it’s a living, breathing response to the chaos of modern fashion.
The Londoner isn’t here to lecture you about sustainability. He’s here to show you that clothing can be rebellious, soulful and sustainable—all at once. With a design philosophy rooted in upcycling, street-level storytelling and a punkish sense of humour, Joshua Samuels pieces feel like artefacts: part relic, part reimagination. They carry the fingerprints of their past lives—denim reworked with precision, forgotten tees made to feel wanted again, military surplus stitched into something poetic. It’s not about perfection; it’s about purpose. Nothing of Joshua Samuels’ is mass-produced or trend-chased. Instead, each garment holds tension: between old and new, chaos and control, sentiment and statement. This is fashion that wears its history on its sleeve—literally.
In this digital cover conversation, Joshua Samuels opens up to us about what 2025 has felt like so far, his latest collection and how he balances the weight of culture, community and creativity on his back. From London roots to future plans, FO Baggies to Ruined Caps, this is a portrait of a designer building more than just clothes. He’s building a movement—with patience, purpose and a whole lot of soul.
How’s 2025 been for you so far? What’s the vibe been like?
It’s been interesting. It’s been different. I set out for it to be different. In 2024, I think I had gotten to a place where I was really happy with the designs we were creating, but I just wasn’t able to design enough—we manufacture everything in-house and we are as much of a factory as we are a design studio. So I was getting a little bit—I don’t want to say grumpy because I love making clothes, but my job was a seamstress, more than anything, and I wanted to jump back into being a designer more. We’ve made some changes with the brand, which means we’re going to have a lot more things coming out in smaller batches, rather than doing bigger collections. It’s helping me fall back in love with it again—my real passion is making things that I really love. Like, I love the FO Baggies to pieces, they’re a core product that represents the brand really well. I don’t want to lose that, but I want to be able to be working on more things than just that, you know?
Yeah, man, honestly, I was going to bring up the baggies—they’re so sick. I’ve said it before, but I love how every piece feels handcrafted, personal, even. That little label inside, saying who made it—it just feels full of intention, you know?
That’s the thing—we really love making them. The label telling people who made their clothes felt really natural. I can’t imagine there are many clothing companies who know exactly who is making each element of their clothes, but we do, and it feels silly not to celebrate that. Obviously, everything has my name on it, and it feels a bit disingenuous. Without the team I have, none of this would be possible, and it makes sense for them to get their name on it too. It adds a nice personal touch to the wearer, knowing who worked on it.
Taking it back a step—for those who don’t know you or the brand—how would you describe the aesthetic and ethos of Joshua Samuel?
I want the brand to have this voice, a youthful voice of anger at the system. And it’s not like a teenage rebellion, “I’m really angry, I’m gonna throw things around” type—it’s more childish and whimsical, pointing, mocking, laughing at it, instead of trying to destroy it from the inside. A big part of our ethos with clothes is if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. That doesn’t mean the smaller imperfections, but it’s more: ‘If we have all these vintage Levi’s in stock, we don’t need to break them down into fabric to turn it into something new. It’s already got functional pockets. It’s got a functional fly and fly guard. It’s got a functional hem. It’s got a functional waistband. The most sustainable thing to do is to use as much of it as possible. All that’s really broken is maybe there are some rips or stains which we can amend. We just need to make it desirable again to stop it from going to landfill. For the sake of our FO baggies, that would mean cutting two pairs into really specific shapes to put them together. But we use the original pockets. We use the original things. We just need to work around that stuff.
We get loads of beautiful vintage T-shirts and button-up shirts that are on their way to landfill. There’s a myriad of reasons why they might have been thrown out—it could be that someone has gained weight, lost weight, or maybe someone’s died. Maybe they just don’t think it’s fashionable anymore. Maybe someone spilled a cup of coffee on it. Maybe they caught it on a doorknob and it ripped. But the item itself is fine. We just need to add value to it. It’s this idea of needing to make people want these things again. There’s no need to create something brand new.
Where does that way of thinking come from? Have you always been into upcycling and vintage?
I first started sewing when I left college. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life. I got gifted a sewing machine by my mum’s friend, Tracy. I always imagine what life would look like now if I had said no to it. But I said yes, and the things I wanted to make, I couldn’t really afford (the type of silhouettes and the textures). The first thing I actually created was made from some old towels. I was really obsessed with toweling, and had some old towels at home, so I made a shirt. I realised this had much more character. I don’t think I’d really thought of it as upcycling; it was more of a different way to find what I wanted. Then I went to study fashion properly, and from that, saw how wasteful the industry could be. I knew I had to think a lot more consciously. Is this really an industry I want to be part of? I thought about how I could contribute to a way that feels positive, rather than ignoring the very clear problem that exists within fashion.
You used to work out of your garden shed, right? What kept you going through those early moments?
What’s really crazy about that is I actually went in there the other day. I looked at it again for the first time in ages, and I was like, “So weird”. Now it’s just an empty shed. My mom has a little treadmill in there now. But at that time, it didn’t really feel like pushing through; it was exciting. Having my own space that I could create things in felt like more of a blessing.
Who or what has inspired you the most, creatively, growing up?
I know it’s cliché, but London. Growing up here, you’re surrounded by so many cultures, personalities and creative energy. Everyone’s references are different. Everyone’s got something to say. It’s hard not to be inspired by that.
And what about your support network — family, friends, partner — have they always supported you?
I’m the luckiest little boy in the world, man. My family is insanely supportive. I still live with my mum for cheap—paying way-below-market rent so I can pour everything into the brand. My homies are so supportive too, and my girlfriend is the same. No one gives me grief for working 14-hour days. They get the obsession, they see it and they let me chase it.
Are a lot of your friends creatives too?
Yeah, there’s definitely a big range of creative avenues that my friends are across—fashion, music, photography, videography, styling and graphic design. It’s so great to have a network of friends who I can say to, “Hey, Im trying to do this, but I can’t figure it out, let’s work on it together”. All walks of life for sure. And it’s great to be able to bounce ideas off each other, collaborate and help each other figure things out.
Let’s get into the new collection. What’s the core concept or inspiration behind it?
It dives into this playful idea that the clothes themselves are conscious and don’t want to be upcycled—if you read between the subtext of it all, the clothes are annoyed at us for saving them. It’s this tongue-in-cheek rebellion, like “just let us rest in peace.” For example, the Runt Shirts we’ve done are a continuation of this series we’ve done called “Lost and Found”, where we find forgotten objects in vintage shops that were once loved and cherished but are now forgotten about—like this doll from the ‘40s we came across. The ex-owner is probably not alive anymore, but someone grew up loving that teddy and now we’ve just found it in a vintage shop. The owner probably doesn’t think about it anymore. It used to be this one person’s thing, and now it’s a thing on a bunch of people’s chests—it dives into the idea that only one person could have ever had that doll, and only one person can have the exact shirt we make. It’s like this weird realm of things that should never have ended up being together and have all kinds of been cherished and forgotten about, becoming this thing that is now cherished by the new person we’ve made it for.
I love that idea. And the Ruined Caps? There’s a story there too, right?
Yeah, there’s this military surplus warehouse that we go to quite a lot because they always have the weirdest things, like, we used to make trousers out of this beautiful vintage green cotton that was originally commissioned in the 1940s for World War II, and then got decommissioned. It was like a sleeping bag cover because they needed something that was semi-waterproof, or water-resistant to keep rain out, but was also breathable in order to go over a sleeping bag and we’d turn it into new items. I just love going there. You never know what you’re going to find.
We found these military surplus caps with the wildest shape—super structured, short brim and tags still on. They were made decades ago, never worn, and now, for whatever reason, were hidden under piles of stuff. I literally had the guy sweep the floor to find more. We only got a few boxes, though. I’m keeping some back for myself because I’m going to miss them so much now they’re gone. That’s the heartbreak of upcycling—you fall in love with something and then have to let it go.
Did you try any new techniques or materials in this collection?
Our design process and our production processes are so interlinked and are really embedded into our identity, so we try not to deviate too far from that, while still experimenting. We’ve dived further into our FO Baggy Series, really trying to expand on it. It’s all about finding these baggy, boxy silhouette we love by combining two vintage pieces, making sure the original details are carefully preserved. We’ve done some laser engraving in this collection which is new. Appliqué will always be a big part of our language too, and we’re experimenting with how we can push that. For the Runt Shirts, for example, we’re combining appliqué with print. Or for the Ruined Shirts, using a different vintage textile that will fray, making the process of it aging the feature of the design more than the motif itself.
And any challenges you ran into with this release?
Ah man, always. This was actually with the last collection, but we released the FO baggy hoodies, which follow all of the same design language that anything else in the FO baggy series has, where it’s two semi-identical items. They were the two vintage Russell blank gray hoodies put together in a way that created this really boxy silhouette. And we launched them. We were not expecting the level of demand that there was, and we couldn’t get our hands on anywhere near enough. We had to mark that shit sold out real quick. I had to get a bunch from the most random places, in super small quantities, but I got scammed in the process.
We’re actually working on bringing them back in a different way, which I’m really excited about, because I wear it all the time. I don’t know exactly what the learning curve was, maybe just to be a little bit more careful than trusting all of my suppliers, and to have the stock to meet the demand. It taught me patience too.
Would you say you’re a patient person?
I’m probably the most impatient person by nature, but this job forces you to become patient. Sampling takes forever. Waiting for things to arrive. Waiting to get things right. You learn to manage it. You kind of have to.
Let’s talk about marketing. You’re super involved in it. Is that a love or hate thing for you?
I love it and I hate it. I’m working really hard on building the personality of the brand. And through that, it’s hard to separate myself from it. I am also so uncomfortable in front of a camera, or any sort of promo like that. There are so many brands out there at the moment, and as much as people want really amazing product, they want to also buy into a brand. You can’t do that by just posting pictures of product. You need to bring it to life and show people hey, this is the personality of the brand, you know?
I was very conscious when growing up, and then studying fashion, of finding references within fashion and looking at campaigns. I never really saw myself in any of them. You look at them and, they’re in some bougie place, maybe in France or something. But I could never see myself there. I have not lived that life. And there’s something to be said about that kind of aspirational marketing—it’s always kind of something that I’ve tried to avoid. I want this to be for everyone, and I want to show it. So I will shoot in the pub, because who doesn’t love a pint? Or we’ll shoot it around our day to day lifestyle because I don’t want it to feel like this unattainable thing. I want it to feel relatable. A lot of our editorial campaigns have always been us roaming around London, doing things. I want it to feel like whoever’s looking at their campaign imagery feels like they’re out on a day out with me and my mates, rather than looking at a fashion lookbook. We just happen to be all wearing Joshua Samuels.
And that’s what makes the brand feel real. Do you see yourself as part of something bigger than just fashion?
Definitely. I might be the one doing the designing, but it’s not just about me. It’s a larger thing we’re building—storytelling, sustainability, community, creativity. It’s culture. We barely feel like we’re scratching the surface of the textile waste being produced. It’s like, I feel like I work for myself, but also like I’m working against a system that’s so much bigger than me, you know?
How do you handle creative blocks? Is that something you run into? Where do you look for inspiration?
I think, more than struggling with creative blocks, I struggle with changing lanes. I feel like running a brand is wearing so many hats, you know? The creativity behind all of that. For example, with the vintage T-shirts, they all have different measurements, and you need to figure out a definitive size guide for that. How do we determine what qualifies as large? There’s something almost computational about that problem solving, but it’s creative, in a sense. And then you have to switch to a different type of creativity, where suddenly you need to make a graphic and you need to put these graphic references together and find your spin, find your voice, and then you need to work on silhouette. And it’s a completely different type of creativity. Working on pattern cutting. How do I turn 2D things into 3D things? And then you need to think about how to market that. How do I show people that it’s a different type of creativity? And then you have to think about, how do I design my website to get that across? I don’t think I struggle with a creative block, per se. I feel like I almost have too many ideas for what I want to do. I think I struggle more with switching my brain from one thing to another, and then get into that flow state more.
Completely get you. Do you use to-do lists or anything to help with that?
You know what? I feel like, every, fucking, eight or nine weeks, I’ll think to myself, “you know what? I’m gonna get really organised now.” But I don’t. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by a really fucking amazing, hardworking, dedicated team who will help remind me. Almost like human to-do lists, haha.
What do you hope your legacy will be as a designer?
I feel so much more wrapped up in ego, because it’s a self-named brand. When it comes to sustainable fashion I want us to be the first brand that people think of. This is just opposite to what I was saying before, but when it comes to marketing we don’t massively push the idea that we’re sustainable—I don’t want people to buy it for that reason alone, I want people to see things and be like, “That is fucking cool, and I want it”. It being upcycled should just be a happy bonus, you know? Looking at a lot of sustainable brands, and I’ve said this before, it all feels like skipping through a meadow and picking strawberries, and it doesn’t feel like it’s for me. It feels like it’s for someone else. I want to make clothes that are for everyone, and I just don’t want it to be wrapped up in all the bullshit that the other brands are. I don’t want to make stuff from virgin fibers. I want to make stuff with character that has some age to it, that is contributing towards something positive. And I think the legacy I want to leave is this one where we’re making a real fucking difference to what is ending up in landfill and changing the way people see sustainable clothes. I want them to see it as something that we should be doing, and not something that they’re buying because it’s sustainable, they’re buying because they like it. I want it to be this is a really fucking amazing pair of trousers, and it just happens to be upcycled.
Let’s talk music. How much does music impact your life and work?
A huge amount. We always have music in the studio, and so many of my friends are really pushing it with music. You can’t separate it from culture. I don’t get too deep into it, but what we wear, what we listen to, what we say, what we sing—it’s everything about how you feel, and you just can’t get rid of that, you know? It’s like this idea that there are people that I grew up listening to who are wearing our stuff, and people that I was always really inspired by seemingly being inspired by us. It’s just, man, it makes it worth it.
It’s just a different instrument. I have friends who can sit there and write a song, and that’s their form of expression, which can inspire me to be like, “Oh, that’s how you think about things. How can I express how I think about things through something material you can touch, as opposed to this ethereal thing that goes into your ear.”
100%. What’s been playing in the studio while working on the latest collection?
So, I am really not a playlist guy, by nature. I don’t want to sound like an arse, I don’t make specific playlists, I’m an album person or I have a huge fucking “liked” playlist which is a complete jumble, man, if you hit shuffle and listen to that, you might have some old 90s New York rap, and then suddenly you’re listening to, 2000 UK garage from fucking down the road. And then you’re into some old soul. I don’t know, it’s a weird range of tempos and genres. I’m listening to a lot of Sly and the Family Stone right now. I fucking love Sly and the Family Stone. The homies India Shan and Feux are making really great music. Venna just released a song called “My Way” where he’s singing on it. It’s so good. Who knew he could sing too? There’s this guy called Rian Brazil too…
Yeah, so much cool stuff happening musically in the UK. Feux, Lauren Duffus, Ryan Brazil—heads are coming through.
Yeah, London’s strong right now. A real wave of talent.
Do you think you’ll stay in London forever? Or do you see yourself moving?
“Forever” makes it sound a little bit like a prison haha. I love London. I can’t see myself leaving. I firmly have my roots here. I can definitely see myself being in New York for a bit though. If I were anywhere in the States, it would be New York. I’d love to go somewhere in Europe—find a base in Portugal or somewhere, reconnect with the heritage. But my roots are here, my family and friends are here.
The final question that I like to ask everyone I interview: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
The feeling that I’m working on something potentially bigger than myself—I’m really obsessed with this. It’s such a blessing, man. I feel like it’s easy to complain when you’re in the midst of it, but it’s such a blessing to be able to work on this all the time that it’s hard not to feel excited about it.
Do you ever take a moment to reflect on how far you’ve come?
You know what, here and there. It’s funny because with every drop, it feels like it’s getting bigger, and it’s incremental. I’ve been working on this for so long, and it’s happened so slowly, that it’s hard to notice the change. But when you look back, it’s a bit like, “Oh, there’s something real here”. And I’ve had a few moments, man, like I had one over New Year’s. I moved from this tiny little box at the end of my mom’s garden, again, that I was blessed to be able to have, to a proper studio where we can work comfortably, and I can fit a team in there. I definitely have moments where I can step back and be proud of what we’ve built.
Shop Joshua Samuel’s latest collection here.