When Joshua Samuels talks about his brand, there’s no pretense of trying to be revolutionary.
“It was all quite accidental,” says Samuels, recalling how one of his mother’s colleagues handed him a secondhand sewing machine at 18.
At the time, he was lost. The London native had been fired from pub jobs and was spending more time smoking than building a future. A few YouTube tutorials later, he found himself cutting, stitching, and obsessively tinkering with silhouettes. “The stuff I made was unforgivably bad,” he admits, “but I loved it. And I realized this is what I want to do.”
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That leap from hobby to purpose eventually became a brand in 2020. Samuels’ namesake label is defined by meticulous reconstruction of vintage pieces. He always had a distaste for the wastefulness of the industry. “People would buy something, wear it twice, and throw it away,” says Samuels. “Why would I contribute to that? Then I realized I don’t have to do it that way.”
At the heart of Samuels’ label is a design philosophy built on three production methods: keeping vintage garments intact but reimagined through printing or embroidery; deconstructing and reconstructing items like military trousers into new silhouettes while preserving as many of the functional details as possible; and repurposing fabrics that were never intended as clothing. In each case, the underlying motive is the same: to make something people want out of something they (or someone else) once discarded. The brand only sources pre-made materials, whether they’re jeans, T-shirts, or even World War II canvas tents.
Samuels describes the brand’s voice as childlike. Its pieces are playful, whimsical, lightly mocking of the adult world that “fucked up this really exciting place we have.” That perspective seeps into his designs through googly-eyed characters, flowers, and patchwork details that feel like they were taken out of a child’s sketchbook. It’s not an angsty teen’s rebellion but a more innocent way of addressing the problems of the industry.
You’ll find hoodies reworked from vintage Russell and Champion blanks, each featuring “Whimsical Little Buggers,” Samuels’ hand-cut, patchworked mascot. His FO Baggy Tees and Shirts combine two vintage pieces into one, creating a playful oversized silhouette.
Today, Samuels runs his brand with a team of eight in London. Every garment is cut, sewn, and finished in-house. Everything is made to order, avoiding deadstock or leftover inventory. That model naturally limits scale, but it also builds intimacy with customers.
“We’ve got people who buy two or three things from every launch. Seeing the same names pop up again and again feels like community,” says Samuels.
He has also started to focus more on the brand’s marketing strategy, realizing consumers might not even know the clothes were upcycled or bespoke. That shift has meant educating buyers about patience. Orders take around two to four weeks, and Samuels often responds personally to questions about shipping. Most customers are understanding of the lengthy wait times one Samuels explains the meticulous process that goes into making their one-of-a-kind item. In a world conditioned by immediacy and next-day delivery, his insistence on slowness feels defiant in its own right.
When asked about the journey the brand has taken so far, Samuels says, “It’s been slow.” Though seeing Little Simz wear his pieces felt validating, he pointed to two personal moments that stand out more than any celebrity co-sign or pop-up event. The first was when he perfected the pattern for what would become the brand’s signature FO baggy trousers, extremely wide-legged pants with two front pleats and a fitted waist. Each pair is individually modified and mended as needed. The FO range has since expanded to include denim versions and shorts, cementing its place as the label’s core offering.
“At the time it felt insignificant, but four years later that shape completely changed my life.”
The second moment was recently while driving home at 4 a.m. after a 20-hour studio day. “I was knackered, but I realized I was the happiest I’d been in a while. Grateful to have something I love enough to do that for.”
As for the future, he refuses to over-plan. “I want it to fly and soar, but I’m taking it day by day. Be like water.”
As he prepares to bring his brand to ComplexCon, he hopes to recreate a studio atelier on the convention floor. He’ll debut a limited-edition run of his FO series, including tees, shirts, trousers, jeans, and shorts. He hopes visitors will walk away not just with clothes, but with a new understanding of how old garments can be given fresh life.