London-based designer Joshua Samuels has built his latest collection around a world that most fashion brands would rather avoid: rubbish. The new Rubbish Collection is a deliberately small four-piece capsule made entirely from existing clothes and reclaimed materials, turning discarded garments and leftover fabrics into something completely wearable again. The collection is available now exclusively through Joshua Samuels, with every piece made to order by the brand’s London team.
Four Pieces, Plenty of Previous Lives
The capsule includes the Waste of Space Crew, Waste of Space Flannel, Rubbish Tee and Rubbish Cap, with each piece beginning life somewhere else. True vintage sweatshirts, flannels and single-stitch graphic tees become the foundations, while reclaimed vintage canvas and knitwear are cut apart and worked back into the garments.
Across the collection, three processes define the approach: screen printing, appliqué and embroidery. Coloured lettering is screen printed individually onto reclaimed red, yellow and green vintage knitwear, creating a finish that feels handmade.
The Rubbish Tee pushes that idea even further. Each one is printed over an existing true vintage graphic, meaning the original artwork remains visible and becomes part of the final design. The resukt makes every garment slightly different, with no two pieces exactly alike.
Making Something From What Was Left Behind
There is a certain honesty to the Rubbish Collection. The clothes used for it have already been discarded by somebody, while the canvas and knitwear have already had lives of their own. Instead of hiding that history, Joshua Samuels makes it the starting point.
The approach continues a wider interest in reclaimed materials, vintage garments, waste and reuse, but the Rubbish Collection refuses to treat those ideas too seriously. The name becomes part of the joke and part of the message as well.
With just four pieces, the capsule is limited. Every garment is made to order by Joshua Samuels team in London.
