Soji Solarin wants you to rethink streetwear. Since founding his eponymous label in 2017, the Berlin-based designer has been making clothes with precision and purpose.
Citing Yohji Yamamoto, Ozwald Boateng, Jil Sander, and Ann Demeulemeester as design influences, Solarin’s version of streetwear is one that favours meticulous tailoring. Across his collections, you’ll find structured track pants and sculptural outerwear, all designed to be worn in cities and streets, on foot and in transit. Here is a designer who is interested in making clothes for real people, real places, and real life. For Solarin, to design is to observe — and there is no better subject than life itself.
Following the launch of his Spring Summer 2025 collection, Pigeons Fly, we spoke to Solarin about his design approach, his changing relationship to technology, and the importance of craftsmanship.
Thanks for speaking with me today. Let’s start with some bio. You were born in Nigeria and moved to the United States in your early teens. What was it like growing up between these two places?
Of course, thank you for your interest in me and my work. Moving to America from Nigeria was definitely a huge culture shock. Thinking back to it I feel like I was exposed to such a rich culture and a level of innocence and independence which disappeared as soon as I relocated to America.
What are your earliest memories of fashion? Has design always occupied an important position in your life?
Well, yes. My uncle was a tailor who made suits and traditional Nigerian attire, so I spent time with him at his studio looking at how things were done. My aunts were big into fashion. I remember as a kid, I would change my outfits randomly in the middle of the day for no reason, other than the fact that I was tired of what I was wearing. My family found it amusing and would often encourage it as a joke. In America I realised how much focus people put on clothes, and it clicked to me the level of impact and the statements one can make with clothes.
You founded your label Soji Solarin in 2017. What has surprised you the most about working in the industry as an independent designer?
When I founded my label, I had a supportive group of friends and family who all purchased from the capsule collection I produced. This inspired me to go on to produce a proper collection. Going into it, I thought the results would be the same with a wider audience, but I realised quickly that things are not as easy as I assumed they would be. A wider audience takes much more convincing than friends and family. Everything in fashion costs a lot of money so you either have to come from money or be very good at selling yourself. I’m currently working on being better at selling myself.
You’re currently based in Berlin. What do you like the most about the city and the local culture?
Berlin is a very interesting city. I like how relaxed the lifestyle here is. I feel like you could go to the park at any time of the day and see people hanging out or drinking a beer. I don’t party much anymore but when I do, I appreciate the nightlife here and how self-expressive people get. There is also a supportive community of artists and art consumers. When I first started working on my brand here, I met some very supportive people and easily found collaborators to work with, which made launching my brand more feasible. The Berlin community really helped to realise my brand.
Your recent SS25 collection is titled Pigeons Fly. Can you talk to me about the vision behind this body of work?
The vision behind Pigeons Fly was an ode to online activism for me, which was a pure movement born out of necessity and is now corrupted or should I say commercialised. I don’t mind being commercial with my work, but not my values. So I wanted to focus on something else that is happening at the same time, which is the shift in technology. It feels reminiscent of what we learned in school about the Industrial Revolution. As much as people kicked back against it, it still brought us a bit of freedom. The collection was basically me hoping that the new developments with AI and everything happening in tech will bring about the same level of freedom. Hopefully, we will all have to work less one day, but I am also conscious of the fact that we might just end up seeing more inequality between social classes.
You wrote in your collection note that this project both mourns and celebrates the technological advancements of today, pointing towards the collection’s use of both natural fibres and synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon. How do you navigate the tension between using synthetic materials and their environmental impacts?
Nothing is made out of thin air. While I’m playing with multiple different fabrics in my garments, I am both designing and producing the products with a lot of intent, using mostly deadstock fabric and running limited productions with some of my garments being made to order. I carry fabrics across collections; if I have anything leftover from one collection, I treat it and repurpose it for my next collection, so I try to make sure nothing goes to waste.
I am not at a place yet where I can commission a manufacturer to produce custom fabric for my brand, so I only use what is readily available, which would either be used by someone else, or end up going to waste. Unlike larger industries who produce massive runs of synthetic products with no perspective, I am communicating an idea that maybe doesn’t need to be communicated, but it’s my form of art and this art is my contribution to the world.
I am not at a place yet where I can commission a manufacturer to produce custom fabric for my brand, so I only use what is readily available, which would either be used by someone else, or end up going to waste. Unlike larger industries who produce massive runs of synthetic products with no perspective, I am communicating an idea that maybe doesn’t need to be communicated, but it’s my form of art and this art is my contribution to the world.
How would you describe your relationship to technology? Both in your work and in your personal life?
Personally, I’m not a big fan of technology but I admit defeat. It is a part of my everyday life and not something I can flee from. I am on my phone often because of work, and I use ChatGPT every now and then because it makes things easier. I have a few poems on my website that were edited by ChatGPT because I couldn't wait around looking for rhymes — like what rhymes with dog and is relevant to this poem? I do admit that technology definitely makes life easier, but I think it also makes us a bit complacent.
What I find notable about your designs is how meticulously tailored they are. Whether it’s a trouser or a pair of sweatpants, there’s a certain precision to your approach to streetwear. I’m curious to hear about your design inspirations, or the designers who have most influenced your practice to date.
Thank you so much. A lot of the credit goes to my assistants, who put up with me wanting to get things just right. I’ve always been a fan of designers like Yohji Yamamoto, Ozwald Boateng, Jil Sander, and Ann Demeulemeester. This was before I discovered my style, but I feel like there’s something irreplicable about these designers’ work and you can just see how much effort they put into the garments. My goal going into fashion was to produce work that is as thoughtful and well-crafted as theirs.
What are you most looking forward to in the next few months? Do you have any other exciting projects on the horizon?
The next few months, I am looking forward to possible collaborations. One of them is with a Berlin-based creative studio named AS.C Studio. I was commissioned by them a while back to create a sculpture for Adidas, and now they’ve reached out again to design their studio merchandise. I do love making merch and these are my favourite kinds of collaborations, so it’s pretty exciting to be working with them again.
