Sampson Yaw Somuah’s childhood in a tailor household was far from glamorous. Born into a family that has worked in fashion for over four decades, he grew up wearing outfits his parents stitched for him from leftover scraps. It was a reality that made him stand out in ways he resented. “I was being teased… I told myself I’ll work hard in the future and buy my own clothes.” Ironically, the medium he avoided became the very foundation he was meant to build. After junior high, Sampson joined the Kokrobitey Institute, a hub focused on sustainable fashion—the exact world he had been running from. What felt like an accident became alignment. He’d found his direction.

At the Kokrobitey Institute, Sampson learned fast, experimented constantly, and eventually became the fashion department manager. His family initially struggled to see the value in this path; they wanted him to be a doctor or a nurse. Sampson argued that he was doing the same work: “I’m really putting life into something that was rejected.” Everything shifted when he showed up at Lagos Fashion Week with his team. “I showed my parents the video and they said ‘Wow, you’re getting somewhere.’”

His designs are deeply personal conversations. The Asasa Denim Trench Coat perfectly captures his philosophy of duality, or what he calls “the human way.” “The denim coat feels strong on the outside, but I use old men’s shirts to make the inside soft. I do this because people can seem tough, but are gentle inside.” He stitches these contrasting textures together to mirror the human personality.

His pieces also serve as a bridge between cultures. Sampson merges European denim with Ghana’s weaving traditions, treating the garment like a map of his history. He views denim as a product of the Global North, while the woven elements represent his own culture, akin to Kente. He stitches these worlds together to keep his culture central to the jacket’s identity.

The process itself forms a bond between the creator and the work. For Sampson, the most personal moment is the design phase. He spends hours laying down scraps, experimenting with different shapes and shades of blue. It’s a slow, intentional practice. While he works with denim, bedsheets, and corduroy, he admits that T-shirts are the most difficult material to master. Yet, he persists, hiding seams and making jackets reversible to maximize the utility of every scrap.

Looking forward, he plans to deepen his experimentation with natural dyes and textiles. He has already worked with materials like turmeric and kola nuts. He appreciates the impermanence of these natural elements. “One thing about turmeric is it’s like nature. As you wash it, it fades, just like as we grow we also fade.”

Sampson’s ambitions are clear: Lagos, Amsterdam, and Paris. He is looking toward a future where people encounter his designs in major retail spaces. “I want to collaborate with shops and have my designs in them.” The momentum he is building is already bigger than anything holding him back.