But do you know Lou?
How a chance meeting at Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze’s Poetics of Space led me to the most architectural, utility-forward cargos in my closet.
I first met Lou Badger through the artist Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze.
I was at Ruby’s presentation of The Poetics of Space at Mariane Ibrahim Gallery in Mexico City, watching how Ruby explores the relationship between the body and architecture. It was the perfect introduction to Lou’s world. Just as Ruby uses drawing to navigate open, non-linear spaces, Lou uses fabric to create garments that feel like wearable sculptures.
That by chance Saturday Gallery hop turned into a Mr. Dress-up tickle trunk situation at The Lou Badger Studio with me, Ruby, Lou and friends.
If you’ve been following the ghost brands post from Friday, you know I have a physical aversion to the $600 polyester-blend blazer. SICK TO MY STOMACH FAM *insert stereotypical Toronto roadie accent*.
I’ve spent time looking backward at the 90s to find quality and now we’re moving to today as we dive into the world of Lou.
While eco-friendly is often about damage control, Ancestral Sustainability is about Redemption. It’s a framework that views clothing not as a disposable commodity, but as a site of cultural and environmental continuity.
In ancestral sustainability, the designer doesn’t hide the past of a material; they redeem it. Lou uses deadstock fabrics (high-end leftovers from the industry) and pre-loved textiles, treating the idiosyncrasies—the unique fades, textures, or limited yardage—as the garment’s DNA. It acknowledges that the fabric had history before it ever touches your skin.
The Artist as Muse: Lou’s Personal Style
To understand the brand, you have to look at Lou. Just look. OMG.
Joy. Freedom. Colour. Softness. Energetic. Magnetic Aura.
On Instagram (@louphoria_), Lou embodies a freedom collage —the radical idea that we are not a single, static thing, but an intentional assembly of our own making. It’s a masterclass in hybridity: taking reclaimed archival remnants and ancestral silhouettes and collaging them into a new, liberated identity.
Their personal style pairs high-concept utility with a soft, queer, and deeply Black aesthetic, proving that how we dress is how we determine our own names and contexts. An account you could literally get into a deep scroll and feel like you know them.
This is a designer who lives in their own prototypes. When you see Lou in their pieces, you see the redemption philosophy in action: taking deadstock fabrics and redeeming them into silhouettes that command space with heavy intentionality.
The Piece in My Closet: The Lou Cargos
I don’t just admire the brand from afar; I live in it. I own a pair of Lou’s cargos, and they are, quite simply, the most considered trouser I own.
The weight of the fabric is significant. In an era where everything feels flimsy, these have a gravity to them. They feel like they were built to last a century, not a season.
Styled with Alaia heels, LV bag, Mango glasses and Anoeses corset.
I’m also obsessed with the Boost Bag which will be my next purchase and the Hatties I see being so effortlessly worn by the likes of June Ambrose and my Pisces sister Erykah Badu.
You can also book Custom Project Consultations with Lou !
Where to Buy
Lou’s own site is the heartbeat, but for unique drops and curated edits, keep this tab refreshed:
• TwoTwo: For the most cutting-edge, ‘where artists play’ edits.
Inspired by Ruby O.’s Poetics of Space, here is how I’ve styled Lou’s volume:
Pair the Lou Badger cargos with a vintage silk scarf (I tied this Chanel scarf as a top). The contrast between the rugged utility and the delicate silk is where the outfit hits IMO.
Because Lou’s pieces are sculptural, let them be the main event. Keep accessories minimal and heavy —think a single thick silver cuff or a structured leather bag.
CDMX Connect
Lou sources and produces heavily in Mexico City. There is a specific grit and craftspersonship here—a heavy-handedness with leather and canvas—that mirrors Lou’s ancestral sustainability. When you buy a piece made here, you are supporting a local ecosystem of makers who understand that luxury is found in the hand of the maker.
The Final Fixation
Ultimately, this is why I do the deep dives. A sense of ‘lemme put you on’, friend to friend. In a world of algorithmic trends, we have to fight to find the independent visionaries who are actually moving the needle.
Platforms like TwoTwo aren’t just stocking Lou because they look good on a grid—they recognize that Lou is creating the future archival grails of our generation.
These are the pieces that 20 years from now, someone like me will be hunting for on whatever the new eBay is, obsessing over the weight of the canvas and the redemption of the fibers.
But you don’t have to wait 20 years. You can support the lineage now.
Go explore the world of Lou here.
If you didn’t know Lou before, now you do.
XO AMY SHIO