When Jefferson Osei, Abderrahmane Trabsini, and Hussein Suleiman founded Daily Paper in 2008, their goal was to share their unique take on streetwear.
What began as a blog highlighting the fashion, music, style, and African influences of three young friends in Amsterdam quickly evolved into something much bigger. United by their shared African heritage—Osei’s roots in Ghana, Suleiman’s in Somalia, and Trabsini’s in Morocco—they built a strong online and offline community.
Since its humble beginnings, Daily Paper has grown into a $30 million global brand with a loyal customer base. The brand, which started as an attempt to bridge the gap between the founders’ African heritage and contemporary fashion, has become known for its authentic approach to streetwear.
The blog’s success created demand for something tangible, leading Osei and his friends to launch their first collection of five branded T-shirts. Today, Daily Paper releases drop-based collections that merge contemporary streetwear with traditional prints and patterns inspired by their African roots.
“You have people who are completely unfamiliar with those cultures buying into [Daily Paper’s African-inspired products], just through our clothing, strong visuals, and storytelling. The most beautiful thing is that we’re showcasing a whole different section of our culture, where we come from, and people are basically accepting it in a more abstract and contemporary way,” Osei said of the brand’s strategy.
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Daily Paper shines a spotlight on the intersection of African culture and the diaspora community. The founders blend the influences of their Western upbringings in the Netherlands with traditional African elements.
Their designs feature traditional prints, unique masculine silhouettes, and a logo that is a modern interpretation of the Maasai shield, traditionally used by the Maasai tribe in East Africa. Their Autumn/Winter 2021 collection, dubbed ‘Ancestral Anarchy,’ was inspired by “tribal societies, togetherness, and community.”
The brand has successfully leveraged collaborations and partnerships to fuel its growth. For its 10th anniversary, Daily Paper partnered with Adidas to design jerseys for Dutch football club AFC Ajax.
They’ve also collaborated with Nigerian musician WizKid, sportswear giant Puma, and Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum in an initiative aimed at bringing awareness of the museum to a younger, more diverse crowd.
In December 2020, Daily Paper teamed up with Off-White and Ghanaian collective Surf Ghana to create the first-ever skate park in Ghana. A charitable collection featuring Off-White x Daily Paper T-shirts and bucket hats sold out in just 15 minutes.
Daily Paper has expanded beyond its flagship store in Amsterdam, opening locations in London and New York. In just five years, the brand’s revenue soared from $500,000 to more than $30 million. The success of Osei, Trabsini, and Suleiman is a testament to the African immigrant dream.
“We all come from African households. In terms of the way we were brought up by our parents, they all migrated from the African continent for a better life in a Western society. We have a similar type of hunger to do well in society and not to waste the opportunity our parents gave us,” Osei said, reflecting on the success of Daily Paper.
