Daily Paper co-founder Jeff Osei spoke to the Mirror about turning a small Amsterdam blog into a £25 million global brand and how they’re rewriting the story of Africa through fashion
Before Daily Paper became a £25 million fashion brand worn across the world, it was just a small blog run by three friends Jefferson Osei, Abderrahmane Trabsini and Hussein Suleiman in Amsterdam.
Launched in 2008, long before the rise of influencers, the blog was built to celebrate their shared cultures, rooted in their Ghanaian, Moroccan and Somali heritage.
Co-founder Jefferson Osei spoke on a panel at Black Tech Fest, reflecting on how culture inspired the business, and later spoke to The Mirror in an exclusive interview.
“It was a blog about the lifestyle of Amsterdam creatives hosting exhibitions, events, and basically capturing the lifestyle of young talents via our blog,” Jeff said on the panel on October 9th 2025.
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“We started to print t-shirts literally to promote the blog, and at that point we felt like, okay, this can turn into something big. Blogging at that time you can compare it to vlogging today,” he explains.
While they never set out to build an empire, what began as a creative outlet soon became a movement. Now, with stores in Amsterdam, London and New York, Jeff says their mission is bigger than clothes – it’s about rewriting the story of Africa through fashion.
“We’re doing it for the future generation to show them it’s possible,” Jeff told The Mirror. “Celebrating your culture or your identity is very important, we use fashion as a catalyser, but you can use so many different platforms to celebrate that.”
From printing a few T-shirts to promote their blog, the trio quickly realised their blog could start to look at other avenues – designing and selling clothes.
Their bold graphics and bright colourways stood out at a time when most streetwear leaned towards minimalism and monochrome. Inspired by their roots, they began designing pieces that represented African heritage in a contemporary way – a response to what was dominating fashion at the time.
As demand grew, they started taking their designs offline, setting up pop-up stores across Europe to connect with their community.
“Before we ever opened a store in Amsterdam and in London, we did pop-up stores to check if our audience really wanted to have a physical space for daily paper.”
Each one grew bigger than the last from two-week events to six-month pop ups until they secured a permanent store in Amsterdam West, the neighbourhood where they grew up.
Now, with stores in Amsterdam, London and New York, Daily Paper has become a global symbol of cultural pride showing that what started as a blog between friends has evolved into a worldwide movement.
But outside of their global presence their mission goes far beyond fashion – it’s about changing how Africa is seen.
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“Basically, African culture was being portrayed from a very folklore perspective,” he explained. “Either very traditional or very much focused on poverty. The perception of Africa as a whole was not positive.”
Jeff told the Mirror that view was created by people “not from the continent,” and Daily Paper wanted to challenge it. “People were just capturing and portraying certain imagery just to keep that stigma alive.”
But the trio knew that was not Africa as they know it, they travel there and see how it is and they wanted to make it visible.
Five years ago the brand hosted their first pop-up in Ghana during the Year of Return. “It showcased the diaspora, like, hey, our country is actually beautiful,” Jeff said. “Now every year in December it’s packed but I want to see people create something tangible.
That connection to culture, Jeff says, began at home. “My mum always told me, you live in this country, but don’t forget where you come from and I’ve always carried that with me. From my hairstyles to my clothing choices, I’ve always carried that identity with me.”
Through Daily Paper, they have built a space that celebrates that dual identity. “We celebrate this grey area where you live in, because out here they see you as the immigrant, the African, and where we’re from, they also see you as the European or the privileged one,” he said.
He added: “We’re trying to create that safe space. But at the end of the day, we all come from the motherland. So it’s important to plant seeds.”
For Daily Paper, what began as a few post on a small blog has grown into something bigger than fashion and more than a decade later, the same creativity that fuelled the early post drives everything the brand stands for.
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