Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Foster.
Hi Carlos, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I naturally had a passion for sneakers and clothes since elementary school. My good friend Craig Burney and I would go for hours talking about clothes and sneakers. We even traded our Jordans when we got to school. My mom (Ms. Carla Foster) and Craig’s mother (Mrs. Betty Burney) would go school shopping for us at the St. Augustine Outlet Mall in the summer to buy school clothes every summer. I never realized how much your appearance mattered until I went to school dressed up. Me and my brother (Kirk) wore slacks and clean-cut collar shirts like Duck Head, Lee, Polo, and Guess. We wore our shirts always tucked in our pants. Other kids would wear cool tee shirts, and other kinds of clothes to school. How I was dressed, I did not realize how much I stood out. When I would get in trouble teachers assumed I came from a decent household and my parents cared about me dearly because of how I came to school dressed. They were right! That is where the fashion really started and impacted me. In my early years I would watch television shows growing up, and I remember just being stunned by all of the styles on television shows like Martin, Fresh Prince of Bel Air and A Different World. There were more 80s,90s, and early 2000 shows that I watched moving into middle school which made my love for fashion grow on me even more. I would look at the brands like Polo and Fubu, Jordan etc. When I walked in clothing stores, I would match outfits in my head instantly. I would even talk to myself like “I would have put this on the shirt instead of that”. From attending Gilbert Middle School and going Jackson High School I kept my own urban vintage style. People would acknowledge it from time to time. I even started collecting vintage clothes, shoes, and other items around that time. I just always had a thing for the 80s and especially the 90s era clothing, but it was really just me being me. Even in my Eastside neighborhood I was always known for being “dead fresh” all the time. I went to FSCJ college to be an educator and cut it short because I just felt like it was not for me at that time in my life. I started doing side hustles while working warehouse jobs just living regular and being there for my beautiful family. I realized I was still missing something, but I just could not see what it was at the time. I was starting to realize that just being around fashion and sneakers made me happy, so I produced Pride Apparel in 2016. I made one drop of shirts and shut the brand down because I did not have the right resources and I could not get the clothes to really look how I wanted them to look. It literally only lasted a year. I went back to working my 9 to 5 and it was just something in me telling me to get back to making clothes and involving myself with sneakers. I kept dismissing the feeling I was getting. I even had people who would come up to me randomly asking me to get back to making clothes. They would say “Carlos that is you”. So, on March 20, 2021, my perspective on life changed when I went to a Reeves and Kiy pop up in Miami, Florida. I watch them make something out of nothing with the sneaker they designed. I knew it was a special shoe when I first saw it but how they had thousands of people waiting in line to get the sneaker was just crazy. I’ve been collecting Jordans since High School and never saw a line like that. I was literally the first person in line and got to meet Kiy personally. I told him how he officially stamped his mark in sneaker history. We snapped it up and he gave me a free hoodie out of our greeting for being the first in line. Kiy even signed my sneakers for me! That whole experience was just unforgettable, and on top of that they were independent! I went on this trip with my cousin George, and I literally told him the whole plan I had on the ride back to Jacksonville, Florida on what I was going to do with my brand. He thought I was crazy for waiting in line for shoes overnight. Much respect to Reeves and Kiy for the spark I needed to see. I knew it was possible. When I got back to Jacksonville, I got right on it. I created a logo that I knew would fit the brand and speak volumes forever. The meaning and how I came up with 89 Los originals is 1989 was the year I was born. Los comes from my name Carlos, and “Originals” because that represents me and everything, I stand for related to lifestyle in the fashion world. I was contemplating how to jump back into doing this clothing thing after the first shirts because I was debating if I should get back into starting the brand up again. I had the shirts of course, but my boy Chevy saw the first shirt on facetime. I told him I wasn’t selling them yet, but he ended up buying the first 89 Los Original shirt early. He brought the shirt for $100 because he liked the shirt just that much. That transaction was confirmation for me that it was a go!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No not at all lol. Just believing in your work and yourself is the hurdle you must get over from the jump. You must be confident in your product for someone else to see and like it too. One of the main struggles I have experienced is riding around meeting people to give them merch. It’s a lot of work even though I have a website. I have customers who are local that want merch before they head out to the clubs or events. I love it because I get to interact with my customers. I am truly a people person, and it plays a good part in the end.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I design clothes right now. In the future I want to bring sneakers and other items into the brand as well. I am most proud of the way I make people feel when they wear my clothes. It’s the love, smiles, and the feedback that I get from the people that keeps me going. What sets me apart from other designers are my crazy color ways, quality, and originality.
How do you define success?
Success to me is when you are living comfortably doing what you have a passion for. On top of that inspiring others while giving that knowledge back to the youth with your gift.
Pricing:
- Jackets 150 – 400
- Shirts 40- 70
- Shirts 50- 80
- Pants 100 – 160
- Hats 40- 50
Contact Info:
- Website: 89losoriginals.com
- Instagram: 1989_los_originals
- Facebook: Carlos Foster
Image Credits
Carlos Foster
