11 DECEMBER 18-24, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | it’s an extra step that I don’t have to do,” he explains. “I can just go thrift a really dope pair of jeans. Because every single pair of pants or jacket has its own oil stain or rip or tear. It already has a pre-loved look to it, and that’s something that I appreciate.” It also keeps fabric waste to a minimum. “Especially as of late, I truly try and make sure I use even the smallest bit of fabric,” he says. Ryuju may not have the antidote, but at least he provides an alternative to fast fash- ion: “I want to use this as a way to show that I’m not part of the problem. There’s millions and millions of pounds of clothes in landfi lls. One person isn’t going to make a difference, but at least I’m making the attempt. That’s a huge thing.” Last fall, Ryuju made his Denver Fashion Week debut during its sustainability show and realized his approach is different from that of other designers, even within the sustainable fashion realm. “A lot of them are buying clothes from thrift stores, and just us- ing that as if they made them. Whereas for my runway show, I made thirteen top-to-bottom outfi ts. That kind of blew people’s minds,” remembers Ryuju. “I had some models say, ‘I do both seasons every year, and to this day, your show was my favorite.’ Because there is a lot of craftsmanship involved, but I’m also just kind of a chiller. Like, they were asking me what makeup or hair I wanted, and I remember putting in the chat, ‘Whatever makes you feel confi dent, beautiful, cool, whatever.’” For Ryuju, the point is to focus on the actual clothes, rather than distracting the eye with over-the-top hair and makeup ac- coutrements: “In all those runway shows, they have all these hair and makeup people that make the models look so fucking crazy, and there’s nothing wrong with that, because there is an art in that, but my viewpoint is that you should let your work do the talking.” Recently, Ryuju was invited to partici- pate in an emerging designers showcase in Cannes this May, hosted by Reich’Art Group. “I’ll be presenting six looks, and I think I’m really going to focus on the indigo blue look and make that the whole theme. If it does pan out the way I think it will, that’s just a way for Ryuju Collective to be more global, instead of just in Denver,” he says. He started a GoFundMe to crowdfund for the participation fee and travel, and while he’s confi dent that one day he’ll be invited to participate in shows for free, he also sees himself eventually producing his own fash- ion shows. “There’s going to be a point, hope- fully, where I don’t even need that, where I’ll have enough funds and people that support me where I can go out to New York and have my own warehouse, have my own runway show and make it a whole production. I feel like I have the knowledge and connections to do that, but that shit ain’t cheap. I think in the next two to three years I’ll be able to do it.” For now, Ryuju plans to keep building a clientele of those in the know and consis- tently level up his brand. “I have a website and all this stuff, but it’s sort of an ‘If you know, you know’ type of thing, and I love that right now. I’m taking this cult follow- ing kind of route. I think with the trajectory of growth that I’ve had in the last six months, in a few years, I truly think I can be this big brand. I think you have to be ambitious, and a little bit delusional,” he says. He’s also now reframing the Ryuju Collective brand as a fashion line rather than presenting himself as a creative jack-of-all-trades. “I don’t want the brand to be like, ‘Oh, you do everything.’ I feel like that’s what I used to do, and it was hard to really put myself in a category as a designer, because I was doing everything.” While Ryuju is always open to commissions, he recognizes that most people aren’t splurging on bespoke pieces, and it takes a certain type of person to rock a Ryuju Collective piece. “I will take commissions, but if I don’t have commissions, it’s not like I’m not working. The thing is, I defi nitely work with budgets, but the prices I set for the pieces that I make on my own are so high. Also, the average Joe just doesn’t wear my stuff,” he admits. That being said, Ryuju has had so much interest from people who want to support and wear his designs that he went back to his screenprinting roots and started offering hats and T-shirts with the Ryuju Collective logo. The logo, a dragon skeleton he drew based on a fossil, is a nod to “Ryuju,” mean- ing “dragon tree.” It’s a reminder to himself that Ryuju Collective is his ever-evolving brainchild, and ultimately his personal ar- tistic expression. “So many people are like, ‘I want to be the next Louis Vuitton,’” Ryuju says. “I just want to be Josh.” Visit the Ryuju Collective website at ryujucollective.com to learn more about the brand. Email the author at [email protected]. Every Ryuju collective piece features sewing, dying, distressing, or painting done by hand. JASON ALFARO
