Gil Joe Vs Gilbert Joseph: A marriage of music and now, fashion

Most people would call him the pioneer of the now-buzzing “Afro gospel” subculture sweeping over the international music market. Others would swear that has been their favourite African musician over the last decade, but not so many know that Gilbert Joseph – professionally called Gil Joe – has been styling iconic fashion pieces for the past couple of years.

“Fashion has always been natural for me since I was a kid,” he confessed during this chat with Guardian. “It is one form of self expression that I deeply admire and enjoy creating. I randomly put clothings together in my closet sometimes just to feel good looking in the mirror. That’s some therapy for me and I still do it till date.”

He speaks gracefully about his love for style and wants the world to know that even as he has conquered the journey of making soulful faith-based sounds since the age of 17, he is set to grab styling like the horn of a bull and again do exploits through art.

Our conversation with the ‘Christian Baller’ on his exciting fusion of fashion and faith, and other exciting style facts follows:

When people meet Gilbert Joseph the person, and Gil Joe the artist, would they be meeting two different people?
That’s a very good question; I think before now, my answer could have been “Yes, they’d be meeting two different people”, because Gil Joe as an Artist mostly embodies my music career so that’s been the most thing people relate to that name, but I’m a person and my whole life is way more than just my music. In the present phase I’m in, I’d definitely say “Nah, they’d be meeting the same person” because going forward I’m leaning more towards putting my whole journey out there so yeah, they’d be meeting the same person.

How does fashion inspire you?
Fashion has always been natural for me since I was a kid, it’s one form of self expression that I deeply admire and I enjoy it’s creative beauty. I randomly put clothings together in my closet sometimes just to feel good looking in the mirror, that’s some therapy for me and I still do it till date.

How long have you worked in fashion and in what capacities?
Because of my music life, I’ve not had the chance to chase my fashion aspirations on the level I always wanted, but I’ve done a good number of styling jobs since the past five years and now looking to start my own fashion brand called Gilbert Joseph.

As a Christian artist, how are you able to infuse fashion into your work and have your audience connect to it?
Faith to me is full of art if you have a creative mind to see it, so that’s an easy blend. Most of my core music fans definitely know I am fond of fashion, though the most I’ve done yet in relation to infusing both careers is in Merch designs. I personally designed the Merchs for my tours and the last concluded AfroGospel Festival held in Toronto & Montreal Canada, where we sold out all the Merchs and had people placing orders at both concerts to have it delivered.

Is your stay in fashion long-term? Or something simply for the season?
Definitely long-term, it’s something I could never grow weary of and I have international goals, so it’s def long-term.

What’s your favorite fashion item?
These days I’m beginning to find dope cross-bags interesting and I always carry mine everywhere, they’re super helpful in carrying my phone and gadgets lol so I guess it’s a new fav.

What are your short-term aspirations in the fashion scene?
Right now I’m focused on styling international mid-market brands and helping them evolve in their marketplace. Also attending as much fashion shows as I can, meet people in that world and find opportunities to build with other creative minds. Hopefully have my first niche-design in a few years that would make a breakthrough.

What’s your biggest styling challenge?
For now getting the right exposures, but it’s one step at a time on this side, so zero rush.

Comfort or style?
Style all day. Comfort is a major plus though.

In what ways are you hoping to merge your arts as a musician and a stylist?
To be honest, going forward I’d come out more pushing both sides of myself equally. It’s like Kanye, a full-time artist and a designer like-wise.

At the end of the day, how would it all make sense for you? What would be your benchmark of fulfillment?

Seeing the world wear my designs and appreciate my creativity. https://youtu.be/k12NUt3i8Hc?si=ImWUDZ7yw5sQJPFr