Owen Otasowie On The Return Of His Streetwear Brand Carsi…

Additional reporting by Milo Osun-Benjamin

In 2021, Owen Otasowie—an ex-professional footballer for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and Belgian First Division’s Club Brugge—launched his own streetwear brand called Carsicko.

Born in New York City with a storied history in the UK and Europe, Otasowie’s label grew to become a popular IYKYK streetwear brand in London due to its bold, yet simple and effective graphics and typography across T-shirt and tracksuits—which mixed boxy and oversized hoodies with slim-to-loose fit track pants (this before many other brands followed suit). After three years of successful business, in August 2024—and with no detailed explanation—Carsicko announced they were closing until further notice; this before making a loud comeback on May 30 with a pop-up in London that saw thousands show up to see Otasowie and glimpses of his brand’s latest collection.

“I just needed some time to explore, find myself, find out what I wanted Carsicko to truly mean, and figure out how I wanted to express my creativity,” Otasowie told us of his earlier decision to put the brand on pause. “I had to take a step back and really dig deep, for myself.” Ten months later, Carsicko is back and raring to go.

We caught up with Owen Otasowie at the Carsicko London pop-up to find out more.

COMPLEX: For those out there who have never heard of Carsicko, how and when did the brand start?
Owen Otasowie: It started when I was playing football. A lot of people know I used to play football, and during that period, I was just going through different states of mind where I didn’t actually want to be a footballer anymore; I always felt like I had something more to give. So, yeah, I got injured at one stage, and that just allowed me to really hone into the clothing side of things. And when I did that, it gave me another avenue to express myself. In the football world, you’re always told to be in a very straight line, and I’ve never really been that kind of person. I’ve always been doing my own shit, so Carsicko definitely gave me that avenue to just express myself in a different way.

And where did the name come from?
I’ll keep that one a secret…

In August 2024, Carsicko announced on social media that it was closing down after running successfully for three years, but you just had a major comeback in London—with thousands of supporters showing up to see your new collection. From that announcement to now, what changed?
I just needed some time to explore, find myself, find out what I wanted Carsicko to truly mean, and figure out how I wanted to express my creativity. I had to take a step back and really dig deep, for myself.

Did you expect so many people to turn up to the pop-up?
To be honest—lowkey: yeah. Lowkey! [Laughs]

How does Carsicko differ from other brands in the streetwear scene right now?
I’ve seen a lot of people try and compare us to many different brands, and I feel like the main thing that I’m going to focus on this year—and that I’ve been focused on—is just fine-tuning the artistic direction and making sure that everything I’m doing has a meaning to it, or a meaning behind it, rather than sometimes just doing things. I used to be very impulsive, whereas now I’ve really taken my time with a lot of things to give it that meaning. The same way people compare us to a lot of other brands, I want them to see the growth and say, “Carsicko is Carsicko.”

What are your thoughts on some people saying that streetwear is dead or dying out?
It’s not dead; it’s just saturated. There are probably a lot of brands that you just don’t know about, a lot of underground brands. And then there’s also a lot of serious brands that might have a private page or just do things super lowkey, but streetwear is always going to be there. As long as the kids want clothes, streetwear is always going to be there.

What does the future look like for Carsicko?
Follow the journey! Everyone who turned up to the pop-up, they are the future. These are people who really fuck with the brand, heavy. They’re the future of the brand. As long as there people who fuck with the brand, there’s always gonna be a future for Carsicko.