Samuel Taylor, former professional baseball player turned fashion designer and owner and creator of fashion brand Silent Panda, is set to premiere his ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 2022 collection at Tokyo and New York Fashion Weeks. Taylor will make history as the first Black American menswear designer to be featured in Rakuten Tokyo Fashion Week.
“Participating in Rakuten Tokyo Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week are great honors, and I am truly humbled,” Taylor said in response to the news. “Starting from an assistant designer almost two decades ago and now being on this stage is a tremendous blessing that I will never take for granted. I want to thank the entire committee of Rakuten Tokyo Fashion Week and New York IMG ‘The Shows’ for giving a kid from Oakland, California the opportunity to display his talents on a worldwide stage. To God be the glory.”
With Silent Panda, Taylor merges his love of sports with technology to create the edgy, luxury streetwear line. The brand boasts a wide range of menswear, including tees and tops, sweatshirts, bottoms, suits, outerwear and sweats. Silent Panda also offers a womenswear line that features dresses, outerwear and sweatshirts.
Silent Panda speaks to the next wave of consumers that look for authenticity, convenience and personalization. The designer brand utilizes technology and innovative concepts to design, market and sell footwear and apparel to both domestic and international markets.
Proving to be a true tech and lifestyle brand, each Silent Panda design is enabled with a unique QR code to allow consumers to engage with its digital community. This innovative concept creates a unique, community-focused shopping experience for consumers.
Intent on keeping consumers engaged, Silent Panda’s technological format boasts a mobile app eco-system that allows customers to earn bonus points, receive rewards and experience a virtual stylist that provides information on how to wear the product. The goal of the mobile app is to continue building a community of all things fashion that will create an engaging shopping experience for the consumer.
Taylor, a California native, played seven seasons with the California Angels and the Cincinnati Reds. Upon retiring from baseball, Taylor decided to pursue his education and studied exercise and sports science at the University of San Francisco as well as fashion design at the Academy of Art University — merging his love for both sports and fashion.
After completing these programs, Taylor began his design career with Grammy award-winning artists Outkast, creating merchandise and capsule collections for their brand Outkast Clothing. Taylor went on to work in senior design roles with Pac Sun, Levi’s, Old Navy and Tesh before founding Silent Panda in 2017.
“I want to be an inspiration for people that look like me, walk like me, talk like me,” Taylor said of his reasoning behind the creation of Silent Panda. “My father worked hard to provide opportunities for me and my siblings. In understanding that, I’ve had a lifestyle that many haven’t had. Because of this, I’ve been able to break down doors, break down barriers and be relentless with my hustle.”
Taylor currently lives between the Bay Area and Los Angeles and develops Silent Panda’s collections in both Portugal and Japan. The designer draws inspiration from the union of urban fashion and hip-hop culture.
“I want my audience and consumers [of all races and ethnic backgrounds], to see someone from the inner city and the suburbs that has played sport to the highest level but has also had the opportunity to transition themselves out of that occupation and put themselves into another realm and still be successful,” said Taylor. “I’m here to say that it can happen.”
The luxury streetwear brand ranges in price from $75 to $875, and can be purchased directly through the brand’s website, silentpanda.com.
Rakuten Tokyo Fashion Week will take place from August 30 to September 4, while New York Fashion Week will be held between September 8 and September 14.
