Closet Dissecting with Samer Saliba

A frank conversation between two friends, fathers, and clothing aficionados.

It’s a strange thing to talk to a close friend on the record. How do you convincingly ask questions about things you already know the answers to? How do you cover new ground in a way that’s interesting to a reader who doesn’t have the context of your friendship to draw upon? These—among countless others—are questions I’m asking myself. I’m aware that there is a plethora of conversations on this website not dissimilar to the ones I’ll have here. I hope my many years of covering menswear proves to be the difference. I’ve amassed a network of incredible folks from many different walks of life and I’m going to find unique ways to feature as many of them as possible here.

Samer Saliba is someone I’ve photographed and interviewed before. To this day, his Five Fits interview is still one of the most meaningful conversations I’ve had for that column. He’s currently the Director of City Practice at the Mayors Migration Council where he helps cities help migrants and refugees. He’s a good friend and an incredible human. We met years ago at Carson Street. Sam was a customer but like many of our favorite clients, he quickly became a friend. Now, we have sons quite close in age. Sam has given me many garments over the years and I think it makes him happier than it makes me to see them live a second life. He has excellent taste in clothing, but these days he’s looking deeper. Originally I intended to photograph Sam’s home, but in the end, we spent time focusing on some of his most special garments and the intent behind past, present and future purchases. This starts as me interviewing Sam but ends with the roles reversed. I don’t get to tell my story too often, so after the paywall, you’ll get some stories I’ve never told before publicly. We discuss Sam’s favorite brands, forming our own senses of style, fatherhood and its impact, how to parse trends and authenticity, the power of a good pair of jeans, how I first became interested in clothing, the dichotomy between one’s perceived threshold for spending on clothes versus another’s, addressing a spending addiction, and other topics.

Sam at home in his backyard.

Why are these garments on this rack behind us?

Sam Saliba: These are things that I want to keep in my life. So many clothes pass through your life. Sometimes you remember what they are. Sometimes you don't. What I'm trying to do as I get older is hold on to things and then rediscover them later in life, especially now that I have a kid—so everything on this rack is stuff that I hope to enjoy later, but I hope he can enjoy later, because they're just beautiful in and of themselves, but also because I have my own stories behind them, or designers have some of their own stories behind them. For example, this chindi cloth, which you shot me in four years ago, is a collaboration between Stoffa and 11.11, two brands that are run by friends of mine.

Chindi cloth?

SS: It's made in India from scraps of indigo dyed cloth and then sewn on the inside with a circular stitch. That's the only way you can hold it together. Each piece is placed by hand, and it's completely up to the artisan who's putting it together in terms of where things are gonna go. I don't wear this jacket that much. It takes a lot to break it in. But to me, it's a piece of art that I can have forever. It’s also representative of what I really think both Stoffa and 11.11 are really about. It’s just nice for me to have this, and it's more about possessing the thing than it is about wearing it.

Sam showing me some special pieces from his closet including an Adret deadstock Japanese linen shirt-jacket, a pair of custom Oliver Church pants, a hat from Mozambique and a hat from Maiduguri, two places in which he helped to fund people in need.