Michael Cox is on a mission to spread positivity through fashion. His streetwear brand, SoGo, uplifts Chicago’s undeniable contributions to pop culture, sports and more.
“There’s just a lot of stuff that goes on in this country that can’t be told without Chicago,” Cox told The TRiiBE. According to Cox, when it comes to sports and fashion in particular, Chicago cannot be left out of the conversation. “I feel like SoGo was a way to do that,” he said.
Cox’s brand has a beautiful simplicity to it. The SoGo name alone, a shortened version of So Chicago, represents the pride and allegiance that every Chicagoan has to the city.
He’s got trucker hats and shirts with the words “God Bless” the West Side, South Side or Chicago, catering to folks on both sides of town; and T-shirts and bucket hats with “Cool. Chi. Kid” written on them. In 2023, he designed the two main shirts for a release with West Side native Joe FreshGoods (JFG) and the Chicago Blackhawks for a merit-based store at Michele Clark Magnet High School through JFG’s nonprofit, Community Goods.
One of Cox’s most recent drops is a “Checagou” hockey jersey, with the area code 312 on the back. The word Chécagou is said to be the French butchered translation of the Indigenous word “shikaakwa” for a wild onion and garlic that grew in the area in the 1600s.
“When I design my pieces, I want to make a statement,” Cox said.
Cox, 38, is a West Side native. His story starts in the Austin neighborhood where he grew up. He attended Francis Scott Key Elementary School and Frederick Douglass Middle School. For high school, he and his best friend Robert Jenkins went to Lane Tech College Prep on the North Side. That’s when he took up graphic design as a hobby.
“We literally were kindred souls since we were like three years old,” Cox said about Jenkins.
Jenkins, 31, passed away in 2017 after suffering a heart attack while playing basketball. With the help of friend and designer Corey Williams of the brand Always Grévyi, Cox honored his friend by making commemorative hats and shirts. Already familiar with graphic design, Cox would rediscover a love for design and art all over again.
“I just wanted to make some things that were in memory of him,” Cox said.
Although the commemorative merch was only available to close friends and family, Cox’s inner circle pushed him to pursue his talents. “Life is too short to be sitting on talents and stuff that you like and [are] interested in,” he said.
In 2018, Cox launched So Chicago, SoGo for short, as a clothing brand.
It’s Cox’s drive, passion, and love for his city that has propelled his brand to the next level. In 2020, he partnered with former WNBA player, gold medalist and Chicago native Linnae Harper for a back-to-school event at Kenwood Academy High School.
There, he made a connection with a young man who purchased some clothing from Cox. A year later, that same young man ended up working for Footlocker’s marketing team which, at the time, had an initiative to work with local businesses. From October 2021 to December 2022, the retail chain dropped four different SoGo releases in more than 15 stores across Chicago.
According to Cox, it was the top selling and most successful collaboration for the retailer’s Homegrown program in the Midwest.
“You never know how things are connected in Chicago and how it works,” he said.
As a former member of Lane Tech’s basketball team, Cox designed a warmup for the team. Getting the inspiration from Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan’s rookie season warmups, Cox found a way to tell stories through his designs.
“I wanted to honor our school,” Cox said. “I had this vision of being able to put something on them that was cool and [still] be able to represent nostalgia of Chicago, but also represent my school.”
An instant hit in the community, the SoGo brand got even more exposure when fellow Lane Tech alumni and NFL offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson donned the fit.
“He wore that in the tunnel walk to Thursday Night Football during the game this season. It really took off,” Cox said.
Today, the SoGo brand is sold in Cox’s brick and mortar location, called The Crib, which he opened in November 2021 at 815 N. Marshfield Ave. in Noble Square.
“I feel like The Crib is a term that we use in Chicago a lot. I feel like it originated here,” Cox said. “That’s something that we affectionately call Chicago, so it just made sense to me.”
Right now, the store operates on appointment only, due to what Cox called a “fickle” winter shopping market in Chicago. Cox said customers can email or message SoGo at any time, and when store hours permit, they can come to the store location for pick up.
During the spring and summer months, “The Crib” is open on weekends. Cox has plans to use the space as a multi-purpose event venue in the future.
“I just didn’t know what even went into owning a store, but I also didn’t know what went into owning your own business, either,” Cox said. “You just kind of learn on the fly.”
For the future, Cox plans to take his brand to new heights. He’s working on some partnerships with some major companies that can’t be revealed to the public just yet. Moving forward, Cox said his main goal is to “keep impacting the city.”
“My goal is the same goal that I had when I started, that’s to put on for my city and to put a better narrative and a great narrative out there every day that I represent the brand,” he said.
The post Streetwear designer Michael Cox sends blessings to Chicago through his SoGo brand appeared first on The TRiiBE.
