Jungles Jungles is the Melbourne-based label creating thoughtful, graphic-heavy streetwear

“I purposefully detach Jungles Jungles from any specific subculture, so that we have the freedom to do whatever we want each season.”

Jungles Jungles has come a long way from its humble beginnings in Melbourne-born Jack Ferguson’s backyard in 2015. Started almost by accident, the graphic-heavy and slogan-centric brand can now be found in high-end stockists across the globe, including those stationed in London, New York, Denmark and Japan (to name a few).

While the subject matter varies across each season’s collection, Jungles Jungles pieces consistently feel as though they’ve come from an alternate realm, where escapism from the “unpleasant realities” of our modern world is front and centre.

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Just like Jack, Jungles Jungle’s collections feel unpretentious, unserious (in the best way) and otherworldly. The same is true of the label’s new FW23 collection, titled I Tried To Sell My Soul, but the Line Was Too Long.  Below, Jack speaks on Jungles Jungles journey and his indifference to the politics of the fashion world.

Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?

I have no fashion background and no business background. I figured out everything from talking to people, making mistakes and learning from them, and working with people who know what they are doing.

How did the label get started? Talk us through the processes and the challenges.

It was never actually meant to come this far, to be honest. I used to screen print T-shirts for bands in my backyard in like 2015/2016. I was also illustrating graphics and having exhibitions under the alter ego name ‘Jungles’… Eventually, the drawings made their way onto T-shirts. Some well-known stores ended up picking it up and stocking the T-shirts in the brand’s infancy, including Dover Street Market, which was very pivotal moment in launching Jungles Jungles globally.

How would you describe Jungle Jungles to someone who’s never seen it before?

It’s a graphic-heavy approach to menswear which is primarily about escapism – the tendency to seek distraction from unpleasant realities. I purposefully detach Jungles Jungles from any specific subculture, so that we have the freedom to do whatever we want each season. The subject matter changes each season, but it always maintains the overriding feeling of escapism.

What are you most proud of in your work on your label?

Aside from being able to wake up every morning knowing I have the freedom to work on my own projects, the best thing that Jungles Jungles has given back to me is the amazing people I have met along the way from all over the world. This is priceless.

What do you wish you knew before you started?

How important and valuable having a team of people around you who know what they are doing is. For a long time, I tried to do a lot myself and while it still worked eventually, I made a lot of mistakes. It definitely could have been smoother.

What about the Australian fashion industry needs to change?

I don’t really think about the state of the fashion industry too much because although we do sell clothes, I don’t consider myself part of it.

Dream Australian collaborators?

We have done lots of collaborations in the past including X-Girl, X-Large, Keith Haring Foundation [and] Nautilus Ocean magazine but to be honest, we are more focused on being our own thing at the moment rather than collaborating. Having said that, we have a fun project with Skylab Radio coming out closer to the end of the year. It’s fun to connect with people who can bring a new cultural element and meaning to garments.

Who is in your wardrobe right now?

Hopefully nobody’s in there, that would be weird!

How can be buy one of your pieces?

We have close to 100 retailers selling Jungles Jungles in 17 different countries at the moment, which you can find on our website. You can also buy things from junglesjungles.com

Anything else to add?

Just that our FW23 collection launches September 27 titled I Tried To Sell My Soul, but the Line Was Too Long. And shout outs to my key staff members Steph, Nick, and Tim for holding it down at the studio, and Jerome for doing our creative writing.

Browse the Jungles Jungles collection here.