Chef Josh Boutwood Being a Fashion Brand Ambassador Makes Perfect Sense

The first question I asked Chef Josh Boutwood, somewhat playfully, is how it feels to add “model” to his long list of credentials.

“Model, yeah. That’s definitely what I am not,” he says plainly. “I think when it came to BOCU, you know, I actually liked what they’re doing.”

The partnership with the clothing brand under Golden ABC—the same group behind Penshoppe, Regatta, OXGN, FORME, and MEMO—was unexpected, he says. Earlier this year, just a few months after he was named the country’s only two-star Michelin chef, he was contacted by the someone from the brand asking if he’d be interested to become its brand ambassador. Boutwood—whose kitchens are known for precision, restraint, and a deep respect for ingredients—is not someone who describes himself as fashion-forward.

“Okay, so I’m somebody who doesn’t go out looking for—gonna sound really bad and negative—but I don’t go out looking for clothes,” he admits. “I literally send my wife a list of things that I need, and she knows exactly the styles that I like. Because I don’t have much time. So that’s the extent of my fashion.

“For me in clothes, because I’m such a simple person, I wasn’t that into it,” he added. “I wasn’t excited. I said to them, ‘Look, I can’t endorse anything that I don’t believe in.’”

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The turning point came not from a pitch deck but from touch.

“The day they sent stuff, I opened the box, and I started to feel what it was like…From the first top that I put on from them, I was like, I’m good with this. I like this. This is just up my street.”

I asked what it was about those first few pieces from BOCU that drew him to the brand and made him say yes to the invitation.

 “I like textures, right?” he answered. “So, no matter where I go, I always feel something. I want to know what it feels like.

The first piece he tried was a collared shirt. “The moment I felt that, I was overwhelmed with the quality. It had a great stretch to it. It felt light, but it wasn’t light. Structured, but it was soft at the same time—and breathable. Of course, in our weather, breathable is always a good thing.”

But it was the chinos that sealed the deal. During our conversation, he pointed to the pants he was wearing, which he says are from BOCU.

“I have a hard time sometimes with my pants around the crotch area,” he says with a grin. “They’re not a snug fit, which I’m not a fan of, but the (BOCU pants), they feel right.”

That emphasis on feel, fit, and function echoes BOCU’s summer philosophy: stripped back to what matters most. The collection captures the calm that comes after the rush of a season. It’s an invitation for wearers to slow down, to dress with intention, to appreciate material and movement.

BOCU, which Golden ABC’s Bryan Liu says was a brand born out of the pandemic when he and his siblings didn’t have much to do, is known for elevated minimalism and refined silhouettes. The brand says it found in the chef a kindred spirit: someone guided by process, texture, and quiet confidence rather than spectacle.

Boutwood sees the collaboration as more than coincidence. “I always believe that the universe works in mysterious ways,” he says. “Maybe this was a good sign of the universe telling me, ‘Josh, you need to do something with your style. You’re aging. You now have two stars. Maybe you need to actually look okay when you go out—and maybe not just okay, maybe look better.’”

But what resonates most deeply with Boutwood is that BOCU is Filipino.

“What makes me even more proud of it is that it’s a Filipino brand,” he says. “Representing our own companies and our own brands really makes it a little bit more special for me. It’s not a worldwide brand recognizable by international people, but a brand that is homegrown, creates clothes for us as a culture, and adapted to our current climate at the same time—with impeccable quality.”

The announcement of the partnership between BOCU and Boutwood was made during an intimate media dinner at Helm, which is, of course, the chef’s own Michelin-starred restaurant. Instead of a proper launch, it felt more like a casual get-together among friends, meant to celebrate excellence, function, and a refined lifestyle, which are all things Boutwood represents so effortlessly.