Josué Thomas founded the 2017 brand to combine his passions for vintage clothing and art in a coherent vision. Both were influenced by his parents when he grew up. They were both artists and his father, Stefan Gilbert, even a short time operated a label for women's clothing for a short time. In earlier interviews, Thomas said that his preference for vintage clothing stirs that he liked the unique quality of the old pieces in his parents' cupboards. "I always loved and see my parents' old clothes," he said in 2020 in an interview with MR Porter. "You know, my father's old boots, converse and motorcycle jackets. I had an aesthetics for certain pieces early on and I loved something weathered or aged. It has a character, a personality."
Before he operated his own brand, the 36-year-old Thomas worked in Ralph Lauren in his 20s. As one of the few black employees, he quickly realized that the only way to climb the career ladder in the fashion industry was to found his own fire. He started making reconstructed vintage single pieces and sold a poncho in 2016, which he made out of his old things, to Johnny Depp's stylists. The following year Gallery Dept. officially launched.
