To continue my research on African style fashion designer, a fast-rising African fashion brand has caught my attention. Emmy Kasbit, well known for their strong, architectural silhouettes co-operate with traditional West African weaving techniques and creating a fantastic juxtaposition of bold lines, vibrant colours and textures. It is founded in Nigeria in 2014 by Emmanuel Okoro.
Okoro grew up in a remote city in Eastern Nigeria called Abia State, which is significant for its distinct patterns and motifs rooted in Igbo customs. His childhood that spends surrounded by the nature helped him to gain inspirations for each season of Emmy Kasbit’s collections. However, before Okoro set his mind on fashion, he was a university student who studied computer science. Everything sparked beginning by a need to earn an income during Okoro’s university years. He started making clothes for peers. It was the moment that prompted him to advance his tailoring hobby into a full-time job.
“I’m telling an African story with every collection. I can’t tell [an African] story with a Western fabric. [By making my textiles] I can create and customize my motifs based on the inspiration of the season.”
Before Okoro launching his own brand, he worked under established designers and production houses and his experience had honed him with skills of basic making and pattern cutting. In 2014, Emmy Kasbit was birthed out of Okoro’s passion to clothe the unconventional man and woman who believe their outfit is deliberate and not accidental.
Emmy's design is full of a sense of fashion and modern style. In addition to the integration of his original African culture, he also successfully incorporated a lot of trend cutting and combined lots of colour use, which engender a feeling of freshness to the whole effect. Emmy's design style is not complicated as same as the traditional ones, I believe he mainly focuses on the pattern and details. The repetitive pattern is the characteristic of African design, and he also put this element into his design but not that dazzling which make everything clear and I really like it. His clothing pattern catered for most of today's market audience, for instance suit and jacket, which would be easier to attract customers to buy it and accept this colourful culture. Secondly, I also appreciate his use of matching colour, whether they are monochromatic or complementary colour, which all show his personal unique design style and fashion sence.
Research:
Emmy Kasbit - Haute Fashion Africa (HFA). [Online] Haute Fashion Africa. Available from: https://hautefashionafrica.com/designer/emmy-kasbit/ [Accessed 31/05/21].
Desmond, V. 5 African Fashion Designers You Need To Know Now. [Online] Nylon. Available from: https://www.nylon.com/fashion/african-fashion-designers-to-know [Accessed 31/05/21].
Style, B. (2020) Emmy Kasbit shows off the Beauty of Culture With this Arochukwu inspired Collection. [Online] BellaNaija. Available from: https://www.bellanaija.com/2020/01/emmy-kasbit-spring-summer-2020-collection/ [Accessed 01/06/21].
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