Fashion Brand, Emmy Kasbit has released its Autumn/Winter 2019 collection titled ‘Memories: Part II’, a series that explores storytelling highlighting experiences and culture through clothes.
In Igboland and culture, commerce played a major role in uniting people in neighboring villages. In the standard Igbo calendar, there are four days that make up a week and each community has a day assigned to open its markets. These four days are referred to as market days, namely: Eke, Orie, Afor, Nkwo. To reference this culture in the collection, the brand has assigned colors to signify each day: Eke – brown; Orie – Red; Afor – blue; Nkwo – black.
These market days also serve as a form of identification and in ancestral times, names were coined based on the day one was given birth to with different forms:
- EKE – Okeke, Mgbeke, Nweke
- ORIE – Okorie, Nworie, Mgborie
- AFOR – Okafor, Nwafor, Mgbafor
- NKWO – Okonkwo, Nwankwo
This collection is a modern interpretation of an ancient culture, and to serve as an avenue of preservation – and exposure to the youth society – which is at the forefront of the Emmy Kasbit brand.
According to the creative director, Emmanuel Okoro;
This collection continues my journey of seeking the past – the history and culture. For we may look to the future but to understand the past, is to wield an identity which we are one with. Memories is a collection that has been inspired by where I am from and where I’ll always belong to; the Igbo culture. Over the past couple of months, I have dissected experiences and references from the Igbo culture as a celebratory gesture to create this collection.
The brand’s signature textile – Akwete mixed with Damask was used to create outfits with shapes that were inspired by the outfits of market traders.
For this collection, the Emmy Kasbit brand collaborated with Ekete to make handwoven bags drawing inspiration from traditional baskets like the Udu, Ngara, Avo and fish baskets used by local Igbo farmers and traders to convey products from the farms to the market, for storage and to display their goods during market days.
Credits
Photography: @OnyinyeFafiObi
Styling: @MosesEbite
Hair: @Thayo_Hair
Makeup: @BeautyArtGlam
Models: @OrevaBuwa_ @FewModels @BolujoAdewunmi @FuseManagement
Bags in Collaboration With @ShopEkete
Click on the gallery below to see the full lookbook
