Because of the Accra Mens Fashion Week’s green status as a debut menswear showcase, a number of questionable decisions were made. There were labels who hadn’t quite distinguished themselves enough to be taken seriously as a brand allowed to show, and then there was the stratospheric mishap that was allowing fashion label Lisa Royale at the showcase.
When we first saw the Lisa Royale showcase, we have to admit, we were utterly confused about what was going on. There was little if any clothing, and somehow what little clothing there was was Ankara. It wasn’t (and still isn’t) obvious what exactly is being showcased in the collection, an underwear and swimwear line, a jewelry line or an avantgarde African inspired print wax accessory line. Whatever it is, Lisa Royale did a really bad job of conveying the idea.
There is almost no design work happening in the collection. Swimwear/underwear collections are notoriously difficult to innovate in, partly because of the limited canvas on which a designer has to work and the proliferation of underwear/swimwear designers. Lisa Royale’s seeming solution to this problem is to create androgynous attachments to regular underwear/swimwear pieces. This would be even understandable if the actual underwear pieces were well tailored. But there are bunched up waistbands and lumpy hems on the briefs and uneven pleats on the embellishments and thin strips of fabric that serve no function.
The Lisa Royale collection was simply not ready for any runway. It shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.
Photo Credit: Qwesie Asephua Photography
