Ghanaian fashion label Afro Mod Trends is a luxury brand with high street sensibilities. With six years of business under its belt and three outings at the Glitz Africa fashion week, the brand is ready to reintroduce itself to the wider market, with it’s first collection of 2016, titled ‘En Avant’.
En Avant is a print heavy collection that takes the fashion staples and casts them in new light with ankara as the touch stone. The label uses ankara in all the pieces with varying levels of concentration. Ankara panels accent a black shift mini dress, the most understated piece in the collection. As far as innovation goes, ‘En Avant’ doesn’t get very far, they touch all the staples that have been overworked by most African labels; they have a sheer panelled skirt that reminds eerily of Nuraniya Studios, they work in the satin cape detailed with ankara motifs, they even touch on the chiffon hi-lo dress. Not that any of this is bad, but they don’t even bother to update the silhouette or rework the look.
There are some pieces that are unique to Afro Mod and pass as aesthetically interesting. They debut twin ankara jackets with asymmetric hems, one with a reverse Peter Pan collar, the other a lace and ankara that is strong in ideology and is let down heavily by shoddy construction. If Afro Mod wants to keep its luxury tag, it’s going to have to do better, or maybe hire a gifted artistic director.
