Yemi Alade is arguably the most influential female musician on the continent in 2016. From the breakaway success that was her single Johnny, to her album King of Queens that spawned several chart smashing hits and a new album released to capitalize on the hype of her debut album, Yemi Alade has been everywhere. It stands to reason that she tried to parlay this fame into fashion, first with a licensing deal with jewellery brand Bland2Glam that saw her release her first accessories collection, the Yemi Alade Collection. The collection did as well as accessories collections do in the country, but insiders agreed that if Alade was truly going to break into fashion, it would have to be with the real thing, a proper clothing line.
She surprised no one when she announced in late May after being unveiled as the ambassador for the 2016 Africa Fashion Week Nigeria showcase that she was making her debut as a clothing fashion designer at the grand finale under the name House of Tangerine. But she wasn’t doing it alone. She partnered with Destiny Nwadire, creative director of D.N.A, the diffusion line of the respected designer label Iconic Invanity.
It is quite telling then, that even Nwadire, whose debut collection gained positive reviews across the board couldn’t save House Of Tangerine’s debut collection from kitsch. The superior tailoring and construction of the pieces show a more experienced hand helped with the technical sides of the collection, but the meat of the collection falls disappointingly short of salvageable. The mixing of prints is amateurish at best, this isn’t to even mention the checkered print line that stands in stark relief, completely out of place with the remaining prints. There are also the completely unnecessary extra pieces; flaps and ruffles and asymmetric peplums that could have totally been done without.
Ultimately, the new Yemi Alade collection suffers from being too costumey, I cannot honestly imagine any of these pieces off a runway and in the real world. And that is it’s biggest failing.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bellanaija.com
