In this era of fashion for profit, it is rare to find designer labels dedicated to providing fashion that is conscious of its impact on the community and environment. In order to promote these brands, we at The Other Style are introducing Ethical Brand Spotlight to celebrate these brands and the phenomenal work they’re doing.
Our first label is Yevu Clothing, an ethical fashion brand from Ghana. Created by Australian Anna Robertson, who had spent a year in Ghana as an expatriate worker and fell in love with the aesthetic of Ghana and the nation’s adoration of brightly coloured Nwentoma and Kente fabrics. Inspired by this and with her academic background in cross cultural integration, Robertson decided to create a artisanal collective, inviting local tailors and artisans to form a design team and build a collection that could then be sold under the YEVU clothing umbrella.
Primarily concerned with creating jobs and ensuring that Ghana’s long history of local textile production is continued, the YEVU Clothing brand ensures that everything it retails is manufactured in Ghana by Ghanaians, from the design team in the process of conceptualization all the way down to post-production. It also has done away with the conventional ‘seasonal’ system, simplifying the process of production to allow the designers produce more without being overwhelmed. YEVU is also interested in women empowerment and the premise that empowered women are more likely to stay out of poverty than empowered men. Of their current workforce, (28 people) 64% are women.
YEVU’s first collection was released in Sydney’s affluent Surry Hills in 2013 and the collection sold out within one week. Since then, YEVU has expanded its design range to include menswear, womenswear and accessories and has put out three collections, retailing them through several pop up stores around the world, including East London, Melbourne and Sydney, the last ending on the 31st of January 2016 in Melbourne Australia.
In the words of the brand’s mission statement…
“YEVU aims to celebrate the vibrancy, colour and chaos of West African wax print and handmade textiles by offering simple and contemporary designs to a wider market for men and women. This is achieved while supporting and sustaining local industry and small businesses in Ghana, generating economic and creative opportunities.”
To find them and more of their work, check them out on instagram at @yevuclothing and on their website. Or as a quick starter, watch this.