Tsemaye Binitie’s Spring 2016 collection debut at LFDW 2015 was eagerly awaited. After winning a coveted spot at the DC Fashion Incubator spot for 2015 (only two spots are open to designers outside the DC area) alongside Ghanaian wunderkind Papa Oppong, everyone wanted to see what a year without the pressures of commercial design would bring to the brand. The answer is fringe and a departure from the high glamour looks that have characterized the brand in the past few years.
Not that the brand has lost any of it’s shine. There are glossy silk jacquard and heavy satiny pieces cut to flatter. Fishtail detailing defines pant legs and skirt hems. The woman of the new Tsemaye Binitie collection goes out for morning cups of coffee in Victoria Island but does so in the knowledge that she is wearing her best without becoming overstated.
Tsemaye expresses this sentiment in his campaign images for the collection; the model’s hair is an untamed afro and she is anything but a perfectly poised mannequin. There are movement and tassels four feet in the air, which is just as well, as the collection seeks to dress real women.
Photo credit: Instagram/TsemayeBinitie.