Ghanaian ethical fashion brand YEVU Clothing have released editorial images for their new collection. They are vibrant, featuring high colour Ankara wax prints, reworked Kente prints and specialty prints that feature prominent Ghanaian figures and motifs. The brand draws on Ghanaian nostalgia, marrying it with modern silhouettes to create a cohesive look that speaks to the history of Ghana and how it is changing with globalization. Even better, the look book is shot in Ghana by Ghanaian fashion photographer, Francis Kokoroko. The brand explains the ideas behind the editorial as thus:
“These images were created in collaboration with Ghanaian photographer Francis Kokoroko and local sign writing artist “Don”, it presents a hyper-real dramatisation of domestic life. The shoot pays homage to the work of 80s/90s Ghanaian studio photographer Philip Kwame Apagya, who shot his subjects in front of opulent, painted backgrounds – imagining a dream lifestyle filled with televisions, stocked fridges and houses in the country. YEVU has appropriated those images for the modern day, loaded with Ghanaian cutural references and engaging with an evolving social identity in a rapidly changing West African consumer society.”
The result is a pastiche of modern life, stripped down to its most component parts. But the models make the twenty five look collection come alive and keep the focus on the clothes. We would love to see YEVU come back home, thus far its pop-ups have only happened in Europe and the Americas, and it’s somewhat difficult to comprehend that Africans cannot physically access a brand that is conceptualized and manufactured here.
Anyway, here are the images.
