admin “It’s been 10 years since we originally set our intention,” said Studio 189 designer Abrima Erwiah, who debuted the label back in 2013 with actor Rosario Dawson. “This show is evidence of a decade of purpose.”
The show was opened by V, formerly Eve Ensler, with an impactful reading celebrating Studio 189’s mission. “In 2013, V told us that one in three women will be raped or sexually violated in her lifetime, and asked for a billion people to take a stance and dance,” reminisced Erwiah. “That changed our lives.” That’s when the designer and Dawson partnered to enact change of their own: “It made us realize that there are so many people who work in the supply chain whose names you don’t know,” she said, “and we said that fashion can be an agent for social change.”
Studio 189 clothes are made by hand in Africa with a manufacturing facility in Accra. They are the physical manifestation of years of tradition and hours of manual labor. This season, its wide range of separates expanded into sultry and skin-baring silhouettes including boxy crop tops, racerback tanks, and bustiers and skirts fitted close to the body. Those pieces were made with indigo dyes, hand-batik techniques, and kente weaving. A particularly charming tailored jacket covered in patches, each made by an individual artisan, said it all: You can see the hands in each piece from Studio 189.
“Joy was the mood of the season,” said Erwiah, and it always is. Every Studio 189 show is a celebration of life and a dance party that will bring out smiles and foot taps from even the most stoic editors and self-serious Fashion Week attendees. Partly responsible for this cheerful energy is the colorful lineup: “We have colors that remind us of the Caribbean to draw connections between Ghana and its diaspora in the States,” said Erwiah.
“We’re hearing there are protests and stuff this Fashion Week,” said Dawson backstage. “We would walk you down the aisle; this is what we stand for, to know who makes your clothes and what impact they have.” In case one needed further proof, the show’s backdrop featured a mural of a few of Studio 189’s artisans. “These hands go slow,” recited V at the start of the show. “Bless these hands. No two pieces are alike.”
