admin There’s a new designer in town. Making his Lagos Fashion Week debut is Aristide Loua, the Ivorian founder of contemporary ready-wear-brand Kente Gentlemen. He brings a new charm to the schedule with a collection that blends traditional and contemporary design. As the name suggests, Loua’s pieces center around the iconic Ghanaian textile Kente cloth. For him, the brand speaks to a wider goal of preserving yet modernizing ancient traditions and practices. The fabrics Loua uses are hand-crafted by weaving communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, and given a modern touch by using silhouettes that transcend international borders.
Loua comes to Lagos after winning the incubator programme, African Fashion Up, last month, which is sponsored by the likes of Galeries Lafayette and Balenciaga. This LFW debut also marked a new chapter for Kente Gentleman as the brand moved further into womenswear. For fall, Loua has drawn from a somewhat unusual inspiration: Robin Givens’s performance in the 1992 American rom-com Boomerang. “She was seen as a villain in the movie, but for me she was my heroine. She was a leader, someone who took charge,” he said backstage, recalling how the character donned a number of looks featuring oversized jackets, coats, and suits. “She created this new archetype of Black woman leads and I’m exploring that with this collection.”
This season Loua introduced a new pattern, which runs effortlessly throughout the collection, from cropped and oversized blazers to fitted dresses with deep yet elegant V-necklines. At the core of the lineup is his signature tailoring, bold vibrant colors (or as Loua puts it “royal colors”), as well as hand tie-dyed organic cotton fabrics from Bassam in Côte d’Ivoire. One standout look paired an asymmetrical open wrap skirt with matching royal blue and pink chequered trousers and a matching oversized, double breasted overcoat. Models walked down the runway to the soundtrack, “Femme de Feu” by Gadji Celi, an Ivorian former professional footballer turned musician.
While there’s no predicting what will come next for the brand, could a Balenciaga collaboration be in the cards? Thanks to his African Fashion Up win, Loua is currently enjoying mentoring sessions with Balenciaga and says he is “hoping for a small collection with the brand, so fingers crossed.”
