Afia

02/23/2017

Screw football! Best show tonight! Flashback to our Bushwick photoshoot way back in 2012 with photographer Evan Felts , talent Ariel Clay stylist Kestrel Jenkinsand moral support Elizabeth Cloyd

09/16/2016

so many backdrops to choose from in Antigua, Guatemala

07/07/2016

06/29/2016

One more BLACK repurposed floral crop top left in the entire universe! Fabric printed in Ghana, sewn originally in Ghana as a peplum skirt, and repurposed in LA. NYLONshop NYLON Meghan Sebold
http://shop.nylon.com/products/repurposed-floral-crop-top-in-black

06/12/2016

Yet another day of grieving. Peace & Compassion begin with you. Make your mind be your safe haven then let it emanate outward.

06/09/2016

Thank you for the feature Fashion Business Africa. Made in Ghana floral print repurposed into off-the-shoulder crop tops now available on NYLONshop and our website:
http://www.shopafia.com/new-products/repurposed-floral-crop-top
Photography by Amanda Björn

Brand: Afia Collection: Capsule Collection Photography: Amanda Bjorn Models: Alicia Henry and Jude Vargas. Stylist: Meghan Sebold

06/01/2016

In the heyday of Ghanaian textiles, there were around 50 companies that printed the iconic wax prints in Ghana in yhat everyday colorful prints-on-prints aesthetic. The motifs and colors used in the fabric represent proverbs, history, and cultural events. Because of copycat prints from China that are smuggled in and sold at lower prices on cheaper fabric, all but a few companies have gotten priced out of business. The last time I was in Ghana, only 4 companies remained that were manufacturing cotton wax in Ghana.

This is of importance not just because of the cotton wax's cultural and aesthetic value. When the textiles are Made in Ghana, the manufacturing and supply chains pump back into the Ghanaian economy. When textiles are copied, manufactured elsewhere, and sold in the markets in Ghana, Ghanaians act merely consumers, spending money on a product that is an imitation of their own art.

At the core of AFIA is the sourcing of textiles that are printed in Ghana to support this iconic industry. Browsing through the textiles at the shops that line Makola market, checking in with shop owners I have known for years now, are the best days of the process. In an attempt to stay ahead of imitation prints, the Ghanaian printers rotated new, innovative prints into the market every few months, which was endless inspiration for me.

To hear that the few remaining are now on the brink of collapse is devastating. Economically, this is a huge blow for Ghana.

From the artistic angle, it sucks my energy to continuously see the creators get their ideas not just stolen, but capitalized on by those with more money to scale that idea, and in the end the creator just loses. Imitation without compensation is not flattering, it just sucks.

Ghana will soon not be able to point to a single textile...

06/01/2016

Life's a Beach. AFIA lounge robe in Sunset. Photo by Katie Cashman

05/25/2016

NYLONshop

Royal blue is the new green. Festival out in this repurposed peplum skirt made into an off the shoulder crop top. Rock it with our Mars Queen Denim Shorts. Retu

05/25/2016

NYLONshop

Floral crop tops are the new green. Festival out in this repurposed peplum skirt made into an off the shoulder crop top. Rock it with our Mars Queen Denim Short

05/25/2016

peplum skirts re-purposed into off the shoulder crop tops, up on NYLONshop ! while supplies last !

Floral crop tops are the new green. Festival out in this repurposed peplum skirt made into an off the shoulder crop top. Rock it with our Mars Queen Denim Short

05/25/2016

Livin the Dream. Lounging poolside in the moonrise robe.