EMMY KASBIT
15:45 Sat 19 Feb 2022
Streamed On Our Homepage & Instagram Live
Emmy Kasbit is a sustainable fashion brand which was conceptualised in Nigeria in 2014 by Emmanuel Okoro. As a brand, we are focused on creating timeless pieces for the unconventional men and women who like to think outside the box and are willing to defend their outfit as being deliberate. Our designs are aesthetically clean with architectural cuts. As a brand, we are very particular about bringing traditional staples to the modern age and creating timeless pieces.
Emmy Kasbit adheres and inculcates the sustainable ethos of the fashion world and all our designs and garments serve as a driving force to this cause. Structured suits and sartorial pieces are all carefully created with the Akwete textiles which is a hand-woven artisanal textile all beautifully crafted by me and my team of women under my women’s empowerment program.
This season, Emmanuel Okoro, the Creative Director of Emmy Kasbit explores the Nigeria-Biafran Civil war which occurred in Nigeria between 1967 - 1970. The conflict resulted from a political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain's formal decolonization of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963.
In line with our brand ethos of referencing the past and preserving culture, this heartbreaking event has inspired our spring summer 22 collection Ozoemena. For Most Nigerians, the war over the breakaway state of Biafra is generally regarded as an unfortunate episode best forgotten, but for the Igbos who fought for secession, it remains a life-defining event, with this in mind, the birth of the collection was inspired.
“For years, I have heard stories about the civil war and its’ lingering effects. This made me very determined to tell this story through the visual arts of sustainable fashion. I set out to Umuahia in Abia State where the famous and historic Ojukwu bunker is located which served as an integral and strategic hideout during the war. I was fortunate to have met with a few survivors from the war” says Emmanuel.
Motifs such as Iron bars imbedded on the wall of the bunker which served as an emergency escape route has been intricately woven into the textile by our team of skilled artisans as our headlining textile, we have also reimagined the Biafran flag by substituting the colors to brighter hues found on the wall of the bunker. The original colors are Red which represents the blood of those massacred in the war, Black which symbolizes mourning the deceased and Green which represents prosperity for the future. The half of a yellow sun motif indicates a glorious future.
In line with our brand mission of empowering women and the local community, we have partnered with Adara Foundation to produce locally sourced cotton fabric which has hand written expressions of text referencing information of those found at the Ojukwu bunker.
The shapes are strong, bold and redefining. Culture has been re-birth, tradition remains relevant, metric adaptations have been included to reference the actual length of the bunker, deconstructed blazers depicting war casualties, utility pockets, fringed hemlines and power shoulders are key components in the collection. All this is significantly embodied with a burst of colors shifting through Lime Green, Butter Yellow, Black and off White.
Thank you:
@voiceoftheeast
"That they did not die in vain"
A discourse on post -civil war with "Foreword" from the national museum Onyebuchi Marcus Ukandu
Collaboration
Adara Foundation: @adara_foundation
King David Shoes: @kiingdaviids Men’s Footwear Maliko Studios: @malikostudios Women’s Footwear