The Curious Amalgam

Chichia London Spring - Summer 2012 Lookbook Photographed by Kerry Glanfield If someone ask me where do I want to spend my last day on earth, then straightaway I would excitedly say "Africa!". The land of sun-kissed beaches and exotic hideaways, where you can spend days or even months on deserted sandbars and surrounded by clear white sands without any scene from angry clients or your fussy boss. What a perfect place to throw your gloominess away, or to attempt luxurious-ironic suicide or even just to search for inspiration. Speaking of inspiration, together with the incredible vacation destinations, African fashion has always been my inspiration and bug in my ears, thanks to substantial media exposure for the past few seasons that existence of African fashion slowly steal the spotlight. One of the dynamite talent that caught my attention right away when I saw the collection is Chichia London. The London based Tanzanian fashion designer, Christine Mhando is the brain behind the label that successfully made my eyes blinded just by looking at the lookbook. Mhando found the label and named it "Chichia" (which taken from her childhood nickname) in 2007, after she graduated from the University for the Creative Arts with an honours degree, in 2002 and then to channeled her passion she also worked for high end designers and brands to gain more acquaintance and valued lessons of the industry until she finally arrived at conclusion to build her own cartel. Chichia London is a form of interlocking between two continents culture where the designer was raised and spend most of her time. The Tanzania-London notion translucently stroked by the labels signature, Khanga, the traditional East African which used by African woman as wraps, also the use of strong colors, bold shaped patterns and cool off attitude which is kind of Londons cup of tea. For the Spring-Summer collection, Mhando collaborated with concept jersey label Made by Africa, the collection entitled "Naishi Niwezavyo Siishi Mtakavyo" which means "I live how I want, not how you want me to live". An optimistic title that brought my expectation high enough to see how Mhando enunciated and expressed her standpoint without any restraint into her design. Images courtesy of Chichia LondonPhotographed by Yev at Green Lens Studio For the material, she chose to manipulate East African knitted organic cotton, and thoughtfully incorporated it with succulent and whimsical African ethnic pattern. Along with the feminine silhouette and easy-to-wear aesthetic, the patterns were the most gripping part of the assemblage; floral and ornate patterns combined with spotted dots, curved stripes and graphic checks; and crisp, sunny and summery color palette as the completory made the entire collection unquestionably invigorating. I was very intrigued by the interpretation of marrying modernity with something traditional and ethnic; the printed Khanga on raglan tees sleeves, the graphic pattern cotton dress with layered hemline, printed jersey tunic and blossom stripe Khanga skirt with dipped hemline are evidences that the mission was perfectly accomplished. But thats not all, 1 US Dollar of the wholesale value of every garment sold will go towards assisting in education for less fortunate children at the SOS Childrens Village in Tanzania. Whats better than giving back and upgrading your wardrobe at the same time? (Chichia London collection now available at her webstore and Not Just a Label) - Mr. Vhallah - - Twitter - Bloglovin - RSS Feed -