Ghanaian Designer Larry Jay Presents His Spring Summer 2019 Collection Titled ’70’s AFRICA’
Monologue according to the designer….
“70’s Africa is an expression of love to my parents”
I fell in love with their looks while flipping through their photo archives. Their style was native with a little touch of America or Europe but it never affected their unique love and style of fashion.
They always wore clothes that were morally right thus religiously and socially acceptable.
My mother always covered her hair and wore outfits to cover her womanhood because of her religious background but it never affected her great sense of style.
My dad also wore outfits that always left positive impact amongst his peers.
Although inspired by my Ghanaian parents’ style from the 70’s, the collection also took some inspirations from various West African countries such as Nigeria, Mali, Senegal etc. in the 70’s.
Fashion from the 70’s was timeless, minimal, unusual and ethical and that’s what the LARRY JAY brand represents.
I used very soft cotton materials,silks, satins,lace and some spandex to really express the diverse looks of my parents back then,with a little added androgynous twist to some of the clothes,you neither look like a typical boy or girl when clad in them.
I again made use of some Jutes and Leathers because that empowers LARRY JAY and helps in telling our story.
I used them in making some of the bags ,belts,footwears and other accessories to compliment the outfits,meanwhile leather and metal scraps was put to good use this time, I used them for the mini coins pouch and tassel key/bag rings.
Organic Dye was introduced to the Jutes this season because of my color theme,I got them locally dyed by a Guinean artisan who lives here in Ghana.