There’s a common appreciation for golden hour. That excellent second the place the solar hangs low sufficient within the sky to forged a hazy heat glow upon every thing. For these fortunate sufficient to have skilled summer time in Grand-Bassam, a well-liked resort city in Cote D’Ivoire, vivid reminiscences of the solar glistening because it displays off of the ocean at sundown are more likely to spring to thoughts. That feeling of “tropical sensuality” was what designer Artistide Loua hoped to encapsulate along with his newest spring 2025 showcase throughout Lagos Trend Week. “This assortment is about exploring that romance between the water and the solar at a sure hour,” he mentioned. “All of it brings you again to the seashore: the colors, the textures, the lights.”
Regardless of Loua’s love of Kente, a conventional material present in Ghana and components of West Africa, this assortment marked a turning level within the model. For the primary time, he didn’t construct it across the conventional material; solely a 3rd of the seems to be featured Kente fabric. “We’re in a position to do unisex items and female items though we’ve got Gents on the finish of [the brand’s name],” he mentioned. In Kente’s place, he launched new materials comparable to linen-denim and lace, and created extra industrial light-weight pleated seems to be.
Loua confirmed us that he’s additionally massive on the small print. The Kente fits, which had been neatly tailor-made by artisans in Abidjan, got here with forged bronze buttons formed like seashells—a nod to the treasures discovered on the seashore. Standout items included the cropped striped blazer paired with matching Bermuda-style shorts and a white linen-denim jacket paired with a white lace midi skirt. There’s extra experimentation to return, he hinted: “Kente Gents is a name for folks to do not forget that the essence of our model is to make use of regionally made and produced textiles… It’s not nearly Kente, it’s an entire story we’re attempting to place collectively.”
