Late last year, Congolese designer, Anifa Mvuemba changed the game when her contemporary brand Hanifa debuted their latest collection on Instagram Live via 3D models. It raised conversations about the constant need for black designers to go over and beyond to pave their way in an industry that is ever so ready to ignore their work. Tomorrow, Nigerian menswear brand Vrede919 will continue down the road we saw Hanifa go with a digital fashion show for their new “Water No Get Enemy” collection.
The virtual show which goes live on the CFDA website will showcase Vrede’s third collection. The hope is that the collection will also serve as a medium to educate the world about the brand’s Nigerian heritage by shedding light on a Nigerian musician and activist, Fela Kuti, who serves as inspiration for the collection.
Fela’s relevance is re-emphasized right now because of his stance against police brutality in Nigeria and the continuing #ENDSARS movement in Nigeria. Vrede head designer, Faith Ibrahim sees this collection as an opportunity to continue to drive necessary conversation. In correspondence to Culture Custodian, she expressed the desire to use this collection in service to the greater cause. “We do not want the fight of our youth to die down, this is why we would like to continue the story through our medium, fashion!”
The collection is predominantly made from denim, which happens to be the biggest water waster in the fashion industry however, Vrede919 has produced this collection using sustainable methods which require little to no water to process the denim in this collection. Vrede hopes to educate consumers of the harm caused by this fabric to our environment.
Watch the virtual fashion show which goes live on March 7th at 10 PM CAT here.
Please join us this Sunday for the livestream showcase of our 3rd collection on Runway 360 by @CFDA. 7th March 2021, 12PM PST. Let’s go! pic.twitter.com/tY5W0C3big
— [ vrēde ] (@Vrede919) March 2, 2021