Barkers-Woode
Today, fashion and women have been looked at as inspirations to create the next big trend on the runways.
In particular, African women are now ‘trend-setters’ and are used as muses – a secret society we all want a piece of.
A brand and woman who has done this and stayed true to her roots is Ghanaian native, Nina Barkers-Woode, the mastermind behind the brand of Barkers-Woode.
Exposed to the ethnic and geographic diversity of her own country at an early age, Nina has been inspired to use that in her designs today.
At the centre of the world’s fastest growing economy, Barkers-Woode took her inquisitive nature through travel and expanded her views on the beauty of women, textures and textiles.
She was able to find a niche market in fashion and cater for her country’s bold, bright and traditional fashion that roots deep to her ancestry.
After trying her hand at a Political Science degree, Nina began her journey within the fashion industry when she enrolled at the Joyce Ababio College of Creative Design in Accra.
Here is where the brand Love April, currently Barkers -Woode, fostered into a household brand – true, bare, chic necklines and abstracted textured prints ultimately immortalise the classic and ancient style of a woman.
The fashion designer hit the big stage at Ghana’s Fashion Week in 2012 showcasing her 2012/2013 collection, where it received praise from Vogue Italia and CNN.
Since the designers big debut her work has taken a bit of a reboot with the help of Canadian creative management firm, L’âme Inconnue. The creative firm redefines African designers into a modern aesthetic and helps them integrate into the Western market.
This relationship fostered and introduced Barkers-Woode to her next campaign, setting the stage to new heights.
It’s been over a year since the designer took Toronto, Ontario, by storm and shook the cultural hub with her new Africa presentation, in collaboration with Canadian jewellery designer Wild Moon.
The duo broke stereotypical barriers of African culture and generated international buzz with their Ghanaian inspired pieces of art. Barkers-Woode subtle play on the mixture of masculinity and femininity, clean lines and an essence of timelessness, inspired by world history and generations of women, shifted the stereotypical ideology of African fashion to a modern day look.
Her androgynous artworks perfectly depicted the young demographic today and left a stamp on the mystifying audience of Toronto’s fashion scene.
Continuing the momentum, Barkers-Woode took her efforts to her hometown Accra, Ghana, last December with the assistant of L’âme Inconnue and brought the fashion show platform of a presentation to the thriving city.
The collections inspiration came from a woman’s everyday life and the stages that portray the ever so evolving one – from the working women to the artistic free-spirit.
Each piece fits into three stages- stage one actuality; exposing the stereotypical ideals that women face. The garments during this stage hug the body and expose the curves of the female form.
Stage two living and breathing; there is an emphasis on the movement of each piece in stage two. These garments highlight shapeless, with an abundance of volume in the fabrication. This stage is less about the woman’s body, and more about her inner emotions and movement in the clothes.
Stage three challenges; inspired by androgyny, the strong and structured pieces in this stage are used to challenge the social construct of womanhood. The young designer hasn’t skipped a beat since, doubling her sales and expanding her brand into a retail space this summer in Achimota and online – making them accessible and readily available across all channels. Nina’s future seems promising and with her continued success she’s managed to venture into bridal wear, another service Barkers-Woode plans to perfect and evolve into a full service brand.
The handmade designs, highlighting exaggerated seam-lines for every day wear will continue to be the designer’s staple, while always paying homage to women and Ghana.