Wednesday 1 February 2012

Trading on the Gold Coast since 1444 – Designer PROFILE


Emeka sets a date in the story of his journey Live from the coast for when it all began, it's 1444, the same year in which European colonists began the deportation of the first Africans. The first breaking point with a cultural world filled with suggestion that the African continent is trying hard to defend today and that those that have grown in the States or in Europe are loosing.

Gold Coast Trading is a clothing company created by Nigerian born Emeka Alams which brings together traditional Africa cultures and the Western world. Emeka calls this label his ‘effort to get back to that time’ meaning that time when:


“We would gather in large numbers to mourn with those who mourn and to rejoice with those who rejoice. We have forgotten that we came from a continent where guiding, correcting and rebuking children is everybody’s’ task; a continent with green forests, clean rivers and undiscovered natural resources abound.”
This time was before 1444. Before,

The western coast of Africa is known as the Gold Coast for obvious reasons, and the majority of slaves were taken from there and transported across the seas known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade. He used this as a reference point in time around 1444 when the African slave trade began.
He is just one of many creatives coming out of the Diaspora and we are loving this new collection and the beautiful lookbook featuring the artist/photographer Cassie Gibson. And we at AFG in particular love his use of organic and high quality cotton as well as the use of kente in the styling of this range.  check out the ‘Mzuzu’ traditional  print  organic  cotton cardigan and a pima cotton te.
Inspired by the African continent with the notorious use of African country graphics – enjoy a look at the latest AW11 collection by Gold Coast Trading 






Pumeza Mkhonza
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