STAFF WRITERS
At the invitation of Runway 7,LLC,the company that curates the biggest international fashion showcase week, NEW YORK FASHION WEEK, nguo will be at the Big Apple to showcase there for the first time. ngüo,a local fashion brand, has been around for barely four years and says this comes as a special celebration for their fourth anniversary that falls this August.
ngüo has made a lot of fashion traction in its short existence with multiple regional and local show cases under its belt. ngüo is currently one of suppliers of African Fashion International, stocking in their Sandton store House of Nala, in Johannesburg.
The invitation for the New York Fashion Week is yet another milestone that comes at a time when ngüo was looking at stocking with international fashion houses and hope is that this acknowledgment and affirmation makes it easy for ngüo to have conversations with these houses and clinch those deals to stock internationally.
The lead creative at ngüo Ms Tumie Mohoasa says the invitation came as a surprise and is both exciting and scary at the same time. Never one to shy from a challenge she says she hopes to tell a true African story like she is wont to with her showcases. When asked if African meant she would be using teitshi and African print she denied that saying that is a very limiting way to look at Africa as fashion meaning print and teitshi and as it is in their nature she is going to go non-conventional in her creations tying them to the generally stout African stature.
She says in the wake of African countries denying diversity in people with homophobic laws being passed in the region and with the recent home ground of parliament wanting to reverse the decriminalisation of same sex relations law, she uses fashion as an extension of her activism. Her androgynous aesthetic has made her a favourite among non-conformists catapulting her brand to great heights.
The team, which includes the lead creative herself and the Business Development Executive leaves for the Big Apple at the end of August, and will also stay a little longer after the show at the invitation of several fashion outlets to look at possible collaborations and business partnerships.
ngüo gets on stage on September 8th at 3 pm and tickets are out already on sale. “We are stoked and super excited about this opportunity and we also look forward to learning from other brands that have been doing this for longer and also look forward to new businesses opportunities” said Ms Mohoasa.