‘Love therapy’ – An introspective collection
During London Fashion Week, Adey Thani showed off an introspective collection of his classy, contemporary, affordable ethical fashion range in ready-to-wear at Abbey Manor, North West London.
The collection which was titled Love therapy was featured at the event bollywood fashionista show, Diamonds on the runway which also saw other designers; Amaya Couture London, Kwame Koranteng Bespoke, Simayas London, Reka Orosz, among others, show their collection to a very receptive audience.
The designer Adey Thani, under the label Adeysapphire produced mixed prints ; yellow poppy prints, broken heart prints lots of colourful fun prints in various textures of silk, cotton jersey, naturally dyed organic ethically sourced, handwoven cotton, which was used to tell the story of heartbreak and triumph with the help of symbols and colours. The successful use of colours elevates the spirit rather than depress which the theme would suggest.
It was a very extensive collection with thirty different looks, fifteen for the women and equal number for the men. According to the designer, he found it very humbling that for a first collection, he was able to elicit such emotions in people about the prints and the collection as a whole which carried the message that emotional pain from heartbreak need not be a negative as it can be turned into something positive.
This is in reference to his own personal romantic drama in the past where it served as the catalyst to empowering him to pursue his dreams as an artist.He has used the yellow dresses which were dyed in tumeric to symbolize triumph and happiness. The denim-like jackets were dyed in natural indigo giving a denim effect in different shades of blue from light to dark. His influences came from many places; Diane Von Furstenberg with the wrap dresses( inspired by his mum’s wardrobe when he was growing up) The school girl silhouette from his growing up years in Nigeria lend themselves in women’s cocktail dresses that look a bit like Mary Quant.
Silhouettes’ from the sixties, the Fulani tribe in Northern Nigeria, with their cropped tops, necklines from Nigerian school uniforms. All of these which represent his Nigerian identity have been translated into his British identity marrying the two identities together. In some of the men’s wear he has taken the traditional buba and dashiki and updated them a little, bringing them into the twenty-first century and the shirts are a throwback to the seventies.
The designer states:”It was very painstaken work which took months of long and hard preparations, from designing the prints, sourcing and dyeing the fabrics in my kitchen to designing and then making the collection. I am very proud of what I have achieved. By sourcing my cotton fabrics ethically, from a small weaving community, where they farm the cotton, spin it and then weave them into various textures of cotton cloth, I am in my own little way helping them because I’m paying
them a fair living wage.
The same goes with the production of my garments, which are all ethically made here in the United Kingdom using local suppliers and freelance professionals. I even made my own plaited belts to go with the dresses! I don’t know where it all came from but it was fun, scary and exciting at the same time. It was scary because I was self-funding.
I refuse to borrow from the banks! It is my belief that if you start small using the scarce resources at your disposal, keep your overheads to a minimum and steer yourself in the direction you want to go. I have had to overcome lots of hurdles, but wasn’t going to stop until I was able to get it out there. I’m beginning to suspect I’m a bit of a secret adrenalin junkie (laugh) that thrives on such intense pressure! I felt like I just gave birth to a baby when I finally presented my latest work”.
According to the designer, he felt very humbled by the reception the new collection received as he captured the air of sophistication, elegance, class and style just as he intended. All the other designers were great and very creative too Kwame Koranteng bespoke created beautiful blazers trimmed with African print material embellished with a beautiful crest.
Amaya Couture offered beautifully made Indian bridal wear while Reka Orosz from Hungary offered nymphs of the forest as a theme with papier machie horns and antlers which was very dramatic with the beautifully made costumes. Adeysapphire offered ready-to-wear for all occasions. The dresses could pass for a day in the office and an evening of cocktails at the bar and while some could even be worn to a classy wedding or just strolling about on a sunny beach. Adey has peppered the collection with reclaimed materials, can pull-rings reclaimed from empty drink cans, which were used in the embellishment of the women’s and men’s Cotton Khadi with a fragmenting heart motif.
He styled them with skinny faux leather pants which added edginess to the looks. On some of the silk print dresses, he embroidered the yellow poppies with dark beagle beads made from glass. This catches the light and adds an element of surprise to the viewer who sees the printed dress and then delightfully notices there is something glittering subtly on the dress.
The company’s sustainable business model which is designed to reduce waste during production ensures that each item is made on a ‘needs only’ basis rather than mass produce them. According to the designer, customers would be able to view the item from the catalogue on the website and select the appropriate size, place and receive order in three weeks. Other creations that involve embellishments in reclaimed materials would be sold as bespoke through the website online shop at
www.adeysapphire.com except if they are sold as part of a limited edition.
Below are some images of the collection during the show:
