Daboya to London

Daboya is the capital of the North Gonja district in the remote Savannah Region of Ghana. It represents the genesis of the brand’s story as the production base for some of its basic raw materials, the local and primary source of its hand-woven fabrics used in making some of the brand’s garments, while in the south, repurposing dead stock fabrics dumped in Ghana by big manufacturers from the west into the brand’s artisanal tie dye fabrics through very indigenous and vintage techniques by their traditional artisans, before consumed globally in the fashion capitals of the world. A powerhouse of timeless style and classical cuts, the Ghanaian fashion house, led by Creative Director, Mohammed Jafaru Larry, have made strong showings on the world stage with designs based on their principle of little to no waste. Leading the sustainable fashion charge, Larry Jay projects Ghana’s pioneering role in tackling the dumping of second hand goods on her shores, and aims to showcase their latest collection where some of the pieces are made from upcycled materials, as a continuum to hone in the idea of how fashion can help avert the menace of waste dumping. Shaping his design aesthetics, the Creative Director takes inspiration from both his parents looks from their younger days in the 1970s, as well as their Islamic background, often referencing his dad’s contemporary ‘British African’ style and his mom’s typically Islamic inspired grooming. The brand’s story continues with their latest collection, ‘DABOYA to LONDON’, in which heavy and light weight soft fabrications have been purposefully combined as a tribute to seasonal transitions. To give form and style to the brand’s signature cuts, they used traditional Ghanaian hand-woven fabrics made either from plain coffee brown and black yarns or with ivory pin stripes running through, complemented with rayon, viscose or cotton brocade dyed in similar shades and blues. In styling the looks, garments from this collection were paired with fold-up cross body and weekender bags made from dyed natural jute and leather scraps in hues of coffee brown, onyx and charcoal black, and chunky slides in black. ‘DABOYA to LONDON’ is a tribute to this journey.