With only 199 likes on Facebook, and a website that is under construction, you may easily dismiss KISUA, the new African Fashion e-commerce site coming soon to a webpage near you, given existing e-commerce sites like Myasho.com and Heritage1960.com.
But, not so fast. KISUA means business and the founders (Samuel Mensah (CEO) and Danica Lepen (Creative Director)) have already activated their publicity campaign to engage the likes of Women’s Wear Daily and Style.com, among other reputable fashion press, to begin creating the buzz. If Danica Lepen’s name sounds familiar, it is because you have seen her here on Ladybrille, as former creative designer/ partner for South Africa’s leading label Black Coffee.
Check out one of the buzz worthy writeups about KISUA and prepare for the launch!
-Uduak Oduok
“Clothing does more than just clothe people – it functions as a global language, connecting you with people around the world who’ve played a role in designing and producing that garment. This is the philosophy behind KISUA, an e-commerce site that will bring emerging and established African designers to the global market, or more specifically, our wardrobes.
The site will make it easier than ever to access African fashion, with minimum overheads and delivery-wait time. The brainchild of Samuel Mensah and his partner Danica Lepen, KISUA places an emphasis on ethnic heritage, ethical production methods and celebrating diversity. “Even though we have a focus on creating globally marketable and well-priced garments, we have gone to great lengths to retain authenticity in our collections. As we expand and grow, we will look further into incorporating more and more specialized traditional African methods such as beading, dyeing, weaving and hand-printing,” Lepen told Style.com. Mensah and Lepen want to shift the perception of African fashion as being about one-offs, to establish it as a fully-fledged global business.
Ahead of its launch, KISUA worked with ten designers across Africa, including South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to create ready-to-wear collections. “With these ten designers, the starting point was to take a deeper look into what each of their design features and aesthetics are, and to see what elements we could take from that in order to create something new under the KISUA brand,” Lepen explains. . .”
Dailylife.com has the full story.
Photocredit: KISUA
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
