Yodit Eklund, left, says her Bantu Wax brand has been influenced by Africans, including fabric designers in Ivory Coast; her in-house team in Dakar, Senegal, and the photographer Omar Victor Diop, right. (NYT)
By LIBBY BANKS
DECEMBER 1, 2014
In July, the fashion entrepreneur Yodit Eklund did the unusual. She decided to restructure her four-year-old surfwear brand Bantu Wax, with the aim of reflecting and serving the African surf culture she grew up with.
Collaborating with local artists is a major part of Ms. Eklund’s new brand vision for the Ethiopian-made clothing line. “I work with young African designers, because they reflect what’s going on,” she explained at an interview during Paris Fashion Week in October. “It’s not about safari or masks.” The fabrics are designed by a team in Ivory Coast, while an in-house team in Dakar, Senegal, creates the styles.
She also decided to open a store this winter on Dakar’s beachfront, located between two surf breaks.
The Senegalese photographer Omar Victor Diop is creating a vast mural for the flagship, something he described at press time as a “work in progress.”
Read more at The New York Times »
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