Ijaye Méji

Wine cloth run through with a fine gold pinstripe, cut into an open kimono jacket with a short, squared sleeve. Gold damask is set into the sleeve ends and down the outside of the trouser leg — a dense floral brocade against the plain stripe, placed where the body moves most. Beneath the jacket sits a textured inner top in the same wine, worked in a raised pattern that reads only at close range. The trousers are cut wide and full, falling straight from the hip so the damask panel stays unbroken from waist to hem. A house piece for a photo shoot, a birthday or an evening appearance where the dress is meant to be looked at properly.

Each piece is finished by hand in our atelier; slight variation in weave and dye is the signature of authentic African craft.