“
Neka Youth
captures the essence of
fun and stylish girls ages be-
tween 9-16 years old.
The Neka youth girl is fashion
forward in her approach to
what she wears and likes to
express herself through her
choice of fashion.
“
Alanis Nwadire:
Creative Director.
forever and to us that is a huge responsibility,
one which comes with knowledge, love and an
understanding of people and what makes them
thick.
Nancy: When a client trusts you, the feeling of
not wanting to disappoint them is always pres-
ent, for me, this is what drives us to always seek
perfection in each and every Iconic Invanity
piece. The ultimate reward comes when a cus-
tomer is happy.
Your latest collections are off the charts; can
you explain individually what the inspiration
for them were?
Nancy: For us at Iconic Invanity, storytell-
ing is an integral part of communicating our
work. Each collection is a seamless transition
from the previous one and this applies to all
the brands under the Iconic Invanity family.I’m
like a sponge, I get inspiration from every-
where. My fabrics are my canvas and I like to
assault the mind with bursts of dazzle.
Destiny: For this season,DNA by Iconic In-
vanity’s SS19 takes us on an adventure to the
East coast of Africa.Inspired by escapism, the
feel and freedom of theexotic coast,reflects our
modern desire to escape our hectic lives for a
while and draw our imaginations to the back-
drop of aqua water colours, sandy beaches and
plenty of sunshine.
The clean silhouettes set off an intense interplay
between nudes and sunny yellows, pastels and
bold purple pieces ranging from day dresses to
evening wears,DNA’s artistry is seen through-
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out the collection with hand embroidery and
beading on classic DNA silhouettes,bringing us
all African glamour and magic at its best.
Alanis: Neka Youth debuts this SS19 with a
splash of colour. The contrast of muted shades,
yellow and deep blue creates a balance between
fun and playfulness which is synonymous to the
bubbly character of the 12-year-old creator. Ala-
nis’ choice of fabric is Adire, a Yoruba tie and dye
fabric, hand made locally in Abeokuta.
My choice to use Adire for my first work was
inspired by myprimary school uniform at St.
Saviours school Ikoyi; a blue Adire skirt. For my
choice of colours, I wanted to work with inter-
esting bright colours and really appreciate the
freedom to have my fabrics hand made locally
in Nigeria, so Adire for me was a natural choice.
I grew up around fashion design and was mostly
inspired to design through some of my friends at
school who liked outfits that my mum made for
me. I often came back home with an order from
one of my friends, which I thought was really
cool. So when I was about 9 years old, I told my
mum that I wanted to launch my own fashion
line when I turned 12, so here I am.
My fashion reflects my style and things I love,
which I know my friends like also. We have lots
of fun and playful pieces in this collection which
I enjoyed making. I hope people like it as much
as I do.
What design software do use for your designs
and how do you keep up with the trends?
We’ve moved from using the traditional sketch-
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