World renowned legacy fashion brands—Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Gucci, Hermès, among others—are known for their consistency, and an undeniably high-quality standard that makes their products a covetable symbol of status for customers worldwide. They are perceived as inimitable and irreplaceable, and boast strong identities, earning them a reputation for the kind of excellence that has come to epitomize luxury. For the most part, these brands are largely European or American. So where does Africa fit into the picture?
It’s true that in comparison to the West, Africa’s fashion sector is still relatively young. That said, the continent faces unique challenges. Gaining access to international markets requires access to resources that many of the continent’s brands simply don’t have, making it difficult to create an enduring legacy. This lack of resources of governmental support for young, or even established fashion brands in Africa, means most are preoccupied with simply surviving.
“Every designer wants to establish their brand and wants that brand to outlive them,” says Ghanaian fashion researcher and author of ‘Africa In Fashion’, Ken Kweku Nimo. “In Africa, where designers have to struggle and jump through a lot of hoops just to sustain their businesses, the longevity aspect is actually often on the back burner.”
From this perspective, it’s evident that African designers and brands are faced with daunting challenges from the outset and a lack of robust industry infrastructure on the continent only serves to exacerbate these. Brands need to be able to meet the demands of the market and in order to do this, they need access to capital and adequate manufacturing. This issue of infrastructure also negatively affects emerging designers who begin receiving international attention early on in their careers.
Portrait of Ken Kweku Nimo with his book, ‘Africa In Fashion’. Photo: via @kwekunimo.
UNLOCKING AFRICA’S POTENTIAL
In April 2021, investment company Birimian announced its plans to invest in African brands across multiple sectors. Founded and led by Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, a French-Ivorian executive with more than 10 years of experience in funding private companies and working for financial institutions in Europe and Africa, her company announced its plans to back luxury brands in the fashion apparel, accessories, cosmetics, and gourmet industries respectively. The company’s goal is to build sustainable and profitable regional and diasporic African-owned premium brands by providing financial support, strategic advice, as well as production and distribution assistance. This kind of support will no doubt empower more African brands to confidently traverse the challenges that impede them.
But despite the myriad of hurdles that African fashion brands have to contend with in their quest to achieve longevity within the industry and relevancy internationally, there are brands who have been already navigating these waters successfully. KikoRomeo is one such example. Founder McCreath has spent the last 25 years building the unisex label KikoRomeo into one of the most innovative fashion brands on the African continent, one that has built a proudly Made-in-Kenya reputation and diverse following.
“I don’t see the point in building a brand unless it can continue,” says McCreath of the establishment of KikoRomeo. “I deliberately, from the very beginning, built a brand that stood for certain values and marketed a certain thing, and to me these things were important, and not just in my lifetime. They were important for general society.” It’s also why she chose the name KikoRomeo instead of simply using her own name. She always anticipated that another designer would step up to the helm at a certain point. In this case, it’s her daughter, Iona McCreath, who now serves as the brand’s creative director.
Ann & Ion McCreath.. Photo: courtesy of Ann McCreath.
Christie Brown SS’20. Photo: courtesy of Christie Brown.
AAKS SS’20. Photo: courtesy of AAKS.
Vintage Marianne Fassler at Kevin Mackintosh Solo Exhibition. Deepest Darkest Contemporary Gallery, 2020. Photo: via @mariannafasslerofficial.
4 STEPS TOWARDS LEGACY PLANNING
According to both Nimo and McCreath, there are several steps that are vital to any attempt at creating a brand that outlives its founder.
1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT BRAND NAME
“If you’re planning to eventually pass your brand on to someone else, ask yourself if you really want to use your own personal name,” McCreath says. “That’s the number one question and for me, that was very clear from the beginning. Choosing a name that doesn’t necessarily center you already means you have an intention for longevity.”
2. MAKE BECOMING INVESTMENT-READY A PRIORITY
“I think this is crucial,” says Nimo. “I know that a lot of brands register as sole proprietorships and are owned almost entirely by the designer. If the brand cannot transcend that structure and shift strategies to attract investment, there is little hope of it ever becoming a legacy brand.”
3. ESTABLISH FIRM BRAND VALUES
“Although Iona and I have a different perspective, we share the same values so you want to make sure that’s the case with whoever you may eventually bring in,” explains McCreath. “And that is certainly easier when it’s a family member but not impossible when it is someone external. Be very clear on what your brand values are so that when you recruit someone you’re already able to decipher whether you’re in sync or not.”
4. BE OPEN TO PARTNERSHIP
“Artists can be emotional and designers see their brands as being their babies, so it’s difficult for them to imagine being separated from their brands and they can struggle to bring in other creative directors or partners,” states Nimo. “This is where they need to become adaptable and begin to understand their brands as businesses. And if they want their brands to become transgenerational, they may need someone to bring in investment and focus on expanding the reach of the brand. Designers need to look beyond themselves and be open to partnership. That is how they’re going to build a foundation for a strong brand that will eventually be in the position to outlive them.”
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