Afro Mod Trends - A Verse In Buttons
Accessorizing your outfits with colourful buttons is definitely the dernier cri of high fashion, made so by the creative prowess and good eye of Ami, founder and CEO of Afro Mod Trends.
Specializing in her niche of pushing buttons beyond mere functional use, Afro Mod Trends’s currently raging collection ‘Me’, “incorporates buttons, patchwork and beads: which are all produced from recycled materials (scraps of fabric & glass waste) into its outfits. All embellishments and accessories are done by hand.”
This master stroke of art has made her fairly a sole producer in the much coveted button design.
“After some research, I discovered that buttons are not for functional purposes anymore. Buttons can be used for aesthetics and embellishments as well. AMT has gone back to the original use of the button as more of an ornament rather than a fastening.”
A conception in the lecture halls of KNUST, Ami embellishes quite candidly, “Afro Mod Trends was born from sketches done in a school notebook in a very boring lecture.
These sketches started taking shape and reality in the form of fabric embellished tank tops.
After some research into other everyday items which can be used as embellishment, the maiden collection ‘Me’ was conceived.” Despite a brief affair with fashion at the age of ten and an inherited family passion for handiwork, modeling for Kofi Ansah, the cocoon became a butterfly in her adult years, studying architecture in the KNUST.
No doubt the creativity and finesse involved in architectural design and finish worked on her creative flair and itchy stylish hands, and the result? We got us the withdrawn formality of haute couture doused in the wildness and kitty playfulness of colourful buttons – truly avant garde!
“I discovered my talent for fashion designing in architecture school. They both follow similar principles of design and I definitely apply these to my outfits.”
Combining roles as a trainee architect and fashion designer, as expected, the road has not exactly been a skating rink, describing the chinks as embodying themselves in “proper marketing, startup capital as well as garnering more capital to deliver growing orders.”
However, support from friends and family was a plus. From the very modest beginnings of a fashion show in the Business School department of KNUST and sponsoring the 2012 Miss Wisconsin Pageant, Afro Mod Trends has graced the huge international platforms of the Glitz Fashion Week, amidst the helpless oohs and ahs of admiring customers.
Describing her collections, Ami says, “From casual tops and skirts to chic dresses to fun accessories such as the button rope necklace or the bulace brooch, there is something for every woman of every age. But most of our clients fall within the 18-35 demographic age. From the sketches to the final button embellishments, the hand is very central in our creative process. It ensures a personal touch with every one of our outfits.”
With its simple lines, chic but unfussy, classy but sexy, easy to wear and maintain flavor, AMT pieces certainly have this bon ton air about it, oozing the simple sophistication of high class society.
Generously sharing what makes her unique, Ami says, “There are different kinds of designers in the industry: those who create their niche and deliver specialty designs, those focused on haute couture and amongst the many breeds, those who want to satisfy the everyday woman. The everyday woman through her daily journey desires clothes that are easy to wear and maintain, simple yet classy. This is the hallmark of AMT.”
Ami’s muse is definitely the simple yet classy, trendsetting, non-overboard, and impeccable finish -- qualities her all-time favourite designer, Victoria Beckham, is celebrated for.
However, it’s not just about fashion for this designer. “This year AMT is partnering Utopia-Wishlist (a volunteer organization focused on improving the education of deprived children in society) on a project dubbed Reading Club 2012 at Omanjor D/A basic school in Accra.
The Reading Club Project aims to improve on the student’s written and spoken English by piquing their interest in reading, providing them with the required resources and organizing assisted reading sessions for the students with members of the organization.
From every purchase of an AMT product, a contribution is made for the purchase of a book to support the Reading Club project.” AMT is also in the planning stages of their next AMT exclusive fashion show at the end of the year, dubbed Fashion For Change. Well, we must look good for a sensible reason!
The horizon is too close a limit for Ami. In the very capable hands of AMT, it’s Ghana, Africa and beyond.
Afro Mod Trends would be showcasing her latest designs at Citi FM’s Expressions of Accra – Threads of Time. Come check out her newest on Saturday 27th October 2012.
