Monday, February 16, 2009

the african fashion collective: momo by fati asebuela

subdued, reserved, no va-va-voom. momo could've blown our minds but didn't, which makes us wonder why not. we've seen her BRING it. we remember her fabulous dresses from thisday's africa rising event in london:


...but her fabulousness didn't quite make the leap to new york. instead, we got the following:

the de ja vu dress:

so-called because we've seen it before, and this is probably the most boring version yet. simple, straight-to-the-point, nothing to it.


this dress is perhaps a relatively more refreshing take on the sheer trend:


the print dresses:


too cliche, too boring, too "i copied and pasted this fabric on this boring silhouette because i couldn't be bothered". yes, we see the nods to wildlife...but there's something unnervingly tame and flat about these pieces.

this one isn't so bad...


...there's a fluidity and quiet playfulness about it that we like. must be the length and the sleeves.

color + jackets:



these pieces are saved by their gorgeous colors. otherwise, they'd be pretty flat, too.

mix-and-match:

we see some attempts at sprucing things up here and these are probably our favorite looks from her show. a little more in this direction and much less in the drab lane and we'd probably have many more complimentary things to say. having hats and basic patent shoes as her only accessories didn't help much. granted, some of these pieces might look a little more alive with the right accessories but the point of a runway show isn't to give us a blank canvas; it's to tickle our imaginations awake. thus, we absolutely should've seen more accessories on the runway and then we could've taken our cues from there and added our own personal touches. that said, the actual dresses themselves could've used considerably more work. what happened to all the little details?

we're keeping our fingers crossed for an outstanding comeback for momo because we know fati has it in her to be amazing. this collection is by no means a reflection of her potential.

xo

4 comments:

omotayo™ said...

that was a bit of a snooze-inducing collection. i saw photos from the entire thing, and it felt like the designers were intimidated by the idea if fashion week and ended up making, well, weak fashion!


oh, and thanx for stopping by ours :)

xoliquoricexo said...

@ iHeart: LOL @ weak fashion :-) LOVE IT!! sigh. fingers crossed for next time...

thank you, too! and you're welcome :-)

xo

Anonymous said...

I think momo was trying too hard to be like the western designers and as they say, you dont take coal to Newcastle.

Stoned cherrie needs to work on her colour palette and making a piece interesting without making it fussy.

Tiffany Amber would benefit from developing her own point of view instead of trying to bring too many ideas from other designers into her collection. I've always felt she has a great understanding of what nigerian women want but nothing that would be relevant internationally. This collection proved it.

Xuly bet was ok, but just ok.

These designers did it for the "I was at new york fashion week" cache in thier home countrys anyway so it probably doesnt matter.

First time on your blog.... I like!

xoliquoricexo said...

@ anon: LOL @ you don't take coal to Newcastle :-) you've raised some very interesting points. on a general note, i agree that they didn't "bring it" as a whole and there's a LOT of room for improvement. fingers crossed until next time, eh?

we really appreciate your dropping by and leaving a comment! thanks :-)

xo