I’m In Fashion! – IyZaiah presents “The Gold Coast Collection”
Posted on Friday, October 29th, 2010 at 11:46 AMBy Ijeoma Ndekwu
I’m In Fashion is a BN feature dedicated to newcomers in the fashion industry. I’m In Fashion! serves as a platform to introduce their labels to BN readers. In addition, we hope it will be a forum for interaction; encouraging reader suggestions on the label and recommendations for the designer.
Ghanaian fashion designer Akua Serwaa-Sarfo is out with her first collection for IyZaiah -‘The Gold Coast Collection“
Label Ethos: “Inspired and Influenced by traditional handicrafts with origins from Ghana, IyZaiah is a unique and exciting clothing and accessory brand bringing traditional techniques to life in a modern way. Serwaa is a huge supporter of independent women who are strong, confident and proud of their heritage. Her designs represent the way in which she views women. Sophisticated! IyZaiah epitomizes sophisticated fashion forward couture fusing African culture with contemporary flare.”
About Collection : “IyZaiah first collection is The Gold Coast Collection. There have been previous pieces that were created but it was just a teaser to give the people what was to come. The Gold Coast Collection is inspired by the beautiful and diverse personalities in the country of Ghana. This collection comprises of 12 pieces; 6 cocktail dresses and 6 gowns. The pieces in this collection are very diverse, just like the characters of those in Ghana. The pieces range from, serene and mellow gowns, to punk-like cocktail dresses, to girly embellished dresses to bold backless gowns. In every ntoma piece used for this collection, there are intricate traces of gold in it, which symbolizes the richness of these personalities. Accessories from Iyzaiah are ladies shoes and men’s bowties.”
BN Review:It’s a dramatic collection; we see statement sleeves, layered bubble hems, exaggerated ruffles and a bit of bling. She experiments with African fabrics to create bold dresses, bowties and shoes. I am totally in love with in this collection; the bubble gown is easily my favourite and I adore the Kente cocktail dress with peaked dramatic sleeves and the ruffle cocktail dress. In my opinion, they are the strongest pieces in this collection. I like the boldness of the collection, however, some pieces require slight editing, as it seems like a lot going on. For a first collection, I can tell the feel of the brand, which is great however, for the next, I will love to be presented with a more streamlined and fine tuned collection.
View “The Gold Coast Collection” below:
There you have it! Would love to hear your opinion on the collection.
We appreciate comments with substance and encourage constructive criticism. The purpose of the ‘I’m In Fashion!‘ feature is to inspire and encourage the new generation of African design talent. Note that designers featured are new to the industry and in most cases, put together their lookbooks on a limited budget.
Tags: Akua Serwaa-Sarfo, I'm In Fashion!, IyZaiah
Not Bad,Love the Shoes!!!
These have creative touch and it was the right appearance for change face contest 2011 native appearance. thanks to editor for updates and more grace for designers.
I know some people complain and say too many designers in or from Naija; but I say its a good thing. Remember when our movie industry started out?! They were pumping alot of movies bad and bad, then it grew and some good ones were being made. It was because of the amount of movies made that put us on the map internationally and locally. Yes, I know it is not up to par with the international movie industry however they know us.
Hopefully, we’ll put our fashion on the map (internationally and within Africa); sort of like a makeshift version of Milan and Paris or even better (no harm in dreaming).
Nice outfits.
I know they are Ghanians but I just had to say that anyway.
Beautiful. Great use of fabric and lovely designs, she took things we’ve seen before and made them hers. I absolutely love the shoes. If this is just your first collection, can’t wait to see what else you do!
The shoes and bow ties did it for me.
Well done….
love the shoes, and the green dress is just smashing, the photography can be better thou, that 5th picture is awful
Some fab pieces! Weldone!
OMG the shoes, wow! very wearable collection
Wow, the 3rd picture.. talk about fishtail!!! Awesome collection, love the short dress with yellow puff.. but 1 question this power puff shoulders african designers are making with Ankara; E go fit hold body so?? Because after washing all these wax loose their stiffness… Just wondering..
Beautiful shoes! Love pieces 7, 8,9 and 10…photography Is so poor…
All beautiful designs. are there accessible to the general public for purchase?
love the shoes!!!!
i like d kente cocktail dress
nice bow ties et shoes!
loves it all
I love the Half Blazer concept real creative and the shoes absolutely rock… Any chance one can get such shoes in Naija I think itd be awesome for my traditional wedding attire
the shoes are gorgeous!!
i love the shoes concept. I however think she needs to work on her bustiers.
lovely
esp the shoes
LOve the shoes!!!!!!!!!
like everyone else…..the shoes…c’est magnifique…..where are the selling?
The shoes!
oh gawdd can this “cut n sew” people stop calling them selves designers? pls? geezzz im tired of seeing same thing everytime! can they like use other fabrics aside ankara for once? if u are a true designer, u should be able to use other fabrics! not these colorful ankara business! i am so tiredddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd!! stretched out shoulders AGAIN oh jesus! this looks like house of nwacha n the rest of them iv seen on this blog! jeezzz no skillz whatsoever! anybody n i mean anybody can do this! even my tailor next door would collect 1000naira to sew this! asin do u guys know what it means to be a DESIGNER? gosh yall are all tailorrrsssssss! CUT & SEW that is!
Easy….Breathe in…Breathe Out…..In….Out……There you go! Better already!
I REALLY want to see what you have to offer. 2 KEY WORDS…AFRICAN INSPIRED ! seriously, if you have nothing constructive to add don’t talk at all..STOP THE HATING..I understand you have the right to an opinion but there is a difference b/w holding an opinion and be straight up disrespectful. I’m POSITIVE a lot of time, effort and dedication went into this. You stay here cutting people up. WHAT ARE YOU DOING to add to the fashion industry..waka.
CHIDI, YOU ARE A TRUE BLACK AND ALSO AFRICAN … (ALWAYS CRITICIZING ON WHAT OTHER AFRICAN, INDEPENDENCE AND INTELLIGENT WOMEN ARE DOING BECAUSE THEY CAN NOT DO THE SAME THING) … I FEEL HURT BECAUSE IT SEEM THAT AFRICAN CAN NEVER UNITE AND HELP AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MY FELLOW SISTER OR BROTHER IS DOING SOMETHING THAT GOD HAS BLESS, THEM WITH.
SECONDLY: I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADDRESS (originalgbegboru) U HAVE AGREE ON SOMETHING SO IMMATURE, TAKE THE TIME AND REALLY LOOK WHAT MISS SARFO HAS CREATED … MY QUESTION TO YOU IS WHAT IS UR OPINION ON HER CLOTHES & SHOES… I AM ASSUMING YOU HAVE A SEWER WHO SEWS YOUR CLOTHES (AFRICAN CLOTHES) FOR YOU TO WEAR, DO YOU TELL HIM/HER THAT OO THIS PEICE I AM WEARING LOOK LIKE CUT AND SEW OR CUT AND PASTE?? CHECK YOUR SELVES AND YOUR LIFE (CHIDI AND originalgbegboru)
THIRDLY: ARE YOU TWO ALSO TRYING TO IMPLY THAT THE WRITER DID NOT CHECK OR KNOW WHAT SHE/HE WAS TALKEN ABOUT WHEN THEY DECIDE TO MAKE AN ARTICLE ON MISS SARFO COLLECTION…?
LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST MISS SARFO YOU’RE AN AMAZING, TALENTED, INDEPENDENT, WHO GOD HAS BLESS WITH AN AMAZING GIFT.
DON’T LET NEGATIVE PEOPLE LIKE CHIDI AND HER RAT originalgbegboru BRING YOU DOWN..HEAD UP!!! U TRULY ARE THE REASON AS TO WHY NELSON MANDELLA, KWAME NKRUMAH AND MANY MORE SAID WE SHOULD RISE TO MAKE AFRICA A BETTER PLACE … YOU HAVE GIVEN SOMEONE HOPE!!!!
P.S I WANT A PAIR OF SHOES WHERE DO I GET THEM FROM ???
hear hear chidi………CUT & SEW indeed. SMH
I absolutely Love this, Chic but still Stays True to Africa!! To CHIDI can you do any better??? WHO ARE YOU TO SAY THAT SOMEONE IS A CUT AND SEW DESIGNER, COME CORRECT NEXT TIME BUD, JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE USES THE TRADITIONAL AFRICAN PRINT FRABIC DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE A CUT AND SEW TAILOR? INFACT YOU ARE MAD I WOULD LIKE YOU TO EVEN GO TO FABRIC LAND AND GET SATIN MATERIAL AND MAKE A SIMPLE T- SHIRT!! THIS IS WHY IT IS CALLED AFRICAN INSPIRED AS U CAN SEE SHE MIXES PRINTS AND FABRIC ARE U BLIND OR JUST INCOMPTENT OF SEEING WHAT IS ON YOUR SCREEN. BOUT ANYONE CAN DO THIS! IF THATS THE CASE PLEASE DISPLAY YOUR ITEMS FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO SEE , I CANT STAND PEOPLE THAT HAVE NUTHING GOOD TO SAY.
Anyways Youd designs are lovely and keep on doing your thing, its all apart of this fashion industry people will always have thigns to say but that comes with it
toodles
xoxox
Hot hot Hot!! Love everything the shoes espescially
I really Like where can I purchase???
the styles are interesting,but the photography downplayed the beauty of the designs, a more demure and clear background would have been fantastic.goodluck!
Yeah, that’s some awful photoshop skills, even simple selection can’t be done properly. SMH
I co-sign this….she needs to invest in a proper photoshoot…
The shoes are the only redeeming quality.
meant redeeming items, offerrings etc.
I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THE CHIDI IS A TRUE BLACK AND ALSO AFRICAN … ALWAYS CRITICIZING ON WHAT OTHER AFRICAN, INDEPENDENCE AND INTELLIGENT WOMEN ARE DOING BECAUSE THEY CAN NOT DO THE SAME THING … I FEEL HURT BECAUSE IT SEEM THAT AFRICAN CAN NEVER UNITE AND HELP AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MY FELLOW SISTER OR BROTHER IS DOING SOMETHING THAT GOD HAS BLESS, THEM WITH.
SECONDLY: I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADDRESS (originalgbegboru) U HAVE AGREE ON SOMETHING SO IMMATURE, TAKE THE TIME AND REALLY LOOK WHAT MISS SARFO HAS CREATED … MY QUESTION TO YOU IS WHAT IS UR OPINION ON HER CLOTHES SHOES… I AM ASSUMING YOU HAVE A SOWER WHO SOWS YOUR CLOTHES (AFRICAN CLOTHES) FOR YOU TO WEAR, DO YOU TELL HIM/HER THAT OO THIS PEICE I AM WEARING LOOK LIKE CUT AND SOW OR CUT AND PASTE?? CHECK YOUR SELVES AND YOUR LIFE (CHIDI AND originalgbegboru)
THIRDLY: ARE YOU TWO ALSO TRYING TO IMPLY THAT THE WRITER DID NOT CHECK OR KNOW WHAT SHE/HE WAS TALKEN ABOUT WHEN THEY DECIDE TO MAKE AN ARTICLE ON MISS SARFO COLLECTION…?
LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST MISS SARFO YOU’RE AN AMAZINE, TALENTED, INDEPENCE, WHO GOD HAS BLESS WITH AN AMAZINE GIFT.
DON’T LET NEGATIVE PEOPLE LIKE CHIDI AND HER RAT originalgbegboru BRING YOU DOWN..HEAD UP!!! U TRULY ARE A THE REASON AS TO WHY NELSON MANDELLA, KWAME NKROMA AND MANY MORE SAID WE SHOULD RISE TO MAKE AFRICA A BETTER PLACE … YOU HAVE GIVEN SOMEONE HOPE!!!!
P.S I WANT A PAIR OF SHOES WHERE DO I GET THEM FROM ???
Gawd, those shoes are IT for me, every other things is a myabe; nay nay…
But I screamed out when I saw those shoes…
I want one; wanna throw all my whitey friends into strong intense jealousy….Chei abeg those shoes fit kill person
shoes r unique n nice
I don’t get Chidi’s problem, if this is supposed to be an african inspired collection why does she need to use other material? It’s her collection she can use whatever material she wants. You go and make your own clothes, and use all the materials you want in the world. cheeser. How can you sit there and say Iyzaiah has NO SKILL whatsoever?? Anyone can look at this and know that these outfits would take a considerable amount of skill to make, this is not by heart, by heart stuff. Do you know the thought processes that went into the collection? Do you know the amount of effort. If you’re going to criticize at least give constructive criticism.
I think the clothes are very well done, and I think the designer will have much more in store for the viewing public.
Cut and sew. Pshh, girl please.
Nice work..i just can no longer tell any of these designers apart. I need to start sewing too
the clothes are ok and the person who mentioned about the industry having too many fake designers is right .but its a good thing though because thats how the good ones are separated from the ordinary.http://mbabaziannet.blogspot.com
This collecting is even more breathtaking in person!! saw her at a show a few weeks back…Loves it!
I am really surprised at Chidi’s comments .Saying that the designer has no skills, i think is being too harsh. You can see she put in alot of effort into her work .As for your take on Ankara, when i read your comments, i laughed because what you are blasting her over is what foreign designers are being inspired by. Gwen Stephani (who is the designer of L.A.M.B) used the fabric in her latest collection.
Follow the link http://yeoal.blogspot.com/2010/10/gwens-lamb-loves-ankara.html for the story and pictures of her 2011 SS collection where she used Ankara. Love the shoes though.
d shoe wit d bow at d back did it for me
how can I get the shoes.?I love it
loove the shoesss
I absoluteyly love those shoes
Funny thing is the clothes didn’t blow me away , the shoes did. I would not mind owning one. The clothes they are just okay, I do see what you mean, bella about some pieces being edited a little and some other I wanted more or felt like I have seen that before.
My dear, the clothes didn’t blow me away either, except for the second-to-the-last female piece….that i think is wearable, I coulda sworn fishtails were no longer in vogue, dunno why i keep seeing ‘em in so many collections these days!
lol…the girl in the first pic has a funny pose…
Loving the shoes!!
these styles are awesome!!i want ….how do i book pleaaase?reply ASAP
dunno bout d clothes but pls just stick to making shoes!!! dey r very unique n lovely
Not sure which website Chidi thinks he is on, but this is Bella NAIJA aka AFRICAN fashion, if you want Vogue >>>>>>>>>>>> door is open
looking good
The shoe. I Love them. How can I get one.
how do you contact the designer for purchase inquiries?