Designer Phyllis Taylor of Ghanaian fashion brand Sika featured on Italian Vogue’s “Vogue Black”
Posted on Thursday, January 20th, 2011 at 1:23 PMBy BellaNaija.com
London-based Ghanaian designer, Phyllis Taylor, Creative of clothing line, Sika is featured on Italian Vogue’s “Vogue Black” website today.
In her interview with Kenya Hunt, Phyllis chats about sourcing and producing Sika garments in Ghana, she also talks about the tradition behind the fabric – such as the “respect” for fabric in Ghana and the initial resistance she faced because she went against the grain – “We respect the fabric and wear it to places that are important. There’s one style of fabric that the Ghanaian ladies would wear to church. And then another would be for weddings or funerals.”
Phyllis honed her fashion skills at the London College of Fashion and is currently based in London – her label, Sika recently expanded to include accessories, cushions and children’s clothing. She hopes to see the African fashion industry flourish in the future – “Ghana doesn’t have the same history of dressmaking that Italy or India does but they’re now learning new techniques and beginning to see that manufacturing traffic could be diverted to Africa. I don’t know if we’re ready for that just yet. But it’s certainly possible.”
Click here to head over to Vogue Black to read the complete interview.
Check out the most recent Sika collection below:
Tags: Phyllis Taylor, Sika
Absolutely CHIC. I love it.
Whoa!! Lovely designs. Elegant yet simple. I can wear these!
brilliant
really great pieces. I LOVE.
I really love these… I want the silver dress badly…
Beautiful
love it all
I am wowed!!Love “Sika”
Gorgeous! All these ‘so-called’ Nigerian designers need to take note!
You should not generalize! We also have good designers. Just because of Judas that does not mean we should not choose the remaining disciples. I have seen a plethora of good designs of Nigerian designers too. Of course, there are pretenders but there are talents too. If you do not acknowledge a fellow countryman’s talents NOBODY will acknowledge yours. JUST REMEMBER THAT.
Instead of being insulting, defensive and rude the question to the topic of this thread is – do you like or dont like the Sika Collection – answer the question and stop blabbing nonsensical stuff that our not facts – you must have graduated school from quoting wikipedia in all your assignments. Something is printed on website so its fact. How did we even get the word fascism inyour sentence – are you ok??? It is not that serios lil girl.
cool. how do i place an order?
Clean lines, simple understated elegance. What else can I say? All the pieces are totally wearable!
Any idea where to buy the pieces Bella?
on her website. the prices are not too terrible either. as soon as i can scrap some pounds together, i am buying me one of her designs!!!
iLove,love,love
Now this is a fabulous & wearable collection. iLove!
http://www.that1960chick.com
I am loving all the pieces… loving it, the huge rose and all!
Finally!!! A designer who isn’t named “HOUSE OF WHATEVER” I LOVE HER STUFF!!!
Totally wearable! Me likey
Oh seen… u can order online http://www.sikadesigns.co.uk Not cheap though but i guess for this class its may just be worth it
I love everything in this collection, where can one buy her clothes from?
Yep – thats true – ghanaians,ivorians the true pioneers of african fabric which some now calling “ankara” or whatever the hell its called – how that silly name came about i dont know cos no one calls it that in Ghana nor Ivory coast.- The truth is the truth.
get your facts right and stop hating on Nigeria.If all your are going to do is hate just go to Ghanian or Ivory Coast website then. These people always so jealous… Anyway nothing new or unique here. Go to Tisbees and other boutique (and fashion shows) in Naija. A lot of serious Nigerians designers have been doing this kind of designs for years now.
growing up in Gambia I do remember the countries most synonmous with this dutch prints worn in different styles were Ghanaians (worn to this day called “Kaba & Slit) and Ivorians and also Togolese too- so all this defensive and angriness coming out of you is unnecessary – Can we be civil and just talk. Bella maybe on this board you need to do a research on this african print – the history behind how the dutch even started it and who the true pioneers of wearing or advocating it were before the 90s when everybody else starting FORCEFULLY claiming it to be theirs. I have read many nigerian designer interveiws and they always claim “ankara” to be thiers when its NOT TRUE – growing up all i remember to my nigerian friends whre the Ashoke. I honestly get tired of this debate and i wish its settled and the truth be told as is.
actually Ankara is a bastadization of Accra. About 20-40 years ago, a lot of African print fabrics (like woodin and some other ones) seem to not have been too readily available in Nigeria. So cloth dealers went to Accra, Ghana to buy the fabrics – so the cloths that were being sold on thee market were brought from Accra. I gues with the accent and everything, the pronunciation of Accra was bastardized to “Ankara” and it’s stuck till this day, even though Nigerian dealers don’t get most of their fabrics from Accra anymore.. There you have it. I learned this over Christmas, lol – the things you learn by hanging with old people.
Lol. Lady Jaye you couldn’t be more WRONG. People tell a lot of tall tales, here are the facts. Ankara itself has its roots in Dutch wax-print fabrics. YES DUTCH NOT GHANA OR IVORY COAST. Let go of that fantasy. The Turks made a cheaper version of it. Which we now call ankara. Don’t believe me? here follow these links
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/22/2126/fashion-reborn-blends-of-african-outfits-from-ankara1.asp
AND
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-06-20-identity-complexity .
Like the Italians adopted pizza from the Chinese, Nigerian artisans and other WEST AFRICANS adopted this fabric of the DUTCH AND TURKS. Hence the different names for the fabric. Simple as that. Can not corrupt facts with fascist sentiments.
Actually Ankara is the capital of Turkey AND THE ORIGIN OF THE CHEAP ANKARA. This cheap ankara a derivative of DUTCH Wax based Fabric. It is called ankara because the popular cheap ankara sold in Nigeria originated of Ankara city of Turkey. Simple as that. Nothing to do with any African country
Well, thanks for schooling them. And me…Checked out the sites too. Thanks chica!
Meme –
there is no need to be rude and snarky with your comments. I NEVER SAID anywhere that ACCRA was the origin of the fabrics.Obviously that’s not true. I SAID they were not READILY avialable in Nigeria, and so dealers went to Accra to buy them in bulk, hence the bastardization of the name. And ACTUALLY, if you want to go back in history – “African prints” are actually copycats of THAI and SOuth (? SOuth-East? East?) Asian prints. Africans liked the patterns on Thai fabrics and stuff and started making Africanized copies. When the Dutch came to trade, they saw an opportunity and then started making Dutch wax to sell to WesAfricans. Get YOUR facts straight before you go all rude on other people. and of course Ankara is the capital of Turkey. We know that!
I love sika…………..in a lighter note why is the model always inclined to the right???? Center of gravity moved???LOL!
Her model is wearing the dress – she is very pretty. At least am not seeing any giraffe looking ashy knees model. I support Sika’s style. Very low key -yet one of THE best.
Oh seen… u can order online http://www.sikadesigns.co.uk Not cheap though but i guess for this class it may just be worth it
WOW WOW WOW!!!! Totally gorgeous. Every peice is fantastic and wearable. i like!
awww….this model looks like the taller version of myself.
love it !!!!
wow, dresses really fab. wish we can get some to buy here in GH though
wow,fabulous dresses. where can I get to buy one in GH?
The prices had me uhh..*cough* British Pounds? Shoot.
Now THIS is what i’m talking about,brilliant!
Now this is a designer! Not like some of the other wannabees out there. This lady knows what she’s doing and she does it well. Good work, miss Taylor. You’ll go very far.
That’s what a collection should look like…
pls where can we get her stuff in nij
This is what designing is about. Everything here is TOTALLY wearable and ROCKABLE!!
absolutely gorgeous….i’m making one or two “wink”
woooooooow! This is by far the best collection I have seen in a while. I would wear everyone of them! Lovely
simply fabulous!
I love love, simple, clean lines, classy yes!!!!
oh wow! love everything!, getting me some sika now!!!!!
Bella, you shouldn’t even approve some people’s comments. Damsel and Ogoni and Lady Jaye’s comments are just meant to create fights. “Haters” all of them. Just go elsewhere will you? smh.
Her shop is round the corner to my house in Greenwich. She has been my little secret for a while.. .Now i fear all you naija wannabees will start running there to shop. I wish to God bella never got wind of this designer, so that you guys can keep wasting your money on medicre and overpriced naija ‘designers’.
She is a bit pricey, you have to admit.I saw the prices on the website.
http://www.bellanaija.com/2007/01/17/sika-ghana/
wow…….these styles r off d izzle
LOVE just about every piece!
HEEEEYYY!!!! Those prices are not smiling o. Please does Lou Akande have any younger brother??
Maybe if I go to the store, they will be cheaper sha…
totally wearable! wow!
we r proud of u dear!
You couldnt have said it better – its always the loud mouth wannabees people who dont deliver ish. And the slow but sure ones are always the best – the low key ones – i am glad to learn of this lady today. I will look out for her stuff. Its so nice
I like the fact that she sews in Ghana – this is all ways we can create jobs in our own homeland for our brothers and sisters instead of china china china. Thats very good. I hope all african designers will sew at home no matter the mass production of their product. African for Africans- For us By Us
Beautiful
i coulda sworn the fabric Kente IS ALSO originally from Naija :lol – i dont know ohh lets ask our expert MIMI
Yes Chioma, every good thing comes frm Naija!
now we know why there is and will never be peace in our nation.
Anyway the dresses are nice sha and the prices are right
Why the overgeneralization and the curses? There’s peace in my nation….intermittent bouts of violence does not mean there’s no peace in the nation. Recently, there were bombings in Arizona here in the U.S. in addition to numerous suicides and high unemployment rates. Are they peace-less too? Abeg, make we calm down and rationalize before we make such comments on public forums.
http://inspiredbymypeople.blogspot.com/
Chineke God!!! Unarguably the best collection ever on BN!!!!! Chai!!!
I want every single piece! **breath** wow!
heyyyyyy u guys shut d – up and admire this damn thing!! kaiiiiii! this is so beautifullll!! its elegant and sophisticated!! im sorrryyyyyy to be honesstttt! i am nigerian BUT!! iv never seen any nigerian designer make use of these fabric like this lady! nigerian abusssseee ankara! they make it look so cheap n tacky! like house of nwaocha! n d rest of them iv seen on this site! only jewel by lisa can make good use of these fabric! but this right here is not just stylish and can be worn to an event in hollywood it is also refreshing and chic! n yet simple! abeg she tryyyyyy!
impeccable
Hot fierce stunning and all that yet wearable
Wow, simply exquisite.
Wow wow wow just wow, the collection is beautiful.
The clothes are very chic and extremely wearable! Love ‘em all… To all the people spoiling for a fight, can’t we all just get along? Can’t we just appreciate a beautiful collection and move on without drawing comparisons?? Na wa o!!
deyunm!!! why does she have to be so good? delicious pieces. i absolutely love!!!
thumbs up sika,totally wearable
My onli prob is,if I see sme1 wearin sika,iwont recognise it!!…bad
I adore Sika. The first & only time I went to London, I made sure to stop by her shop and have one of her dresses. I get compliments wherever I wear it incl. my graduation & a wedding. I plan on shopping w/ her in the future.
LOVE that she works (sews) in Ghana. I’ve met Phylis and she has an AWESOME attitude and personality.
I am speechless. This is some real talent and designs that are actually wearable. Nigerians like to claim everything. You will be surprise how much talent other Africans have to offer, they are just really humble about it, and don’t broadcast it everywhere like Nigerians.
God bless Africa.
Perfection. In addition, the model is gorgeous, the best I’ve seen.
Absolutely adorable!!! Me like.
i am just in love with your dresses. my birthday is coming up this month but all the dresses i saw online they are not my size. i know that you must be really busy but how can i contact you personally so that you can make me some dresses. if you can respond to me you don’t know how much it will mean to me. i love your dresses and i love to wear Ghanaian cloths since i am Ghanian as well.thanks
[...] designs while checking out African fashion on Pinterest. The genius behind Sika boutique is London-based Ghanaian designer, Phyllis Taylor. And what a genius she is. She fuses Ghanaian prints and Western styles to [...]
U ar 2 mucb, i hav smtin 2 discuz wit ma felow designers, u can find me on facebook as Arrealla Red.
i will like you to train my kid sister in fashion and designing because that is her hobby
I am a Cameroonian