DESIRÈE IYAMA 2023 COLLECTION – WHY NOT NOW

African fashion has never been basic. What started ages ago from woven fibre clothes, beaded embroidery, and layered ceremonial wear. Has transitioned into modernised creative takes that can be used both as a traditional piece and a modern piece. This shift is precisely what the Desirèe Iyama brand represents.

What started as the need to create unique pieces for close clients slowly evolved into a global brand that promotes African femininity and beautifies women, regardless of their shape, size or colour.

What struck out the most with the designs at Desirèe Iyama is the creative authenticity they possessed and the colourful nature of their materials. The brand’s vision aims to help women regain their confidence through their looks, emphasising that one good statement piece can be all a woman needs to get back on their feet.

Desirèe Iyama’s SS23 collection, “Why Not Now”, expresses a modernised take on African fashion and through colours, attributes what the general public doesn’t really see in the African culture, the peace, love and harmony shared. This collection, displayed at the Lagos Fashion Week in 2022, seeks to show poise when no one is watching and challenge the creative norm of waiting for perfection.

Going forward, it is critical to see if the brand has done just that.

This first piece from this collection is a long, dashing turquoise green gown. As the model walks, the flair texture of her dress swishes, highlighting the elegance and sheer nature of the gown. At first glance, it looks like a simple, modest dress, but after a closer look, you can see that the designer takes her time to pronounce the front, layering the fabrics into folds and organising it into a pattern that flows carefully, decorating the front burst.

The satin material used is merged neatly with the designer’s structured tailoring, and together, it presents a seamless transition between thick textures and a standard construction. Illuminating her take on boldness as an accessory, and prompting her cultural roots through the small, dramatic essence at the front.

This piece, although beautiful and bold, does not really fit into the theme of Why Not Now. Instead, it comes off as a simple, elegant piece that could wash out in the presence of bold outfits. However, maybe with proper styling, a wearer could achieve something close. Here, the model styles this piece with regular flat slippers and her natural hair, diminishing the bold take of the look.

If approached with slender heels and more thought-out hair, it would have appeared better. And regardless of how new and fresh the design is, it could be easily copied because all that distinguishes it from a regular dress is the value in front.

However, this dress could do brilliantly in the market, especially for women who are trying to decide between being simple and bold. Overall, it is a clever piece, and if styled better be more aligned with the theme.

I named this design the illuminating red because that’s exactly what it represents. This red, captivating dress, styled with huge pink dangling hoops and a blue beaded bag, embodies the boldness the brand hopes to represent. Here, Desirèe Iyama takes a deeper dive into the outfit’s silhouettes and explores a creative take on the design construction.
The dress, long, flowing, and dramatic, displays elegant pleated gathers that form a twirl around the model’s shoulder and chest. These pleats don’t just consume the front layer of her chest, it transcends down to the side of her dress on one side and through her sleeves on the other. Taking the dress from an ordinary structure with a loud colour, to a transformative piece that speaks volumes.

While this dress shows more promise with the styling, the chunky earrings and beaded bag, going perfectly with the look, the dress itself is not a style that would turn heads in the local market, except with a crowd that seeks to explore or experience a look like that at least once.

Aside from this, once the creative pleats are taken out, the dress resembles a simple ensemble, with nothing much to take home from it. True, the initial loudness and boldness of the design fit into the theme Why Not Now, but it fails to meet the mark as one of her exquisite, unique pieces that her audience has gotten accustomed to.

This third piece from Desirèe’s 2023 collection is an eye catcher, and from the model’s look and walk, it gives a bold and dangerous vibe. Ironically, blue is used for mild, subtle, or fun expression, so it is exciting to see it being interpreted into another form of gesture, daring.

This blue custom-designed piece sits at the top of the best outfits for this collection, clearly representing the theme, Why Not Now, with style, texture, and overall creative design. The model is styled in a high ponytail and a blue veil that is barely visible through the front, but shows a promising finish at the back.

The gown starts with a curved neck that highlights the model’s bosom, shifting into short, thrilling balloon hands. This then transforms into a flowing finish that highlights a big, stylish pleat at the hem of the dress. The textile of the design is astonishing and transcends beyond just a standard material to a construction that represents flair and style.

This is a look that represents what African feminism should look like, with key details in the structure, texture and colour of the design. As this dress seeks to give confidence and boldness, just like the brand presents, it sits perfectly in the local market, as a prom dress, themed party wear or even something artistic and formal that can be worn to a ball, increasing its market value.

Overall, it is a great way to not be loud but still be the star of the show.

It’s extremely hard to see dresses that are layered look so casual. Most times, dresses like this come with a sophisticated, tailored look, and while this is not void of that, it is too casual to be seen as a standout piece.

At first glance, viewers can see a simple knee-length dress, layered to its three-quartered end. It starts with a plain satin vest for the top, and stretches into a thin layer of transparent organza, embroidered in bright red stitches at the end.

This look is paired with a beaded bag, casual slippers and a stunning cream earpiece that completes the look. The red beaded bag and cream earrings go perfectly well with this look, but paired with the boring slippers, it takes the elegance out of it and turns it into something more casual than poise.

Aside from the overall sheer look of the outfit, Desirèe Iyama have done great work with the texture, textile and technical sewing of the dress, tailoring it near to perfection while keeping the unique structures; however, this is in no way a statement piece, and does not fit into the theme.

Although with its simple style and unique nature, it could do well in the local market, as an easy-to-wear outfit for people always on the go.

This dress is the perfect fit for the theme, Why Not Now. It’s bold, confident, and fits perfectly into the title of the outfit, the moment. This look does a good job of embodying the creator’s theme and fashion standards. In a system where it is almost impossible for fashion to be inclusive, especially for the bigger girls, this is a refreshing take on modernised African feminism.

The dress starts with a single-strap hand and moves into a small top that ascends the model’s chest, with an opening slightly below the chest, exposing a dazzling yet flirtatious feel. This dress is then surrounded by a single gathered pleat around the dress that stops perfectly above the model’s knee.

This model is then styled with strapless heels, another beaded bag, but this time with creative drips that fall all around the bag, alongside captivating dangling earrings. These accessories elevate the look from not just an ordinary bold dress to something chic and luxurious.

The overall construction of this dress is perfectly aligned, and the material the designer explores has the right texture for the fit. For the local market, this dress would do extremely well, first because it is size-inclusive, and next because of the overall creativity of the design.

The brand is already doing better than most fashion brands and if done properly in a few years, they can rise to reach the likes of Zara or even Gucci. Apart from the tempting, flirtatious design of the dress, which a lot of conservative people may not like, it fits perfectly into the collections standard and theme.

The Desirèe Iyama collection of 2023 represents a confident fashion brand that takes pride in dressing its audience in bold, creative, modernised fashion. Each piece made represents the brand’s take on what African feminism looks like and how women should be proud of modern feminist structures.

Though the intentions of the brand are clear and well recognised, for this collection, more attention should be given to the styling and the overall outcomes of the outfits. Additionally, the peculiar choice of colours is intriguing and compelling, but exploring less bright colours would have done the outfits more good.

A collection like this can redefine African fashion in a way that promotes our values. With the use of exquisite locally sourced materials and creativity fuelled by passion, it can establish a standard that exceeds the styles we are used to.

This collection not only elevates our taste for African fashion, but it also highlights what we can expect from brands like this and the future generation of creatives in Africa.

Abisola Omolade