DABIYA means “IT SHALL BE WELL” in Tchamba, spoken by a small percentage of people in the northern regions of Ghana and Togo.
This season’s collection was inspired by the brand’s processes that can make the world a better place.
Fabric waste has always been a massive problem in the fashion industry.
Tons of fabrics are ever so often brought down to Africa from the western markets and this makes up the enormous waste in landfills and water bodies.
Jafaru has always believed strongly in protecting the environment and improving the brand’s value chain.
A large percentage of fabric used for the brand’s collections over the years is deadstock from manufacturers in the west that is being dumped here in Ghana. This is not because Larry Jay is happy international fabric mills are overproducing.
It is rather in line with the brand’s ethos of reducing as much waste as possible in its environments and the fashion production cycle at large.
This deadstock is repurposed into the brand’s artisanal fabrics with the help of their craftsmen in the city who employ vintage hand tie-dye and batik techniques.
It also plays a vital role in their up-cycling initiative and empowering indigenous artisanal skills.
For the second time, the brand worked with handwoven fabrics made by a team of weavers Jafaru scouted up north over a year ago, his intentions being to sustainably protect and preserve culture from his northern heritage.
