At 408 N Doheny Drive, Ghanaian-born designer Nana Kwame Adusei took over a former M+B art gallery space on July 1. A light-filled space, where four garments imagined as light sculptures, all in tulle and extravagantly sized, float in the center of the store.
“I like the idea that these dresses could be made for creatures from elsewhere,” said Adusei. “We’re probably not the only inhabitants of this universe. Some people are definitely bigger than us. Also, I like the idea of telling myself that I’m not here just to design clothes, but to share an art, a story, to experiment with myself and fashion all the time.”
Originally from Ghana, Adusei first dreamed of a career as a basketball player before becoming interested in fashion. “A dream that quickly fell by the wayside, mainly because of the high cost schools,” explained Adusei. “So I started modeling, studied fashion and its basics, discovered a sewing machine and imagined Charlotte Privé, a first brand using linen, which I presented in my two stores in Ghana.”
In 2019, Adusei, leaves his country and tries his chance to the U.S. “Ghana is a small country,” added Adusei. “Before I moved, there were words I never used, like designer or artist. In Ghana, being a designer can sound weird. I dreamed of a new challenge, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of great designers like Tom Ford or Karl Lagerfeld, who one day left their country to make a success of their lives. And I chose the United States.”
Quickly tiring of the New York weather and cold, Adusei moved to Los Angeles in March 2020, a few days before the start of the Covid pandemic. “Los Angeles is a perfect place and has had a new fashion scene for a few years,” continued Adusei. ‘LA is like a mirror. It just gives back who you really are. I met the best people in the world in Los Angeles.”
Initially based in the Downtown district, Adusei opened a tiny atelier, produced his first models and saw his orders multiply. A rapid growth that convinced him to open a boutique in Beverly Hills.
“Here, we want to bring back the essence of old Hollywood,” continued Adusei. “The idea of timeless fashion made by craftsmen. Also, most of our customers live or work in Beverly Hills. And our boutique, with its private entrance through the rear parking lot, quickly allows us to privatize our space for celebrities. Stylists also navigate this same neighborhood.”
On the store’s racks, Adusei unveils his creations – jumpsuits, pants or jackets in waxed denim, but also short leather skirts and evening dresses, usually black, biker and moto jackets in cropped shapes, oversized jackets and pants. A fashion of chic and sexy that comes in fabrics with a little bit of sound, life, texture and still comfortable, always sourced locally and partly bought from dead stocks of fabrics.
“My brand doesn’t necessarily focus on color, and doesn’t fit with the clichés of African colorful fashion and wax prints that actually don’t belong to African people,” added Adusei. “But it’s all very much African inspired by our body types. Africa is not a skin color but is about the body structure and the body shape as Asian shape can be. This is how we are. Africa is about curves and beautiful silhouettes. My goal is to make unique fashion for unique people, whatever gender they belong to. We often forget that before Africa was colonized, African fashion was genderless. That’s the legacy I’m interested in.”
Kwame Adusei showcased his Summer/Spring 2023 collection in September 2022 in New York, and could take part in the next LA Fashion Week in October 2023.
“LA is beautiful and chic is possible in Los Angeles,” concluded Adusei.
The brand, which produces half its products to order, sells its pieces exclusively over its e-shop and in boutiques. Three sewers work with Kwame Adusei.
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