This collection was inspired by a holiday I had with my family, to Sierra Leone the country that my family originated. The natural beauty of Sierra Leone is the main inspiration for my collection.
I felt that it was important to explore this in my work as it is vital to highlight the virtues of Sierra Leone when many only see the negatives. I wanted to use my collection to show the hidden beauty that not many people get to see. I was struck by the natural beauty of the beaches and plant life. I used River No. 2 beach as one of my main inspirations for this collection and my photography from this trip is throughout my mood and print development.
One of my other main influences from Sierra Leone was a visit to my auntie’s house outside of the city near Waterloo. She grows a lot of her own food and plants in her garden. Plants have always been an interest to me, so I was instantly inspired by the vibrant colours and interesting textures this influenced my prints. Texture was an important part as seen in the crinkle cotton silk I use to represent the texture of the sand at River No. 2 beach. It was important that each element of my collection was representative of something I saw or experimented on this trip and growing up in a Sierra Leonean household, such as the macramé, which I have thought out in my collection.
My main aim was to represent Sierra Leone in a fresh and interesting way, resulting in a collection of strong sensitive womenswear that represents the general mood and visuals of Sierra Leone’s natural landscape.
Specialising in womenswear and print, I manipulate colour and photography to create my digital prints. It is printed on natural fibres that link back to my main inspiration which is nature. This can also be seen in my silhouettes that are twisted and softened to reflect nature.