By Damilola Fatunmise
Fashion that relives beauty is truly aesthetic fashion.
Aesthetics in fashion are achieved through the prefigurative actualisation of what they will become when they are finally made.
This is to say that every great fashion design is first conceived and manufactured in the mind before the hands and tools get to work. Fabric designs that reflect its designer’s philosophy and yet remain classy are worthy of being celebrated as African.
This is because African dress patterning is built to carry this quality and retain the texture of African culture and ambience that befits every ceremony that these dresses grace. When this quality is infused in clothes, it gives credence to its origin and cultural heritage.
True and sustainable fashion is fashion that is made for the moment and lives after the moment. It is fashion that never goes out of date but carries its brilliance and cultural glamour gingerly across the boundaries of time.
Cultural preservation and celebration are the main focus of the African fashion industry today because we Africans believe that life is all about evolving and as such want to retain what is left of the styles and patterns that revolve through times in the clothes that the designer makes.
Damichi Exoche is a fashion brand that has successfully been able to capture this idea and equally create stylish dresses that fit today’s dress sense by combining plain European fabrics with African ones like Ankara to really display the unique essence of African dress-making techniques.
Damichi Exoche is a fashion brand that is skilled at making complex and intricate designs with adire, Ankara, chiffons, and plain cotton fabrics.
From these fabrics, the brand spins out stylish designs that are steep in the celebration of African heritage and sustainable fashion which coincides with the Afrocentric drive that characterises modern African fashion fads.
Founded in 2019 by Oluwadamilola Elizabeth Odulaja, the brand focuses on putting the modern millennial woman at the heart of everything they do, driven by a passion for their customers. They have expanded to reach customers in over 30 countries through global shipping, connecting with women from diverse backgrounds to create a truly inclusive and international fashion experience.
One of the made-to-fit clothes from their 2023 collection is this one-cut shoulder dress. It is a maroon satin mini-dress with a flounce sleeve, an asymmetrical neckline, a side tail and a mid-slit to reveal the allure of the feminine body. The symmetry of these stitches is such that it gives this dress a look of being sectioned into the different parts that actually formed it.
This is done to quickly educate any fashion designer about the steps from which it was sewn and to foreshadow the minimalist tendency of turning even minuscule pieces of fabric into great designs.
This dress moves to advocate minimalism in dressmaking which allows the smallest of fabrics to be appreciated in parts as they combine to form a stylish whole. The philosophy behind this stylish garment is that of the phoenix tradition of evolving beauty from the dust.
Similarly, the result of this great craftsmanship is an exquisite garment that befits formal and informal events like gala and dinner nights. Poured into this elegant wear is Damichi Exoche’s unique dress patterning skills. The fluffy hands are intentionally made to give the body a feeling of being uncovered on the one hand and concealed on the other. It is quite a display of wits in dressmaking.
The impressive design made at the hip section is done to emulate the empire waistline of the olden days, and it is used to provide support and give shape to this garment. In this case, the side tails not only serve as an anchorage of sorts, but also function mainly to give shape and accentuate the contours of the female body, making it at one point modest and elegant, and on the other end captivating to the essence of the body, through the back view.
The slanted bodice cuts as well as the back zipper provide ease of wearing and doffing, allowing the body room for more airing and comfortability. With a touch of rose-gold or silver shoes like stilettos for parties and wedge shoes for a more formal event, this dress becomes transformed into a great masterpiece that bespeaks artistic craftsmanship.
Damiche Exoche’s outfits do not just portray perfection in dress designs, they exude class and give off technical dexterity in the way fabrics are manipulated to form beautiful and stylish garments such as the dress exhibited above. It is an orange cotton sleeveless and backless mini dress. The length of this dress gives it an assortment of cocktail party dresses.
This dress actually shifts the narrative of Damiche’s costumes as being one with a wardrobe of surprises.
This dress is made in the similitude of European summer wear. Particularly, as a perfect fit for summer evenings and nights when the air is just mild and calm enough to graze the body mildly. The gathered bust is knotted at the shoulders to allow this dress to either be worn as a mini or micro garment by simply adjusting the knots at the shoulder joints. This dress is divided into two artistic sections: the skirt and the blouse.
Whereas the skirt is a godet skirt which is similar to an A-line skirt, the blouse housing the torso and the bust is made of gathered cotton of the same fabric. Artistically, the bodice is made in this manner to showcase Damichi Exoche as a brand with the artistic skills that are typical of European designers, who are known for making dresses that exude not just elegance but philosophical brilliance.
The funnel-like design of the skirt is made to give the wearer a free line of movement and heighten the sensory interpretations of the female legs. Allowing just enough of them to be seen without being extremely immodest.
The gathered cotton fabric is pleated to preserve feminine dignity by artfully splitting it in the middle to give it a V-neck that changes into semi-circular folds at the back to cover the shoulder blades.
This dorsal design reveals the attention to detail and the intricate manipulation employed in the making of this dress. This unique partitioning of this dress is made possible by the band of cotton belt which is positioned to function as a waistband of some sort and a hem to the bodice. This band is manipulated to serve as an anchor on which the pleats of the blouse hang and are twisted to give it the exquisite design that it does.
The brilliance of this entire pleats is seen in Damichi’s use of metal rings and white laces to introduce more enclosure to this minimalist blouse design. From the architectural crafting of this dress, it is apparent that this dress is suitable for events like parties, dates, hangouts, and so on.
To events, this dress can take up thigh-high boots for dates due to its length and the open cleavage but would match up better with pumps for more serious or formal events. The apparent pocket lapels also serve the purpose of adding finesse to this dress.
Phew! It has been quite the journey with this collection. Oluwadamilola Elizabeth Odulaja has once again outdid herself. If you think 2022 was a masterpiece, then you are in for a shocker. This 2023 collection is everything and then some. With a release like this, one can only wonder what the designer has in store for her next year’s collection. Whatever it is, one thing is sure; the bar has risen to maximum heights.