Can high fashion ever originate out of Africa? The answer is a bold “YES!” and Korto Momolu is proof of that very fact. She is among several other brilliant African designers you may not have heard of.
The social lives of women who live in African metropolitan cities revolve around fashion; it is really a statement of social class and wellbeing. It is not unusual for a middle class African woman to have personal shoppers for the accessories in her wardrobe or for someone to guard a good designer’s phone number as jealously as one may guard a good babysitter’s info. These women want to be the ones to start new trends; especially since in the past few years there has been a sharp shift from more traditional styles to red carpet ensembles. I have been warned by friends aware of my upcoming trip to my hometown in West Africa, not to even try to compete.
In this issue’s Nostalgia, we bring to light an Africa that is more glamorous than the war torn images that are so easily accessible in the media.
Last season’s Project Runaway on Bravo introduced us to the very talented, Liberian-born fashion designer Korto Momolu, and her delightfully elegant designs. It is hard to believe that Korto was a tomboy growing up. It wasn’t until after high school that she actually decided to go to fashion school.
Believing that she definitely had the skills to compete, she gave herself only one shot to try out for the show and got the opportunity of a lifetime to work with other talented designers. She beat out most of them to claim the second runner up title. It’s no secret that we were rooting for her and as far as we are concerned, she won.
You do a great job at giving your pieces ethnic highlights without making them look obviously African? Are you intentional about that?
Yes! Because at the end of the day I really want to be taken seriously in the fashion industry and to do that you can’t just come out doing traditional African garments. And in reality, I don’t dress in full traditional garb in my everyday life. What I am trying to do is to create a line that is trendy and high fashion without being intimidating to non-Africans.
How important do you think fashion is to the African woman compared to the purpose it serves to the western women?
Back home people put a lot of effort in everything they wear. It is kind of the same as here in the West with the difference only being in the type of garments. Women want to look good at all times regardless of where they are in the world.
What Should a Woman’s Fashion Priority Be? Her comfort? Personal statement? Is there an order or is it a mixture?
I think it should be a mixture, some times I wake up and really don’t care what I put on and I just pray that nobody see me and other days I want to look down to earth and just cool and nonchalant.
I really think it depends on my mood. Every woman should shop according to her moods rather than magazines. It is a bad idea to try to copy anybody because the truth is that it will not look the same on you.
The women that stand out in fashion do so not because of what they wear but because of how well they carry what they are wearing.
At the final show did you feel like you were taking a risk with having a lot of ethnic hints in your collection?
I didn’t really care because I knew that my collection was versatile. Anyone out there could have had that same collection and nobody would even call it out. Obviously because I am African, the associations are easy. Part of my doing work is being myself and I did not want to change who I am.
Will your line be available for purchase to the general public?
Right now there is nothing available to the general public, I work mostly with individuals locally that have my contact information, sell through trunk shows, and a few local stores carry my clothes but I am working on making my designs available for purchase through my website soon!
You can reach Korto Momolu at www.myspace.com/kortomomolu or KortoMomolu.com to find out more about her work.
![[Post to Twitter]](http://lpsmag.com/original/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter-micro4.png){kind=icon}
Christine Haynes
March 11th, 2009
I absolutely love Korto and all of her work! I can’t even wrap my mind around the fact that she did not win project runway! Korto creates beautiful garments that are body friendly (thank you Jesus) I would wear a paper bag if it had her name attached to it! As a matter of fact.. that table cloth dress and the seatbelt coat she created on project runway.. LOVE them! I would wear them out the door! What I loved about watching her garments go down the runway in Bryant Park was I could “see myself” in them.. me a real woman not a stick of a runway model. I feel her designs are attainable and beautiful and I look forward to being able to purchase a Korto original one day! Korto is a winner in my eyes! The judges on Project Runway mad a big mistake!
Christine -
Abi
March 11th, 2009
I totally agree with you Christine! Her work is awesome and I’m looking forward to it being publicly available!
christine bold
March 21st, 2010
[...] Printing Press is the blog of Bold & Noble. home. prints. commissions. FAQ. about. contact …Spring 09:Original Issue On Africa’s Underrated Fashion …The answer is a bold YES! and Korto Momolu is proof of that very fact. … I totally agree with you [...]
Deborah25FERGUSON
July 25th, 2010
The business loans suppose to be very useful for people, which want to organize their career. As a fact, this is not very hard to receive a small business loan.