GOLD COAST TRADING – A JOURNEY BACK TO THE MOTHERLAND

Clothing lines are so much more than just clothing lines these days, ones relationship with the clothing they encounter has become parallel to that of the relationship with others, and even more so the relationship with the self. These days as the Christmas Season sinks in, I feel the intensity when I touch a dress hand made by an African designer which in part, has a lot to do with my heritage. I feel the weight of the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into designing and the choosing the material, the structuring and the sewing together of an idea – the idea of a natural abundance teamed with the spirit and the soul of Africa.

As I mull over this image of mine that teeters on the edge of trying to blend in with this lands standards of fashion and trying to stand out as my own individual, the message becomes clear and it resonates through the fabric, through the style and by its fit the piece in my hands is worthy…and so is my body.  Going beyond the regular super and semi-super luxury groups readily available online and at various shopping outlets, I feel as though there is a steady uprising happening with a new group of fashion enthusiasts eager to not only feed my hunger to relate to myself, but also the diasporas and the world globally.  Why should Africanism only be accepted when the likes of Gwen Stefani and Vivian Westwood choose to use prints. Why should it be the only time we celebrate that other side of fashion, away from Dior, Gucci and Prada.

According to Ottawa Speaks, Calgary’s African community is the second-fastest growing in Canada, which is what leads me into the investigation of fashion for the African diaspora and others. Enter Gold Coast Trading Company. Designer, Emeka Elams has been making waves in the fashion scene this year as one to look out for presently and in the near future as a fashion house who will easily become a household name among the fashion savvy.

But there is something to be said about those in search of an answer, those in search of connecting with a place they once knew as home as they try to balance life in another land so far away from what they once knew. A land so far away in terms of the fashion and style that resonates with their souls.

Gold Coast Trading’s manifesto tells you everything you need to know about Gold Coast Trading:

“1444-We were traded from the gold coast by Europeans x our own African brothers. This trade has changed our world and reshaped our thoughts. Living by European standards throughout the African diaspora we have forgotten what makes our culture powerful, rich and unique. Here we strive for riches and neglect our families, we smile upon others while wishing for their demise, all things associated with the mind frame of those who began this trade.

“Formerly,”  he continues “We would gather in large numbers to mourn with those who mourn and to rejoice with those who rejoice. We have forgotten that we came from a continent where guiding, correcting and rebuking children is everybody’s’ task; a continent with green forests, clean rivers and undiscovered natural resources abound.

The continent is love.  Still, you dont know or understand. This is my effort to get back to that.”

And so this Christmas, it’s rather fitting that the sale at Gold Coast Trading is titled the Back To Africa Sale, every piece tops every list for my Christmas wish-list. This holiday and for the new year, i’m on the journey, back to the motherland, back to the root of it all.

-KJ