{"id":27391,"date":"2018-08-20T15:33:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-20T13:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highxtar.com\/?p=27391"},"modified":"2018-08-20T15:50:53","modified_gmt":"2018-08-20T13:50:53","slug":"we-talk-w-wekafore-maniu-jibril","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highxtar.com\/en\/we-talk-w-wekafore-maniu-jibril\/","title":{"rendered":"We talk W\/ Wekafor\u00e9 Maniu Jibril"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wekafor\u00e9 Maniu Jibril<\/strong> (@softblackboy<\/strong><\/a>),<\/span> was born in Lagos, Nigeria, into a family of artisans. Father architect, mother textile producer and a grandfather tailor were the perfect mix for Weka (as his friends call him) to develop a personality rich in creativity.<\/p>\n

\"Wekafor\u00e9
Wekafor\u00e9 Jibril | Photo: L\u00e1zaro Scabbia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From his first stitches, at just ten years old, to today, countless things have happened that have helped to build the foundations of his own clothing company, Wekafore (@wekafore<\/a>)<\/strong><\/span>. A language that explores the reinterpretation of the African urban style before Americanization and pays tribute to his grandfather, who never had the opportunity to see how fashion developed in city life.<\/p>\n

A unique proposal with an aesthetic based on nostalgia and the reinvention of blackness that delves into an elegant African tailoring with a street sensibility of the 70s. We talked to Weka about his past, present and other firms from the great African continent.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Highxtar (H.<\/span>)\u00a0<\/strong>– \u00a0Your designs have the afro-retro air of the 1970s, tributes to the disco and funk culture of the post-colonial era. They are the aesthetics of a few years that you did not live… What attracts you so much from the past?<\/span><\/p>\n

Wekafore<\/span> (W<\/span>)<\/strong> –\u00a0I am really attracted to the mentality of free thinking and self-expression that existed then. It was an era that showed how the multi-faceted African life can be, an era where we had options.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Wekafore\"
Photo: Alexandra Cepeda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

H. –\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0This nostalgia is found in your collections inspired both by a particular person, such as your grandmother Florence, and by a festival celebrating Africanism such as Festac Town. Is wekafore’s vision more individualistic or collectivist?<\/span><\/p>\n

W<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0I think my vision is both individual and collective. Firstly, we as individuals need to pursue self-awareness and then as a collective of self-aware beings we can begin to make grand changes and progressions in our societies.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“People are scared to have a message or an opinion because it might make them lose some popularity”<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Wekafore<\/em><\/p>\n

H. –\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong> From wanting to be a preacher to thinking about how religion is one of our biggest problems, what other things have changed within you as the years and countries have gone by?<\/span><\/p>\n

W<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0– A lot has changed, but I’m still the same person, everything I was meant to be.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

H. –<\/span><\/span><\/strong> Making African fashion far from Africa and promoting its industry outside the country seems a complex matter, why did you choose to study design in Spain?<\/span><\/p>\n

W<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Making African fashion from afar is complex but I believe Africa is inside of me, the brown soil from the lands that I have walked barefoot are now part of my skin, the aesthetic is part my soul, not something you can learn nor forget.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I moved from Dubai to Bilbao, because I was attracted to the story of Cristobal Balenciaga, of how something so special could come from such an unlikely place and his migration. I guess I am doing the same thing, I’m not from here nor there.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Wekafore: Festac Town Campaign 2016\/2017<\/strong><\/pre>\n