Fashion: Yevu

"Yevu is the word for white person or foreigner in Ewe, the language of the Volta region in Ghana. I’ve been told that it directly translates to ‘crafty dog’, which is apparently a reference to the ‘crafty’ nature of white people in their early trade and dealings with the Ewe people, and their tendency to get snappy when they were angry, like dogs do. I don’t know how true this is, but I like the story." Anna Robertson
 "People are really well dressed and take a lot of pride in their appearance. I think I ironed more in Ghana than I ever have before! The streets of Accra were a great place to get inspiration, because everyone’s just rocking print on print all the time. My favourite look was the ‘up and down’—matching top and bottom, kinda like a pyjama look." Anna Robertson
"I think a lot of people go to South and East Africa because of the safaris and all that, but West Africa has so much to offer and the people are awesome. The coastline of Ghana, particularly the Western region, is so beautiful. We stayed in a 14th century castle overlooking a fishing village and banana and palm trees for a few dollars a night, and ate lobster for dinner. It’s not necessarily easy to travel around, and landing in Accra is hectic and crazy, but it’s well worth it and you’ll become an expert at bargaining." Anna Robertson  Paulina says: Australian fashion designer Anna Robertson's new label Yevu (the word for white person or foreigner in Ewe) is an exciting eclectic mix of bodacious prints and contemporary designs for men and women which is lovingly made in Ghana...

I happily stumbled upon this new-to-La-Ghana-Rising-radar-label via The Urban List website (http://www.theurbanlist.com) -where was I inspired by Anna Robertson's can-do-attitude and feel in love in with the Yevu label and had to find out more....

Regular readers of Ghana Rising know that when it comes to African inspired fashion its a sea of same ole same ole wax print cotton dresses....but I'm really loving the freshness of the YEVU label, and the use of lesser known wax prints, especially the red and black prints normally reserved for funerals in Ghana -and my fave, the bird in a bird cage print et al all lovingly sourced from various markets throughout Ghana including the markets of Accra and Kumasi, and Togo and Cote d’lvoire..

For those of us living outside of Australia we will have to wait until January 2014 to order from the YEVU collection but in the meantime do visit the YEVU Tumblr via: http://yevuclothing.tumblr.com/ to purchase or for more info.....

To read the entire Anna Robertson interview with The Urban List visit: http://www.theurbanlist.com/sydney/a-list/yevu-pop-store-surry-hills-meet-designer-anna-robertson