AWALE Studio, the ethical label founded and based in Cote d'Ivoire, creates clothes as a medium of storytelling. Its beautifully current designs and master workmanship in fuse traditional know-how and modern day expertise.
AWALE means to 'love one another' in Dida, one of the languages spoken in Cote d'Ivoire.
For its first collection, BLOCKHAUS (named after a district in Abidjan), the Ivorian label stays seasonless and genderless. Creative lead Jad Fardon opts to provide pure comfort instead.
"I wanted to get back to the places of my childhood in Côte d'Ivoire during the 90's. The goal was to observe people practicing in these places, their daily habits and tastes in clothing."
With this collection, AWALE tells the story of the shirt you wear to feel fly on on Sunday, and can then flip around and wear comfortably to work the next day. The one that becomes softer each time you wash it.
The assemblage includes pieces that can be worn by anyone - regardless of gender or fashion sense - and maintains cozy aesthetics. Pieces include everyday T-shirts, ankle-length Khaki pants, smoked crops, long-sleeved tunics, flared pants, denim skirts with unfinished hemlines - all emphasizing cushiness. The brand opts for a minimal color palette, relying on subtle pastels like white, toffee brown, olive green, chartreuse and tie-dye to accentuate pieces.