Can we make agriculture sexy? Gracey Owusu-Agyemang says YES
I’ll use whatever the land gives me. That is how Gracey Owusu-Agyemang sees the future. Not just the future of fashion, but a future through fashion. Inspired by the concepts of Afrofuturism and Solar Punk, she imagines a more sustainable world with slower production and healthier soil. But how do we get there? According to Gracey, we just need to “make agriculture sexy.” “When I came here my concept was always what it was, I now had to bring fashion as proof of that”, says Gracey about the ethos of her collection.
Rather than focused on fashion, she calls herself a multidisciplinary designer, for whom clothes are just a medium that bring her ideas to life. Her concept has its roots in Afrofuturism, which, for Gracey, represents a way to create better earth conditions, as well as multiple identities of being for Black and African people. She seeks to reimagine life within African environments that are minimally modernised and preserve traditional practices of agriculture while acknowledging the digital world. Behind the grand words, the message is simple: highlighting how one person can take steps towards a better and more sustainable future. Her collection, SONWÊRELD, proves that, for Gracey, sustainability and Afrofuturism are not just buzzwords: she grows her own cotton, creates and uses her own natural dyes, and through her garments, connects artisans from Ghana to Pakistan forming a network of slow fashion that celebrates local craft.
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Her opening look was constructed of 100% hemp linen with eco-pigmented Direct-To-Garment print, hand-crochet organic cotton tie, handmade copper fastenings, and enhanced by collaboration with artisans that encapsulate her ethos: handwoven hat constructed by artisan weavers in Ghana and handmade Chappals by artisan shoemakers from Pakistan. Tying together the concept of Afrofuturism, the look also 1 an optimistic environmentalist subgenre of speculative fiction, art, and design that envisions future life on Earth transformed by the use of sustainable energy, close co-existence of human beings with nature, and progressive sociopolitical values showcased a 3D printed ceramic vessel by spatial designer and artist, Nhan-Nhi Lillian Nguyen. Her work seamlessly accompanies Gracey’s collection through its play on the human-digital interaction: she weaves coiled clay in her 3D printed ceramics, celebrating the presence of humanity into the man-made machine.
With so many issues of greenwashing in the current fashion climate, the questions would still arise of how sustainable this collection truly is. But Gracey is prepared for everything. “If I'm talking about sustainability, people are gonna come for me” she says, “so I had to tackle all quarters.” Her garments are made for long term use, but should they be discarded, they are biodegradable within 2-6 months. The process of her clothes is 100% traceable and follows her use of cotton from farm to fabric, as well as the creation and use of natural dyes. But this is still a business, and in our world a business is expected to scale and be profitable. So where does this fit in for Gracey? “It's more so just working with nature, I'm not gonna rush it”, she explains. She strongly believes in the idea of slowing fashion down, a future where people have to wait for their clothes to be grown. On top of that, she taps into her West and South African heritage and seeks to bring opportunities to those areas. “It will eventually turn into a whole weaving community that I have with people from different countries in Africa”, she says. “I'm not going to expand the cotton to the point that it becomes commercial. I currently have 180 plants, so it's probably going to expand to about 300 or 400 plants.”
Gracey’s solar spirit
If all of this makes you think that Gracey has it all figured it out, you won’t be wrong at all. Much like a genius inventor from your favourite science-fiction movie, she’ll find a way to make everything happen. “Anyone can do anything”, she says. “As long as you want to do it, you can do it. Nothing has to be perfect”. It must be true - she’s walked me through her entire process while running around the textiles lab, carefully pinning a piece of material - multitasking is her second nature. Even the name of her collection is partly a testament to her can-do attitude and positive world view. Sonwêreld translates to ‘solar world’ in Afrikaans, one of the official languages in her mother’s native land of Namibia. Gracey explains that she chose this name due to its wordplay on solar punk, but also because she believes she has ‘sun energy’, a positive and powerful view on life.
Behind the seams at London Fashion Week
“Which designer gets in the show? What does it mean for our project?” were questions all of us have been asking since matching with our designers. Along the line, however, I seemed to forget about it - Gracey’s concept felt so alive that even if she didn’t get in the show I wouldn’t have been worried for her. But not only did she get a place, she also won the Canada Goose HumaNature Award for Responsible Design that helps support her work and further her mission. “Most people said I probably saw it coming”, says Gracey about the award. And while she’s proud of the achievement, she is mainly excited about how this can inspire a new generation of designers, “it’s important for people to see that you can actually be rewarded for caring for the earth,” she says. But not everything went smooth for Gracey at her first show, her section was disrupted twice, firstly due to a slow walking model from the previous designer, and then due to one of her classmates who protested his exclusion from the show. “I caught myself screaming backstage”, she says about her initial reaction, but soon accepted there was nothing she could do about it. “I found it really weird but at the end of the day I still got a chance to display and show my collection on the runway”, she says about getting a second chance at walking the runway when she was called back for the award. “Like I said, sun energy”, she adds in relation to the name of her collection and her ability to remain collected in stressful moments.
Towards a solarpunk future?
But the question still remains: how exactly will she make agriculture sexy? Gracey has a plan for that too! “I don’t know if I’m just being delulu*, but I think it will excite a lot of people”, she jokes about an upcoming short film featuring her collection. Without giving away too much, she explains how this film will be her interpretation of the solar punk movement, featuring a mix of nature and CGI. Her garments will represent characters, all forming a self-sustainable society in which humans, technology and nature coexist peacefully. It’s all based on a 3D world she created during her first year of her Masters degree, which also features two of her inventions: a purse that plants and waters seeds, and sandals that cultivate the soil. All of this, she hopes, will inspire people to redefine their understanding of agriculture as an exciting and futuristic occupation. While there is no one size fits all solution to the issues of our current fashion climate, Gracey’s work and vision give a glimpse of what a slower paced, environmentally focused future could look like. 2 delusional; deluded, slang; sometimes positive, with connotations of 'chasing your dreams'
Art direction & Photography: Anass Aboo @_anassss__
Clothes: Gracey Owusu-Agyemang @gogragra @dijago_studios
Words: Alexandra Pozdarie @alexandra.mmp