Una buena bolsa de piel puede complementar o romper cualquier outfit. No importa cuantas tengas, siempre habrá una razón para comprar una nueva.
For designer Winston Udeagha, founder of the African fashion brand Winston Leather, leather bags are not only a fashion accessory, but are part of their inheritance.
In an interview with Insider, he tells us that he descends from a long lineage of leather suppliers based in Kano, Nigeria.This is a city in the northern region of the country known for being the capital of leather manufacturing.
Udeagha learned the trade of his father's leather goods, who learned him from his relatives.
«For hundreds of years, this skin has been the most coveted.It also has to do with the animal's breed;that thrives in Nigeria for the weather, food and vegetation, ”Udeagha told Insider.
When Udeagha founded Winston Leather in the early 1990s, the company was dedicated to supplying skin to luxury brands such as Ralph Lauren, he explained.European brands such as Louis Vuitton also supply supplies for their leather bags in the Udeagha company, based in Nigeria.
Since then, he started selling leather accessories such as shoes, laptops and bags covers, on the Winston Leather website.
Most Winston Leather's skin bags are between 55 and 200 dollars.Udeagha states that he wants consumers concerned with fashion to afford luxury articles, especially the people of their community who make leather but do not possess it.
He recalled once he saw a report on a family of cocoa growers who lived in Ghana.In this it was mentioned that none of them had tried chocolate, despite growing the ingredients that make this gourmet delicacy.
«Many Africans do not have high quality skin products.It's the same, ”said Udeagha.
While the Nigeriano worked to expand his business in 2020, the protests caused by the death of George Floyd caused a movement to support the companies owned by blacks in multiple sectors.
That year, Udeagha's company arrived at a new audience after Shelby Ivey Christie, fashion historian, and Udeagha talked on Twitter about the dependence of the luxury industry of Kano's skin manufacturers;and Christie Tuiteara on his own Winston Leather skin bag.
Christie is known for sharing threads on Twitter about the origins of popular garments and the creative influence of the African diaspora in the industry.She told Insider in an email that she met Winston Leather when investigating the tannings of West Africa and her connection with luxury fashion marks.
«For me it is important to always show how blacks have participated in the spirit and fashion industry.His business was an example of this, ”said Christie.
"In June 2020, Winston Leather obtained his highest sales in 30 years of activity," Udeagha told Insider.
Udeagha hopes to contribute to a change in conversation around how luxury is defined;And as the traditional definitions of luxury fashion can be limiting for black creatives that are usually excluded from those circles.
"My idea of luxury is to be able to express yourself through fashion or other products in a way that is unique for you," said Udeagha.
«There are too many ways to divide.As a black person, I feel that I have been excluded from many things, ”said Udeagha.
He added that he hopes Winston Leather allows all people to access high -end fashion.
"I insist on including everyone, anyone who likes fashion [and] who wants luxury," he said.
Now Lee: This NGO will build the first 3D printed school in Madagascar
Lee also: East Africa could become an important medical marijuana export center
