Walls of Benin x Selfridges
Walls of Benin — A new chapter: 🟡
I came to an interesting realisation recently — I realised what myself and the SPICE GIRLS have in common — before shooting to world wide fame with our respective brands 😅 — our first public outing was shot in the iconic St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London.
This was a sample I made in Ghana — when I knew less than I do now about making clothes….but I had a vision 👁 !
From the very start I had broken my very very big vision into minor goals in the direction of creating a luxury brand — made in Africa.
Goal #1: Get the brand into Selfridges and / or Harrods
I am happy to announce that we have reached an important milestone and are closer to our vision (the luxury brand bit) — Walls of Benin is now available at Selfridges: Manchester Exchange Square, London Oxford Circus and Online!!!
This represents a new phase in the life of the brand — and brings us closer to creating a brand that will be around for the next 200 years. It takes 10 years to really establish a brand — and we are half way through! Being in Selfridges speaks to the luxury positioning and direction of the brand, reflected by the brands we sit next to — WoB now lives amongst, Colville, Versace, Fendi, Wales Bonner and Proenza Scholoer et al.
It makes me extremely proud to honour my ancestors by putting the name “Walls of Benin” in proverbial lights next to other star brands 💫
Selfridges: Diversity built Britain…
There are many people I would like to thank for making this deal happen — but in respect of privacy and brevity — I whole heartedly thank Selfridges and Co. for their support and belief in Walls of Benin.
This deal represents two things:
- The levelling up of Walls of Benin — and the commitment to transitioning to full ready to wear in 2022
- There’s a lot of talk about diversity in fashion — but Selfridges have really led by example in this respect and are using their power for allyship to support a more diverse pool of fashion talent. 💛
Made in Africa
This is something that often comes up in conversation — “not African enough” an investor once said. We are still on a mission to Make in Africa — but these things take time.
Yes, we are still made in Portugal and Italy — this is because in life we have to pick our battles, getting a fashion company off the ground and into the worlds best luxury stores is hard enough as it is.
In the beginning it was (and still is) extremely important to have control over our value chain and close relationships with suppliers.
Also in my Africa related work and many trips there — I realised the work required in building a supply chain and low availability of luxury materials ie. Silk — which is our number one input, not to mention the digital printing element.
Going forward our African plan is on a longer time scale however I think there are a couple of things we can do today to involve Africa in our story….
- I recently asked a friend of mine — also in the rag trade — to make some African made samples for me. I think there is an opportunity for a distribution deal / collaboration with the likes of Barneys, Saks, Asos, H and M or maybe even BooHoo (Im sure they could benefit from boosting their sustainability credentials) with a line ‘made in Africa’ — from Africa cotton — printed in Africa — made sustainably by African hands.
- From a creative perspective — going forward we can and will involve Africa by shooting collections in Africa — collaborating with African creatives — and more African influence in our design direction.
(More to come)
There is a plan and the vision remains intact — however step by step is the way — let’s not forgot that aside from the name, the second most African thing about the brand is the founder — and us being in Selfridges represents a progress and representation.
Made in Africa
This is something that often comes up in conversation — “not African enough” an investor once said. We are still on a mission to Make in Africa — but these things take time.
Yes, we are still made in Portugal and Italy — this is because in life we have to pick our battles, getting a fashion company off the ground and in the world best luxury stores is hard enough as it is.
In the beginning it was (and still is) extremely important to have the control over our value chain and close relationships with suppliers.
Also in my Africa related work and many trips there — I realised the work required in building a supply chain and low availability of luxury materials ie Silk — which is our number one input, not to mention the digital printing element.
Going forward our African plan is on a longer time scale however I think there are a couple of things we can do today to involve Africa in our story….
- I recently asked a friend of mine — also in the rag trade — to make some samples for me. I think there is an opportunity for a distribution deal / collaboration with the likes of Barneys, Saks, Asos, H and M or maybe even BooHoo (Im sure they could benefit from boosting their sustainability credentials) with a line ‘made in Africa’ — from Africa cotton — printed in Africa — made sustainable by African hands.
- From a creative perspective — going forward we can and will involve Africa by shooting collections in Africa — collaborating with African creatives — and more African influence in our design direction.
(More to come)
There is a plan and the vision remains intact — however step by step is the way — let’s not forgot that aside from the name, the second most African thing about the brand is the founder — and us being in Selfridges represents a progress and representation.
Phygital:
Quite consistent with how I have thought about nearly everything — in a pandemic that saw stores closed for months on end — this is when I became very interested in the physical.
Late last year — I explored opening a store in Portugal in a new development
— the price was okay — it seemed to make sense, but in the end it didn’t make sense (another story) but the point is — I believe that in a time when we have been told we can’t go out — the value of physical retail has risen — the need to see, touch and enter another world and interesting spaces will always be there. As such our focus at this time is to increase physical / retail distribution.
The website will be relaunching soon — with a new refreshed brand image.
Over time, data has suggested focusing on Woman, this is the status quo with our current retailers and may continue on the next drop….TBC.
We will be restocking with Wolf and Badger shortly.
We’re are coming back better than ever…soon. Watch out for the drop date — on wallsofbenin.com. In the mean time drop your email and follow us on our socials to stay connected.
Love
Chi
Walls of Benin — Boss
