Edun Fall 2018 Ready-To-Wear....Fashionweekly....On Fow24news.com

In Nairobi, Kenya, you’re only as awesome as your boda boda. This is the phrase used to describe motorcycle taxis, which locals have become accustomed to tricking out with brightly colored paint, beadwork, reflectors, and other types of customization.....
The wilder and crazier your wheels are, the more stylish you are considered among those in the community. At today’s Edun presentation for Fall 2018, a boda boda stood front and center in a pristine art gallery space. It was painted a pastel pink with abstract lettering and symbols covering its surfaces. It also came with a woven seat cover and long strands of beads hung from each handlebar—the ride was fierce.

Walking into the main room of the gallery, it became clear that the details decking out the bike were the same as those on Edun’s latest wares, and they were just as eye-catching. At the center of the room, models stood on a round platform that was constructed to mimic the egg-like shape that has informed the label’s now-signature hardware on zippers and bag handles. The walls around them were lined with lookbook photographs as well, all shot in various locations around the city of New Orleans. Everywhere you looked there was one desirable Edun garment after the next: the denim ensemble featuring hand-beaded fringe, the miniskirt made from Ugandan vegan bark leather, the trenchcoat stamped with the bike’s custom alphabet mudcloth print.

In the corner of the room was a display of jewelry, too. The red and magenta bead necklaces and bracelets were made in partnership with Kazuri Beads in Kenya, which currently employs over 300 women who make custom jewelry and ceramics using local clay. The Edun team’s dedication to sustainability and its work with artisans in Africa is incredibly impressive. For Fall, it continues its collaborations with the Ethical Fashion Initiative in Burkina Faso and Weavers Worth in Kenya. Also impressive is the fact that Edun remains without a single design figurehead. It operates with a design team and, of course, with creative input from founder Ali Hewson. Though there are many cooks in the kitchen, whether that kitchen is in Africa or the U.S., Edun continues to churn out astutely chic collections with focused through lines. Its ready-to-wear is fairly straightforward—wearable outerwear, comfortable trousers and shirting, easy dresses. But when inspired by its journeys through Africa and crafted by the men and women who live there, the Edun wardrobe becomes something truly special.