If you kept up with the deluge of content surrounding this year’s Central Saint Martins graduate show, you’re probably familiar with the work of Zainab Mansary, one of the young designers selected to present her inaugural collection to an audience of fashion insiders in June. Her collection, titled ‘His Reflection is Blue,’ is a streetwear-first love letter to Sierra Leone, where the designer hails from (via Amsterdam).
The line – which cemented Mansary as one to watch – is rich in oversized tailoring, reinvented Dutch wax African prints (prints introduced to West Africa by Dutch merchants during the 19th century which took inspiration from Indonesian Batik designs), and intricate patterning. The collection’s signature feature is the presence of vibrant loose threads, which messily coiled around trousers, puffer jackets, and loafers, and ofc, the words “I love Sierra Leone,” which were emblazoned on garments throughout the collection.
Shortly after the show, we linked up with Zainab in her design studio to talk about all things inspiration, family, and future challenges.
Congratulations on the show, it felt like a touching ode to Sierra Leone. What ideas did you want to express or explore with the collection?
The most important message behind my collection is actually addressing Black men's mental health. Both my parents migrated from Sierra Leone. Looking at their relationship and their dynamic, it was really important that this collection: their identity, the things that they face, and their mental health, that was a really big part for me, and it's something I really want to continue to address. It took a lot of looking at both the elements and the materials that I brought back from Sierra Leone. One of the techniques I was developing since last year was cyanotype [an early photographic printing process known for producing blue prints], looking at all the pictures that I got during my trip to Sierra Leone. I collected so many pictures and made a zine, and I wanted to see how I could incorporate that into my work. I wanted to kind of clash and bring together that process with a very refined and well-made, tailored double-breasted suit. But this process was definitely hard, to say the least, working with cyanotype and working with light and natural light, and trying to make something that is imperfectly perfect.
What was on your moodboard when creating this collection?
So in terms of inspiration, in terms of mood board, my parents. Everything they wore in the 90s/ early 2000s. I always say that in terms of how they disguised themselves and made themselves become a part of society was through what they were wearing, so it was a really big part of my process and my references. My parents, in their big denim jackets, were a big reference in look one, with the two-piece denim jacket and the shoes. Everything my mum wore: she literally wore my dad's clothes, and that's a big part of my process – I love a baggy, oversized puffer jacket. All the streetwear, everything they wore, [and the] oversized clothing and layering pieces.
What’s the most inspiring thing about Sierra Leonean culture?
I think the most inspiring thing about my culture is the hustle culture. Everybody is working. It doesn't matter if you're five, thirty, or pushing ninety, you're definitely going to have a job.
What’s your culture's biggest inspiration?
It’s probably on the street [In Sierra Leone]. I also love the fact that we know how to celebrate and turn up, which for me is really important. It’s so hard to look at streetwear as one thing because it's everywhere you look. I think it's everywhere. It's in your work, it's at the family function, it's at the street party, it's at the concert. I think it's just going to get bigger and better, really.
When I was in Sierra Leone and we were parked up in our car somewhere and I saw this group of guys doing tie-dye on the street, getting the dye out, getting messy with it. And I was like, “Oh my God, this is so cool.”
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Whatever's challenging me, I want that. Because I like to be challenged, I would actually dare myself to work at an established fashion house and see how I can add that Sierra Leone touch to it. In terms of brands, I would love to work at Issey Miyake, Kid Super, Off-White, for sure. Hit her up, hit her up, come on!
You can keep up with Zainab’s movements on IG here.
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