African Fabrics for the Twentieth-First Century Woman

By Laura Medina

The Healing Gold Coast Corset

When partners, Cindy Gaston and Edna Bissoon studied then volunteering as teachers in Ghana two years ago, they were entranced with the history of Kente cloth.

After learning what each weave and color meant, patterns signal messages, and that Kente is reserved for royalty and dignitaries, they figured why not reinterpret it for the needs and wants of the twentieth-first century modern woman.

Then, donate five percent of the proceeds to the La Yahoushua Middle School where they taught in Ghana.

According to kente folklore, each weave and color imparts the wearer certain allures and strengths.

Since every woman is special in her own right, Ms. Gaston and Ms. Bissoon named their new luxury womenswear collection, Hemma, after the Ghana's Twi Language of "queen."

They want a woman to be empowered in their outfits.

Most importantly, they want the girls at La Yahoushua School to be empowered themselves.

The Gold Coast Corset above symbolizes purple for healing and yellow for vitality in black silk charmeuse.

Asante Jacket

The black in Asante Jacket represents personal growth while white stands for authenticity. Woven together, the yarns spell out compassion.

Asante Skirt

If you're a head of your firm or company, nothing signals "Quiet Power," than this Asante pencil skirt in peaceful blue and royal gold. There is nothing weak about the meaning of peace in blue.

The patterns represents power, a good way to stand your ground.

The Gold Coast Corset

This corset is for celebrating. The green brings good fortunes while yellow keeps you hopping from one gala to another. Mix them together, you will get luxury.

If you want to impart certain powers, you get their collections on Cindy's and Edna's site, www.thehemmacollection.com.