output forecast <\/a>\u00a0at 590,000 bales of cotton lint in the 2026\/27 marketing year. However, only a small proportion is processed by domestic spinning and weaving businesses; most fibre is exported to textile-producing markets in Asia.<\/p>\nThat disconnect helps explain why Mal\u00e9ombho can work extensively with Ivorian artisans while still importing some of the cotton used in her collections.<\/p>\n
Rather than relying only on selling larger volumes of clothing, she wants to create several commercial entry points into the same cultural universe.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is creativity, it is cultural ownership, it is our cultural stories,\u201d she said. Pokou could encompass clothing, art objects, interiors and architectural concepts, while enabling collaborations and licensing agreements with companies in other sectors.<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence has allowed Mal\u00e9ombho to visualise parts of this universe more quickly, but she rejects the suggestion that it is the author of the work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is very important to specify is that I do not give creativity to artificial intelligence,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople tend to think that AI designs everything, and then creativity is lost. But artificial intelligence makes a huge number of mistakes in terms of storytelling or even mythology in our African traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The digital ideas eventually become physical objects in the Treichville workshop. Mal\u00e9ombho works with artisans to test fabrics, dyes, embellishments and accessories. Bronze workers make buttons and a signature gold-plated buckle inspired by a Baoul\u00e9 mask.<\/p>\n
Jute, ordinarily used in sacks for packaging and exporting cocoa, is transformed through dyeing, appliqu\u00e9, beadwork and printing. Raffia, Baoul\u00e9 cloth, Kita cloth and hand-dyed cotton also form part of the brand\u2019s visual language.<\/p>\n
Baoul\u00e9 is a traditional Ivorian cotton fabric, handwoven in distinctive patterns and colours and often worn at ceremonies, while Kita is a West African textile handwoven in narrow strips of cotton and silk.<\/p>\n
For Norou Sow, a leather craftsman and artisan who has worked with Mal\u00e9ombho for more than ten years, the collaboration has changed both his methods of work and his livelihood.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe taught me to work in a group. She also taught me to develop my experience,\u201d Sow said. \u201cMany things changed in my life when I started working with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company employs 10 people directly and works with more than 50 artisans in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire. Mal\u00e9ombho says 90% of its inputs or production are local, while some cotton and some manufacturing are sourced internationally.<\/p>\n
The label sells through outlets or concept stores in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, the United States, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Tanzania.<\/p>\n
C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire-based fashion and tourism specialist Dorine Negou sees the larger challenge as persuading African brands and consumers to recognise the commercial value of their own cultural identities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the difficulty is that we Africans want to adopt European models too much,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have so many things that can enhance our value and attract more attention to us. It is up to us to rely on our brands, on our nature, on where we come from, and know how to showcase what we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yapo Patrick is a visual and installation artist who has taught colour and textile techniques for more than 20 years at the Centre Technique des Arts Appliqu\u00e9s (CTAA), or Technical Centre for Applied Arts, in Bingerville, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire.<\/p>\n
Patrick said Mal\u00e9ombho\u2019s journey demonstrates how formal training must be combined with personal commitment and a willingness to take risks: \u201cThere will always be limitations and difficulties, but creators have to commit themselves personally. They have to dare and decide to act despite those difficulties.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, turning the success of individual designers into a stronger domestic fashion industry will require broader investment in skills and local production. Although C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire is a major cotton producer, only a limited share of its raw material is transformed locally into finished textiles and clothing.<\/p>\n
Patrick believes vocational training for designers, pattern makers and tailors could help expand production and encourage Ivorians to buy locally made fabric and clothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more information, more initiatives and more people investing in professional training,\u201d he said. \u201cIf Ivorians can produce and consume Ivorian products, including fabrics, that will generate revenue and encourage both the state and the private sector to develop an ecosystem in which the fashion industry can grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Mal\u00e9ombho believes that Africa possesses a vast narrative and cultural inheritance but captures too little of its commercial value. The opportunity, in her view, is to turn stories, materials and craft traditions into products that retain a distinct identity while meeting international standards.<\/p>\n
Her clothing label provides the initial commercial foundation. Its luxury pieces target customers drawn to the house\u2019s craftsmanship and cultural references, while shoes, belts, jewellery and other accessories offer less expensive entry points.<\/p>\n
Pokou would extend that model. A consumer might first encounter a garment in a film or digital world. A character could lead into a collection, while an imagined building might inspire furniture or another designed object. The story itself could be licensed or used in collaborations across different industries.<\/p>\n
Over the next three to five years, Mal\u00e9ombho hopes to complete the transition from a fashion label into a cultural studio built around intellectual property. She believes the model could create jobs in traditional crafts, film, digital production and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not just a clothing brand,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is truly a multicultural studio that is in tune with the times and also knows how to innovate while keeping its roots in its history.\u201d<\/p>\n
From its base in Treichville, Pokou is attempting to bring Baoul\u00e9 history into dialogue with artificial intelligence, craftsmanship with cinema, and clothing with architecture.<\/p>\n
Mal\u00e9ombho believes the constraints facing African creative businesses can themselves produce innovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe legacy I would like to leave would really be to show that, first of all, with very little, we can create much more value,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is even within the constraints that we have the opportunity to innovate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Internationally recognised after Beyonc\u00e9 wore her designs, Ivorian designer Loza Mal\u00e9ombho is now looking beyond fashion. Through Pokou,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[63,2289,83,269,265,262,910,1424,12627,96,261,264,263,266],"class_list":["post-410749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","tag-africa","tag-agribusiness","tag-business","tag-business-and-finance","tag-current-events","tag-economy","tag-industry-and-infrastructure","tag-investment","tag-manufacturing","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-sports","tag-trade","tag-travel"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/117214442304284905","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}