Kibonen Nfi hopes that
her country of Cameroon will soon realize that fashion is as legitimate and
rewarding a career as being a doctor or lawyer, and will support its
immense homegrown talent.
“After all, it happened with soccer,” explains Kibonen. “At first
Cameroonian people were very sceptical the sport could be a professional
pursuit, but now that they have seen the success it can bring, parents are
encouraging their children in that area. Studying Fashion in Cameroon
should be like studying any other subject.”
Since Kibonen graduated with an Associates Degree in fashion from the
Art Institute of New York City in June, she has been busy on a worldwide
scale but it started during school. While preparing her final portfolio,
she was contacted by the stylists of both Thandie Newton and Lupita Nyong’o
to create garments for them. I find out what has been happening since…
Yes! And all of this was happening when I was going through my last days
in school when everything––final garments, portfolio––was due! It was
overwhelming but the attention made me feel I was in the right place. I
received an email from the Editor of the New African Woman Magazine with a
list of designers Thandie had selected for her photo-shoot in which she
wanted to celebrate the African Diaspora. Among the 12 designers whose work
she wanted to feature, my name was right there. It was such an honour. She
is such a graceful woman and the embodiment of the KibonenNY brand. As for
Lupita, She has been an inspiration for a long time. I received an email
from Michaela, Lupita’s stylist, stating that Lupita will be traveling for
a long overdue visit to Kenya, making a variety of public appearances and
speeches throughout her time there. They included a couple of pictures
which Lupita’s stylist loved from my past collections from my website and
asked for other pieces. Lupita did not get to wear any during this trip but
I’m just really glad to be on their radar.
I received an email from Sara Maino (Senior Editor Vogue Italia & Vogue
Talents) with regards to pre-selection for their Vogue Talents issue. They
asked me for professional photos of my FW 15/16 collection as well as
the mood board, sketches and illustrations. The inspiration was the royal
regalia of the Tikar people of the Bamileke and Bamenda regions of
Cameroon. I felt lucky to be selected and appear with some of the best new
designers from all over the globe in the feature which ran in September’s
Vogue Italia.
(Accolades are becoming par for the course for Kibonen who was nominated
by Africa Fashion International as Emerging designer of the year 2013; she
has also showcased her talent at the Art Institutes Mercedes Benz fashion Week
NY SS15, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Africa SS13, SS14 and SS15 and has been
featured in BBC Focus on Africa, GQ SA, Forbes Africa and the New African
Woman Magazine. Her works have been exhibited at the National Museum of
African Art – Smithsonian Institution.
But the driving purpose behind all of her success is to provide change
in her home country which she is approaching in a number of ways…)
The EFI Designer Scheme is part of the Poor Communities and Trade
Programme from the International Trade Centre (a UN Organisation) which
focuses on engaging artisanal skills through job creation to reduce poverty
and generate export and trade opportunities for micro-producers in the
developing world.
The EFI Designer Scheme offers participating designers building and
marketing opportunities in the luxury fashion industry, along with other
support and the training of artisans along the fashion value chain. They
launched a competition which I applied for. I had been following their work
for years and had seen what they have been doing with designers like Stella
Jean, Christie Brown, Studio One Eighty Nine. We need a more structured
system to mentor us as young designers and I knew they could provide that
for me.
There have been many twists and turns. My experiences in some cases were
so devastating that I could not even put my thoughts together. From being
duped while executing a huge order for my country of over 250.000 dollar, to
being homeless on two occasions…but I will not stop at any situation to
feel bad. Yes I cried, got into a depression but I knew I had thousands of
people looking up to me as I followed this path less travelled by my
kind.
Nothing frightens me now. I go with the mind-set I can be the best in
what I am doing and I want to one day see my work on Fifth Avenue. Besides,
I always want to inspire and motivate people from my experiences and
achievements. The way I had to develop myself through this process was
exceptional but not everyone has to go through what I went through. They
can definitely skip that trauma by listening to my story.
I go back and forth but I have to be based in the U.S. There are many
techniques, skills and inspirations I get from Cameroon and other parts of
Africa. There are so many untold stories and we have to be able to take
these stories to the world. There are opportunities everywhere however I
want to break through the American market. I really do not see many people
doing what I am doing in America. My space is carved and I believe I can
serve as a link between the two worlds.
I am in the process of launching my online store. The exposure of Vogue
Talents has generated a lot of interest in me. I have been contacted by
several boutiques requesting my look book so I am following up on that.
Getting my financial foundations right too is ongoing. We might not be
visible to consumers at the moment but there is a lot of work happening
behind the scenes.
Ultimately, my plan is to inspire the people of Cameroon and elsewhere
by the strides I am making and the stereotypes I am breaking so that they
permit their children to pursue fashion as a career. That is my hope.
By contributing guest editor Jackie Mallon, who is on the teaching
faculty of several NYC fashion programmes and is the author of Silk for the
Feed Dogs, a novel set in the international fashion industry.