How Chepa Seeks To Promote African Culture Through Streetwear
How Chepa Seeks To Promote African Culture Through Streetwear. Chepa is an Afrocentric brand and its culture is based on the ethos of Afrocentricity. So the brand puts a huge emphasis on making garments that its clients will love and also providing the best service possible. The company believes that fashion makes a statement about you without you having to speak, hence the brand speaks to the young and old. It aims to speak to those who are protagonists of the African dream; of an Africa that has knowledge of self expressed through fashion, art, culture, trend and occupying physical and digital spaces.
“Streetwear has always been defined as a casual clothing style worn by members of various urban subcultures. It’s also casual wear we wear on a daily basis. So why cant we wear Africanprint on a daily? We wanted to make clothes that are practical and easy to wear but also eye-catching. There’s no need to have a sub-culture when you’re wearing African-print because you’re already wearing “culture”. In SA, African-print is worn mostly to weddings or on Heritage Day. We don’t make formal clothes, and we also don’t want to be boxed by how African-print clothing has always been made.” the brand said.
The brand’s aim is to promote a post-modern, Afrocentric culture within people to foster an appreciation for casual, modern, African-print clothing. The company is a streetwear brand because its biggest influence is from Ama Kip-Kip and Loxion Kulture. The company loved the idea of bringing this concept to birth because it presented a unique experience for its audience to appreciate their culture and represent that in the streets. The company believes that African print is definitive of African roots and it just wants to share Africa with the world.
The name “Chepa” is pronounced t/shepa – a Pretoria township slang word meaning stylish or well dressed. The brand has been operational since August 2017. It manufactures and retails the clothing online and offline. The staff consists of a pool of talent i.e photographers, graphic designers, content creators, seamstresses, models.
