African AMIROK Redefines Black
This latest collection of savory and sensational all-black looks by AMIROK for the spring/summer 2023 season nearly knocked my socks off when I saw it at the New York Men’s Day presentation by Agentry PR. Creating a collection featuring only black is usually a task to avoid for any brand, being passed off as lazy, uninspired, or lacking imagination. However, when I asked creative director Michael Nelson why he decided to present all-black clothes on a cast of deeply melanated male models: his answer was one of the most inspiring out of all the designers I spoke to. In Michael’s own words, “It was the purest representation of beauty that I could possibly represent.” Given his personal background of working in Africa and the properties of the color black as a culmination of all the leading primary colors, all of it makes complete sense.
The color black can be attributed to the qualities of darkness, mysteriousness, evil, and the unknown. Yet with these looks, the concept of chicness, natural beauty, sharpness, and elegance reign supreme. All the models featured in the presentation bore absolutely no footwear and donned their natural hair in varying styles of locs, braids, and afros as they stood on black square mats. Out of a sea of color throughout the Daylight Studios, this one stood out as a rare celebration of blackness in the clothes and in the ethnicity. It was a bold statement that served as a reminder of the beauty of this color that can sometimes be overlooked or misunderstood.
Black Models with Locs in AMIROK SS23
Of course, these are not JUST black clothes. The details and the materials are what truly raised the brows of the men’s fashion press and whoever will decide to ultimately buy into the brand. Before Nelson founded his contemporary men’s line by the name of AMIROK, Nelson created a women’s handbag line when he lived in Kenya, now bridging his manufacturing teams from there and in Italy. Not uncommon to modern makers of apparel, Nelson has a mind for sustainability and the role his business is playing on the ever-increasing threat of overconsumption to the point of toxicity to the planet.
Black Models wearing AMIROK SS23 at Daylight Studios
When explaining the materials, the designer mentioned that the base is always silk knitwear and is fully engineered for the body. “There’s no waist, and the material itself is 100% recycled silk. When a silkworm makes its cocoon, the outside is generally thrown away. I partnered with an Italian factory, and we found a way of processing the exterior to make it seem as if it’s come from the interior. We are completely 100% recyclable.”
Whenever and if-ever the wearer decides to stop wearing these treasured pieces, one can throw them in their backyard to decompose, which is something that’s very important to Michael. As we further conversed about sustainability, Michael states “I don’t want to be adding to this idea of “consuming for consumption.” He says that “you need to have a piece that you’re adding to your wardrobe that has a life and a story with it. So, when it’s done, it doesn’t need to take away from this Earth. It needs to add and biodegrade.” I couldn’t agree more. These pieces not only add to the Earth, but they add to its overall coolness as well.
Black Models Wear AMIROK at Daylight Studios
As the temperature has consistently dropped and the need for sweaters to be brought out of hibernation has risen, it was incredible to see clothes shown for the next Spring/Summer season that I’d like to bring out immediately. There is a cardigan, among other things, that is embroidered at the collar with sequins. According to Nelson, these “sequins” originate from an ostrich. He explained further that he has an entire team that’s working in Zimbabwe that carves ostrich shells into sequins. Alarmed about the abstraction and its potential harm to the ostrich population, Nelson ensured us that the process is relatively painless. “We hand-embroider them in India. In South Africa, there is a huge ostrich lifestyle program where people are eating it and having ostrich eggs. We take the natural by-products out of all these materials that are left over anyway. What’s particular about this collection in Zimbabwe and Botswana is that the ostrich shells that are left in the nest are collected. So, from one egg we get a ton.” This never-before-seen (or manufactured) ostrich sequin embroidery invention is scattered throughout the collection covering a pair of silk shorts and on the border of pockets. Whichever way that one decides to wear these clothes, there are ample opportunities to scatter the “Nue Noir” of AMIROK into your ensembles without looking or feeling bored whatsoever.