Hot, dusty, poor people cover the fronts of Africa, in the minds of people who think of Africa as a place of AIDS, poverty and children with flies on their cheeks. The influence of media takes over what is actual reality. The reality of Africa is: a rich history, a variety of people and a place of rich resources. The fashion industry has overlooked Africans’ impact, influence and potential.

Ankhré is a line based out of Paris that promotes the idea of Urban Africa and bringing the slept on Continent to the forefront of positive images. Composed of 54 countries, over 1,000 languages and hundreds of styles and designers, Loic Jumet, the man behind Ankhré explains his perceptions and future contributions to this lop-sided industry.

Africa, being the second largest continent in the world, holds a passionate audience that indulges in Hip-Hop, urban politics and social struggle. The Evil Collector explores the stylish side of this “underground world” that was somehow misrepresented. With the support of Obie Trice, Akon and Chamillionaire, Ankhre plans to bring Hip-Hop back to its roots.

TEC: While explaining the meaning behind Ankhre, introduce the rest of the world to who you are.

Loic Jumet: Ankhre means that everywhere you are, your origin and your roots are important components of your personality. Even if you live in another country, where you are from can offer you another point of view that can make you richer. As the designer, I just want to show to the world that Africa can also bring a lot in the fashion world. There are so many people who think that Africa is just a poor and sick part of the world. Africa is full of creativity and savoir-faire, which just needs to be brought into the light.

TEC: “It’s not about where you at, it’s about where you from,” is the slogan for the line. How important is that motto, when dealing with Africa and universal progression?

LJ: Ankhré tries to show that you can represent where you’re from by the way you dress. Ankhré tries to mix the African culture (colors and beautiful print) & the urban culture (Hip-Hop movement) just to prove that you can live in France or in the US and be proud of being African.

TEC: There aren’t too many lines that promote Africa and Black roots. What made you decide to step out the box and create something different, while promoting self-discovery?

LJ: We all know that the black community has a lot of influence in fashion, especially musicians, sportsmen and movie stars but they rarely promote a self-made trend — they always wear brands that don’t represent us; brands that just use them as advertisers. Ankhré is the opportunity to wear clothes that make us proud of what we are and what we can do.

TEC: Hip-Hop is now on a global forefront and people all over the world appreciate it. It seems that your focus is to expose the urban culture in Africa to the rest of the world. How can Hip-Hop help promote that?

LJ: As I said, Hip-Hop is the biggest trend setter, and it’s like my main culture.
Hip-Hop gives us a way of expression and means so much for a lot of us. Hip-Hop lets us show to the world our abilities and our skills, even if a lot of people thought that people from the ghetto were stupid and lazy. Now everybody knows that everything that is new, becomes popular through Hip-Hop. I hope the same thing will happen with Africa and fashion.

TEC: What’s your connection to Akon and Konvict music?

LJ: It’s an artist that symbolizes the link between Africa and Hip-Hop culture. Both are on the same level.

TEC: A lot of the shirts are made in different patterns and stamps of animal print. Where did that idea stem from?

LJ: The idea is to introduce people to Ankhré. I just wanted to start from the beginning, that is to say the genesis, so I choose animals and vegetables because this is how everything starts. Ankhré wants to tell human history and every step of it, that’s why it’s begins in Africa with animals.

TEC: Some of the women’s designs capture the same feel as Kenté cloth, how do these clothes bridge the gap between just being apparel and promoting self-esteem, respect and beauty?

LJ: We got to be proud of what our ancestors gave us through the times. Ankhré helps us to learn about the way we use to dress and the way we used to make clothes. In the 21st century, we’ll be stronger if we search within our culture and in ourselves to learn about us. We gotta stop doing just like the others. We gotta re-discover our culture .

TEC: When creating ideas behind the line, who are some of the musicians you let play in the background, to be your inspiration?

LJ: A lot of artist can be very motivational, I’ll just name a few: Public Enemy, Sade, Erykah Badu,Teddy Pendergrass, D’angelo, and Nas…with movies, it would be the whole Spike Lee Joint Collection ( ’cause it shows black people in full colors). But most important, are the books I’ve read: Cheick Anta Diop; the whole bibliography; Malcolm X the autobiography; Nelson Mandela the autobiography…

TEC: That’s dope. You’re a musician. How hard is it to tie in promoting your music and introducing a groundbreaking clothing line?

LJ: Music and fashion are very close, you gotta be very self-confident in these two artistic worlds. You always got to be creative and strong to let people know your point of view.

TEC: Is it hard living in Paris, promoting African culture and getting your feet into the fashion industry?

LJ: It’s very hard, because Paris is a fashion city but not all sort of fashion. Like, the whole French society [in terms of fashion] is very conservative. It’s not easy to let them know another way about considering clothes. We continue to stay strong and keep our heads up.

TEC: Cool. Where can we find Ankhré Clothing?

LJ: At www.ankhre.com, www.ankhreshop.com and myspace.com/ankhre

This entry was posted on Monday, June 4th, 2007 at 7:48 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.