Brand to know

Aissata Ibrahima

Aissata Ibrahima’s namesake brand is inspired by classical tailoring and research involving the complexity of love and relationships. The brand’s most recent collection ‘To Our Friends’ is a love letter to friends and is about celebrating candid moments. “I think there’s something so sacred about friendships and finding soulmates in your friends. I wanted to celebrate that,” Ibrahima explains.

The collection plays with contrasting elements that break down traditional boundaries in gendered apparel by bestowing strength to femininity and delicacy to masculinity. It was created and designed during lockdown, when Ibrahima was missing the company of her friends. “I really missed all the things we would do, like dancing in my best friend’s living room, laughing whilst sipping wine. All the good things,” she says fondly.

The brand is focused on playing its part in building a more sustainable fashion ecosystem, which is why all its pieces are made to order. It also offers a custom and bespoke service, with customers able to have pieces made in the fabrics of their choice.

“My vision is to create pieces that encourage individuality, whilst focusing on craftsmanship and subtle details,” says Ibrahima. “Clothes can really transform how you feel about yourself, and totally switch up your mood. My design work is one of the only things I trust myself blindly with, and I want people to also trust that when they wear one of my pieces, they’re just going to look and feel fire.”

Ibrahima knew she wanted to be a designer from an early age. One of her earliest memories is of looking at runway images and thinking she wanted to be the person making the clothes. She didn’t know fashion design was an option until she started researching designers and found out about trailblazers like Alexander McQueen, Phoebe Philo and Christophe Decarnin at Balmain. When she did, it opened up a whole new world to her.

After fashion design school, several design internships and a job in luxury retail, Ibrahima landed a job working for big London brands. Now she works for Casablanca and also guest lectures at her alma mater, while working on her brand and custom projects. Like many gifted millennials, her experience has taught her that she doesn’t need to limit her talents to just designing clothes.

She added: “We’re all multi-talented and multi-faceted, so why shouldn’t we tap into that?”
We couldn’t agree more.

Here, Ibrahima talks us through three of her favourite pieces.

Contrast Side Split Blazer

“I wanted something that you could throw on and you’re good to go – that’s why I love this jacket and wear it so much myself. It’s a very simple shape: classic, slightly oversized, masculine, but it has a slit on the side, so you can also subtly see what’s going on underneath. I wear the brown version all the time. It’s so easy and the colour and fabric scream luxury. It’s a cotton moleskin with a silk satin lapel in black. I actually wear it with everything. Today, I wore it with wide-leg trousers, a shirt underneath and mules. Last week, I wore it with wide-leg trousers, a bodysuit and mules. It’s effortlessly cool. I’d wear this to anywhere that won’t end up being a messy night. If a drink spilt on it I would actually cry.”

Yasmin Ruffle Coat

“I wanted something in the collection that was different to anything I’d done and a bit unexpected. The ruffles were a running theme throughout but I wanted something that was more of a statement. I love mixing dressy and casual, so I would probably wear this with baggy ripped jeans and a heeled mule. I’d wear it to the supermarket to give people inspiration for the day.”