Fashion – Phoenix
Sierra leonean fashion designer Dr. Kadijatu Grace Ahene was born on February 7, 1990 in Sierra Leone. Kadijatu gets the burning desire for creating beautiful things and an eye for fashion from her mother. She remembers designing and creating rugs from scratch with her mother on a rug mat.
Kadijatu traveled the State to pursue a career in entertainment (music and acting) fashion designing came along her finding herself.
Kadijatu's seponymous collection received raved reviews when it was launched in 2018 and sent a message to the fashion world that kadijatu was here to stay. A classic example of a woman following her dreams, kadijatu's designs had an ultra feminine look and feel which gave her polished pieces a distinctive look on the runway. The designer has been known for designing sneakers, heels and interior design and accessories with African fabric of such kind ever since. Her collections of ready to wear and resort wear called ‘Dija's Touch designs!’ are known for their affordable prices. Dija's by kadijatu came out in 2018 which was the designer’s first label. Dija's all about celebrating the African free spirit with one of a kind color palettes, fresh prints and details. Kadijatu's other collection focuses on everyday wear which make women look effortlessly sexy. The designer’s second label will be launched in 2020 and called I AM HER Label.
The use of an extensive palette of bright colors for textiles, playful sierra leone garage tie die touches and elaborate graphic patterns makes the designer truly one of a kind while other designers are in a perpetual rat race following the already forecasted colors and trends for the season. In such a situation, kadijatu's bold and bright collection is like a breath of fresh air. All the hip new fashion trends are spotted on the models donning Dija's Touch when walking on the runway. For the longest time, kadijatu has never failed to make the models look ridiculously pretty. All the models were sent down the runway with subdued eye makeup and soft romantic curls for her fall 2019 collection while her spring 2019 collection was all about pretty peach makeup and sky-high up dos. The models all wore colorful eye makeup and unusual headbands for her fall 2019 collection. Recently, her models were seen walking down the runway wearing oversized geek farm necklaces with side swept coiffures for the spring 2019 collections. Models set the runways on fire with their temporary tribal face marks and the cat eye look for the spring 2019 collection.
Kadijatu has also experimented with shoes and wall frames and even dresses in collaboration with lagosphx. Dija's Touch is currently trying to put her products in every store proudly sell all of kadijatu's collections. In 2020, kadijatu plans to go global with her new collection world and create jobs in her country of birth.
Kadijatu has a fan following of many but she became the talk of the town when the landed a TV interview with Good morning Arizona/ CW TV and the news anchor was seen wearing a custom made Dija's Touch sneakers.