ONU – Sustainable, high-quality minimal shoes for people who are not only at home in one culture. It is time to allow different perspectives in fashion to be at the forefront, that is why it is necessary to “deconstruct fashion” and offer a positioning.
Deconstruct fashion: a new, up-to-date look at specific aspects or “individual parts”, such as e.g. gender and racism structures within sustainable fashion (production) “deconstruct fashion” is to be understood here as a political process of change. The ONU shoe was created in collaboration with Wildling and the Nigerian designer NKWO, curated by Beatrace Oola. We enjoyed and celebrated the ONU shoe launch on 13th of June 2023 in Berlin.
Cultural appreciation is about making a serious effort to relearn, listen, rethink and reinterpret about another culture. It is about understanding and respecting cultural beliefs and traditions. Deconstruct fashion: This new interpretation and confrontation, historical and contemporary, guided by BiPoC perspectives, is core to the process of change. This change only becomes effective by changing the structures of the system.
Collaboration as a solution approach
The future of fashion lies in collaboration and an awareness of sustainable practices. This is the vision behind the ONU model: a call to action and change by telling the hidden stories of African Fashion and creating new connections.
ONU represents the power of collaboration and dialogue to change perceptions of African Fashion and sustainability. Through careful and deliberate design based on the principles of re-generation and re-definition, a new narrative for fashion in Africa/Diaspora and Europe is created. ONU provides space for untold stories that are often misinterpreted or ignored in the fashion industry, while challenging people to rethink.
The collaboration between NKWO and Wildling is not only the first of its kind, between a German sustainable label and an African designer, but also sets the stage for a platform for new values in the fashion industry. ONU is not just a shoe, but a movement. A movement that aims to transform the fashion industry by pointing out the connection between fashion and sustainability, culture and history.
Photography: Cherie Birkner
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