Why Ocacia
Ocacia is a designer label that specializes in luxury handmade attire. Each garment we make is unique to each client. Our clients are those looking for unique and premium, yet modern and functional African cultural attire at the click of a mouse. We are 100% African-owned and believe in trade over aid as a means of social and economic empowerment.
Drawing on attention to the finest details, while standing on ancient African traditions, Ocacia is a brand with a distinctive collection for those who want to make a unique fashion statement. Handcrafted and uniquely customizable for every client. Our clothes are beautifully presented for the highest taste for all occasions.
Ocacia believes that just as Milan or Paris carries prestige, we are putting prestige around “made by Africans.” We firmly believe that Africans must be at the forefront of the industry, making final goods and adding our unique aesthetic to the globalized markets. Ocacia is 100% owned by Africans from Ethiopia (Female), SA (African Female), and the Diaspora (UK). We own all aspects of our clothing production.
Today the world is becoming very mono-cultural, everyone wears the same clothes. However, some people want to stand out from the crowd and make an individual statement that is rooted in African heritage. And in a globalized world, people want to be able to say “This was made in Africa.” by African people.
WHAT WE ARE ABOUT
We recognized three problems with the African fashion industry: Modernity, quality, and global availability.
- Dedicated to quality African products
- Creating modern African clothes built on age-old traditions
- Creating sustainable markets in Africa and the African Diaspora owned by Africans
- Exporting African culture and making Africa a partner in globalization and not a victim.
THE NAME OCACIA
Why did we take the name Ocacia from the studio Jazz fusion band Ocacia? The story goes we came into this thing as tech people. Web developers etc. That is our field. You saw some of the work 500 Years Later that is Halaqah Media so we decided to find a fashion house to pair with and take their work to the next level by being the tech side and they focusing on designs etc. My God, where do I begin to tell you how WRONG that idea was? You can’t work with our people because we are not on the same level. Stone age and digital age mentalities don’t work. We are discussing global commerce and they are figuring out how to reset a password to read an email. It doesn’t matter if this African identity thing, right or wrong doesn’t come into this thing, these things have no value in a business relationship. We can’t even start to get to who is right and who is wrong. Anyway, the name we had at the time was based on a legal contract between us and an established designer who was based in SA (but from Burundi. When that fell apart, we already had a website up and running with someone else’s name and logo. What are we going to do after all those months of investment in an expensive website? But first, we at least need a name as the contract is finished. Coming up with an original name is not easy. It has to be short (way easier to type Ocacia or Gucci than Xolani’s designer shop. ) So now we know what does not work, let us find what does. Short and sweet and unforgettable. What are we doing with Ocacia? We already own the name and I don’t think we will ever get back to music. We had pushback from the old band mates but we had to make moves. I wish we could find another name but Ocacia really hit the mark when in a bind.
AFRICA AND THE WORLD
We cannot change the entire world; someone spent a lot of time and energy making sure it served Western markets. Someone put in centuries adding value to the culture of some groups, and taking it away from others. But we know there is a small group out there that wants to return to something authentic, as long as we can keep doing what we are doing (aka people buying from our store). Everyone does their part, which creates something where otherwise there would be a cultural monolithic desert of Western supremacy, all controlled by the 1%.
