Not every girl loves flowers, not every guy loves beer!
We keep being amazed at how much we get to know our clients based on the prints they fall in love with!
The process of handpicking prints before we launch every major collection is a critical one. Nerve wracking, yet exciting. Scary, yet exhilarating. We don’t just randomly select whatever is available, and hope someone buys it. We carefully handpick the prints we offer to our clients, because we know that they’re going to love it.
So much so that in fact, with every african print in hand, there is a specific category of clients in mind.
How it starts
The Ngaska team in Dominica and in Africa, observes the trendy african prints that people tend to love every season. Based on these trends, we meet with our local suppliers based in different countries in Africa, and we discuss the patterns, colors and feels we want for each collection. From 30 minutes to 2 hours+ on Whatsapp calls over days and weeks, nothing is too short or too long to snatch the prints that would be the perfect fit! Once we are done with the strategy meetings, our team on the ground heads to the large local markets, and that is when the shopping fiesta starts.
While at the market, we are in direct communication with our team members, purchasing officers and suppliers. We can hear the horns of the local cabs as they zigzag through the busy, sandy streets. We can hear the background chatter of women bargaining for the best prices, and the exciting calls of merchants trying to lure clients in their stores. We can feel the excitement of what shopping day in Africa feels like. We can feel it as if we were there with them...
African Prints Colors
Our purchasing officers head into the first store. The multilayer racks and stands of vibrant african print fabric are astonishing. And even if you live on the continent, it’s still just as mesmerizing. Every day at a local african prints market comes with its own share of… exhilarating magic! As our purchasing officers send us pictures of their intuitive african print selection based on our meeting recommendations, we hear all the instant message notifications come all at once, like an awesome blast. For a second or two, I get distracted by what I would want for myself, but then I recalibrate and start to ask myself the right question:
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Would the clients love these colors?
What stories do they tell? - What outfits would this African print be used for?
- This pattern, would it sell?
And so, our African prints selection is guided by questions that we know would take us in the right direction. If we are working on a summer collection, then we opt for bright, vibrant and colorful african print styles. These are perfect for african print dresses (maxis or minis), overalls, jumpsuits, african print off shoulder blouses and even casual sets. For our independence collections, large and small floral african prints take over. They are the game changer for all the creole madras and Wob Dwiyet styles. And let’s not forget our regal African lace, without which, no creole outfit would be complete! And if we are preparing for the holidays, our golden, red and white african print designs are at the rendez-vous!
African Prints Patterns
Not every print can be used for everything. Some african print designs are ideal for african dresses, aftican skirts or african pants. Others are unique prints that work best for african shirts for males. And at Ngaska, we always want to represent our males. We want to serve them. We want to dress them. We leave no male behind! So, when we pick our african print patterns, we always want to make sure that we pick patterns that can work for different types of african print male outfits. And the same applies for kid-friendly african prints too, african prints you can use for family looks, for church outfits, for wedding attires, for beach events, and even for work!
African Prints Trends
When selecting our handpicked african prints, we look at what is trendy around the world. What is everyone else loving? Wearing? Slaying? This matters too! We are more united than we think, and sometimes things that are happening around the world also direct and guide the way we see ourselves. For instance, during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, we launched our Melanin Collection in collaboration with Cameroonian born and Dominica-based artist Marie Pascale. That same year, we also provided a great selection of antique, ancestral and tribal prints that many of our clients wanted to identify with. But inasmuch as our African prints selection is vibrant, trendy and sought-after, in reality, the majority of our prints are actually… rare gold.
The Rare Gold
Yes, the rare gold. The prints that you won’t see on Google.Or on Pinterest. The prints that not everybody has. The prints that will make you feel unique. Whilst a lot of online african print stores tend to go for prints that are “common and popular”, we tend to go for those that are not. And so, we look for them. We dig for them. We go through the depths of our local african markets to get you the prints that you will see by us first. And when you see them, make sure you get them right away, because they always come in a limited edition. And they disappear to someone else’s wardrobe, as if they were never even there!
Join our family to be notified of when our latest collection drops - that way, you are among the first ones to pick your prints!
