By Rita Okoye
Fashion evolution is beautiful. The way things change in taste drives innovation, and this in turn creates growth, making fashion feel like a living, breathing being.

The clothing classics of the 19th century are obviously different from the 21st century. This development doesn’t spring from a place of awareness but evolves subconsciously through the fast-changing wants of fashion consumers.

Fashion designers understood the lines of evolution, or the sequence of its patterns, what piqued people’s interest and why, and because of this, they have a clothing foresight that predicts the next succession of needs, making design classics that continue this motif into the future.

Kaffy fashion brand is one of such designers that know the cut-and-thrust of making garments that satisfy future needs. The fashion brand was founded in 2020 by Kafayat Damilola Saliu. It is a womenswear brand, dedicated to creating a modern, feminine aura through innovative classics that set a woman apart, amongst the crowd.

To make garments that depict elegance, high-profile class, and luxury, Kaffy fashion brand researches the modern woman’s clothing needs and designs to meet expectations.
Their discoveries from the research team are passed through innovative deliberations, and through their artisans, life is breathed into these ideas, creating fashion outfits that reflect the clothing needs of customers. Through these outfits, the brand makes a woman’s presence felt when she makes an entrance, swaying in confidence.

Although Kaffy fashions focuses on crafting clothing that puts a smile on a woman, they also keep within the lines of that focus, the sustainability of their craft. They produce a limited number of garments, and they make outfits based on customer requests, to avoid overproduction that may result in material waste.

To uphold this art of sustainability, they prioritise using durable and quality materials, working with trusted artisans who know their onions, for the sake of quality, and making use of recyclable packaging.

Kaffy fashion designers have ‘purpose’ as a watchword when crafting clothing garments. Every material is selected with precision. This results in creating garments that make a woman’s presence felt at an event, attracting attention, creating fans in people’s hearts, and paving the way for a woman to naturally fulfil her intentions with minimal restrictions.

To this effect, Kaffy Fashion Brand established the 2021 Saliu Collections, founded after her middle name, and designed to satisfy the modern woman’s clothing cravings through original styles and unique embellishments.
This first outfit is an interesting dress from the 2021 Saliu Collections. It is a double-breasted coat dress with interesting and creative embellishments. It has a lapel collar with sharp, pointy edges that extend beyond the collar area.

This dress has a pair of short sleeves that are decorated beautifully. The upper portion of the sleeves appears large, creating a puffy effect around the shoulders and the upper arm.
Also, along the length of the sleeves are ruched designs, giving a slightly interesting effect. Furthermore, it has long drawstrings attached to the ruched areas, which allow the wearer to adjust the fit of the sleeves. Plus, it adds beauty and originality to the garment.
The rucked sleeves may resemble a unique detail for a coat dress, but this dress doesn’t fully show originality; however, it is an outfit that will relate to women whose focus is on luxury and elegance. It helps a woman be perceived as confident and respectable.
The back of this dress is different from the front view; it lacks the steel button decorations, except for the presence of the rucked detail in the sleeves and the drawstrings, which are also visible from the rear.

Although it is a beautiful dress in general, a few glitches taint the glamour intended by the designer. The drawstrings are overly extended, which may cause discomfort to the wearer while trying to use her hand. Although the ties add beauty to the dress, the designer should have contained them in short bits.

Here is another beautiful outfit from the 2021 Saliu Collection. This ruffled dress begins with a V-neck that is neatly decorated in ruffles, forming a cleavage that extends to the midsection of the chest.
The dress has a pair of long, slightly voluminous sleeves; it’s decorated with ruffles at the cuffs, forming an elastic wrist and giving a blouson effect. While it’s not a puffy sleeve throughout, it has the appearance before the tapering at the cuffs.

Taking this further, this dress has a fitted bodice that is cinched at the waist before it expands into the tiered hem, and reaches down beyond the heels, sweeping the floor. The hem has layers of ruffles that reveal how it spreads out towards the heels, because it line of ruffles seems to be longer as it descends.

This dress depicts originality through its unique ways of embellishment. It does not follow a particular trend, nor does it replicate a popular trend without adding anything new; instead, it can begin a fresh trend in the industry. Also, the ruffles are well-done and neatly arranged.

The outfit doesn’t seem to have a wrong seam work; the seams are smooth, and there is no puckering or pulling, which shows a brilliant sewing technique by the designer. Also, there are no gaps or skipped stitches along the seams, and it follows a consistent length throughout the garment.

The rear view of this garment is the same as the front view. It is an outfit that is suitable for exclusive events like entertainment shows and fashion runways. It will resonate with women who love individuality in fashion and those who love to stand out and look beautiful at a function.

Although this dress radiates elegance, there are a few glitches to it. The hem length sweeping the floor could obstruct easy movement. Perhaps a hem that touches the heel without extending to the floor will look beautiful and wouldn’t impede movement.
This is another attractive garment from the 2021 Saliu Collection, and it comes with a shirt and trousers.

The shirt has a classic collar with close spacing between its points. This shirt style is a common choice by designers for both formal and casual occasions.

The sleeves are long and cuffed at the wrists; they are slightly large and fitted at the wrist. It ends with standard cuffs that are tightly strapped with buttons.
The bodice of this shirt contains an interesting detail: a possibly woven material that seems to tighten around it like a corset, giving the outfit some feel of originality.

The styling of the shirt gives a blend of playful and official vibes. It has a whitish dominant hue, while the mid riff material at the bodice has stripes of green, goldish brown, and grey hues, contributing perfectly to the colour of the trousers.
The trousers have a plain green colour; they move evenly from the waist to the heels, in terms of shape and size, giving a great visual appeal.
Beyond the visual appeal, this outfit is slightly imbued with originality. Though it could have come across as an ordinary and common shirt and trousers, the addition of the aso oke material at the bodice changed the garment from regular to something unique.

The back view of this outfit is like the front view; plain colours in the same style and combination, and the aso oke material is visible around the midriff.
This outfit is suitable for official occasions or exclusive functions such as entertainment and fashion runway shows. It is appropriate for romantic dates and playful outings.
As beautiful as it looks, there are errors in the design details. The trousers are too lengthy and they slightly sweep the floor, and this may make a wearer feel uncomfortable in them. They could gather dust, and the hue could fade quickly. Perhaps if the designer had made it a bit shorter, reaching the heel exactly, there wouldn’t be an issue.

Also, the sleeves seem to be over-lengthy, concealed by the tightness of the cuffs, but this fit only makes it puff up at the sleeves, giving an amateurish look. The designer should have paid more attention to the measurement; people love fitness and accuracy even in their outfits, they wouldn’t appreciate having to resize with a tailor.

This 2021 Saliu Collections is a tribute to Kaffy Fashion Brand’s intentionality in making outfits with class and originality, a collection where women can easily find themselves.