What is your name and what is the significance of your name?
My name, Mobolaji, means “woken up to fortune” in Yoruba my father’s language. My mother is Jamaican, so I am not a proficient speaker of Yoruba but I do know the meaning of my name (smile) and am happy to have it now that I am an adult. It was challenging to have such a different name as a child; Actually, it still can be hard getting people to pronounce it, but once they get it they can’t forget it, so I like that.
When I think about it more deeply, my name acts as a mantra of sorts reminding me of how fortunate I am to be living the life that I do.
What is African Cowboy?
African Cowboy signifies a new cross-cultural dialogue that brings to bear the knowledge of the west and the ancient wisdom of Africa. This is a dialogue about hope, beauty, and mutually beneficial partnership. This is the Africa I see when I visit and the Africa I remember from my childhood.
The visual representation of this new, inspired, dialogue is the African Cowboy shirt. Our shirts create a new visual dialogue using color and bring that to the west. The ancient Africans understood the importance of color and its vibratory frequency which can heal and transform. African Cowboy captures these colors of healing, inspiration and hope on a familiar canvas, the cowboy shirt. The African Cowboy shirt is a synthesis of the rugged individuality of the Wild West and the wisdom of Africa.
I see cowboy culture and West African culture as being like kindred spirits; both have a rugged edge and a flare for ornate design. I this doesn’t make sense yet, it will as you see the line expand. The best way I can explain the similarities between cowboy culture and West African culture is to put it this way, how many men would wear a shirt with red or pink embroidered flowers on it that weren’t cowboys?
It is fascinating to me how American cowboy culture can be so masculine yet have this sensitive side. That is very much like how I see African male culture as well. The elaborate colors some men wear in West Africa demonstrate a sense of adventure and unspoken gentleness that is not traditionally thought of as African, but is very much a part of the multi-dimensional nature of my people.
What influences shaped your design aesthetic?
The influences that shape my design aesthetic come from watching cowboy movies as a child growing up in Nigeria. It’s ironic how John Wayne movies travel so far and are able to transmute into fashion for me. I always wanted to be like those cowboy heroes in the movies and used to dress up like them with what I could find in my parents closets. Let’s just say there was not much cowboy looking stuff that you could find it the 70’s in Nigeria, but I tried (smile). I’ll have to put that picture of me up on the website eventually. It’s really funny.
Another, perhaps more obvious, influence is the amazing West African tradition of wearing elaborate embroidered, colorful batik and tie-dye garments. I always enjoyed going to family events as a child just to see what people were wearing. There was always an unspoken competition between the women and men as to who was going to wear the best, most elegant, traditional attire. I loved that as a child and bring those memories to my designs as well.
Who is your favorite shirt designer? Why are there only shirts in your collection?
I have several favorite shirt designers. I love the bold use of color in Robert Graham’s work and the precision and forward thinking represented by the work of someone like Junya Watanabe (though he designs more than just shirts).
I have chosen to begin my new dialogue through clothing using shirts because they are classic pieces that are often taken for granted, particularly for men. They are often so simple in appearance and color that it is often hard to appreciate the level of detail and work that goes into making one. I intend to change that. I want people pay attention to the cowboy shirt in a new way...to give it a new voice through color.
What are your personal experiences in Africa, and how has this impacted your work as a designer?
My personal experiences in Africa are always amazing. I see and have seen a hopeful, prosperous and inspiring continent filled with life, passion, and beauty that is often not represented in the western media. I always remember as a child all the wonderful food, colors and smells. Africa was and is an adventure for the senses and I try to bring this sense of adventure to my line of shirts which are hand dyed in Ghana.
I chose Ghana as opposed to my home country because it was easier for me to establish infrastructure within that culture than in Nigeria at the moment. Frankly, I don’t see Africa through the limitations created via artificial borders. All of Africa needs our support in return for its long history of supporting the western world via people power and massive amounts of natural resources that are extracted on a daily basis.
I believe in alternative ways of supporting Africa’s people that not only involve short-term aid but long-term infra-structure that leads to he creation of dignified work and business opportunities. What the people of Africa need is an opportunity to bring their talents to market and make a living from those contributions.
Being an American as well, I want to help our country as well. The final garments are sewn here in Los Angeles on purpose to support the economy through this challenging time.
For me being a designer is not just about creating shirts that make people feel like rock stars, it’s also about giving back to the sources of my inspiration, the people of Africa and the United States. The clothing’s high quality may mean a higher price but I believe the consumer appreciates knowing that African Cowboy does everything it can to support fair work opportunities for others at home and abroad.
Take us through the process from design conception through creation of a physical African Cowboy shirt?
Working remotely is probably the most difficult process because we are dealing with a 7-8 hour time difference, so sometimes their day is over when I am still responding. This can also be good as well because they are working while I am asleep so it’s almost like having a 24 hour a day staff. Since our focus is on creating great quality designs that are made from scratch and that are unique form what anyone sees coming out of Africa, it can take some time to get things just right. It also helps that I work with some of the top fabric designers in the country because I am insured great quality. It costs more than buying form the fabric markets, but that’s what makes our clothing special.
After the fabric is dyed it is then flown to the United States via Fed Ex, DHL, or one of the major airlines. This is the quickest, most efficient, way to get things here from that part of the world since shipping can take up to 4 months to get to Los Angeles.
Once the fabric gets to LA and clears customs it goes straight to one of the factories we work with to get sewn. Afterwards, I carefully select the colors of snaps for each shirt, then have them hand dyed to perfection and carefully placed on each shirt. It’s this long and detailed process that makes every shirt wearable art.
What kind of fabrics and textiles do you use?
We use 100% cotton fabric of different kinds. The type of cotton may vary depending on what is available. Sometimes we use a brocade fabric to create an underlying texture and design beneath the batik we dye. I like the uniqueness that comes from not using exactly the same type of cotton each time so that each shirt stands on its own both because of the hand dying and the fabric.
Social Entrepreneurship means making conscious choices when you create a product or a service so that you avoid exploitation of others. I know that there are some circumstances where there is no infra-structure to support exploitation free production, but I try to create it when ever possible or find it, if it does exist.
What social entrepreneurship also means is that sometimes it takes a little longer or costs you more to create your product, but knowing that people involved live better lives as a result makes that practice worth it. It also means you may produce in a country like Ghana not because it is the easiest or the cheapest but because you know it provides opportunities for people. It’s kind of like the Slow Food movement that is building globally, this is the Slow Clothing movement (smile). Of course this does not mean it doesn’t get to where it is going on time, it just means it is a conscious deliberate process.
How does Africa benefit through your operation?
Africa benefits by African Cowboy providing (at present) hundreds of jobs that would normally go to Asia. Also part of my personal commitment in assisting Africa with moving towards self-sustaining habits, African Cowboy also donates to nonprofits that deal with educating African youth.
We also team with nonprofits that work with Africa in general and donate a percentage of sales that take place at their benefit events. We are currently looking at how to support through website affiliation options as well.
We are not just focused on Africa, however, the U.S. also benefits with jobs that we help maintain in the manufacturing sector through our hiring of Los Angeles based sewing contractors.
What are working conditions like in Africa?
Since Africa has 53 countries, I can’t speak to the working conditions in all countries but the statistics certainly speak to the fact that the earnings are less than a dollar a day on average across most of the lesser developed world.
In the cities this rate means slum living, but in the villages due to farming capabilities and barter this rate of earning can produce better living conditions because people don’t always have to use hard currency to purchase food and necessary goods.
In Ghana most of the average blue-collar workers I met were earning no more than $1 per hour and the nation wide average is about $1.09 per day.
African Cowboy is committed to being among the companies that promote a win-win perspective on doing business that has workers and business owners doing well.
Learn more: AfricanCowboyClothing.com
I knew from the moment I saw those shirts that he has roots in the Caribbean, Jamaica no less. Keep bringing those positive vibrations to what you're doing sir.
Posted by: Jean Spare of Wholesale Clothing | February 12, 2010 at 09:57 AM
Congratulations Mobolaji! You too Stefan! I'm glad you're giving my bud the recognition he deserves.
Posted by: Joy Kennelly | February 21, 2010 at 03:11 PM