Deepa Dosaja to show off colour at New York Fashion Week

From soft silk fabrics, hand printed to hand embroidered ensembles, Deepa Dosaja is planning a colourful collection for New York Fashion Week.

Deepa is one of the few African designers who will take part in this year’s New York Fashion Week running from February 9 to 16. She will be sharing the backstage with celebrated designers Michael Castillo, Kimora Lee Simmons, Kanye West, Marc Jacobs, Victoria Beckham, among others.

The designer gave us a sneak peak into the collection and her signature items with flowers dominating all her fabrics.

“I shall show a collection of 12 pieces. This collection is a celebration of one of my inspirations. I want to share with the world what makes me feel most joyful and full of life: Flowers! My flowers,” said Deepa.

Fine silks embellished with bold hand paints and hand embroidery with signature Deepa flowers will ensure that each piece remains distinctively and one of a kind, she said.

In this collection she looks to bring out the beauty, energy and splendour of the universe. Nature represents a multitude of colours, this is reticulated in her collection. Not one flower is the same. 

“My pieces reflect earth’s natural beauty, the joyful colours of Africa and the radiance I experience in women from across the street and around the globe, and furthermore the only prevailing energy in the world is love. Love who you are. Love what you wear. Love where you live,” she said.

Throughout the years, her collection has been inspired by her spiritual journey, which she said helps her to be one with herself and nature.

When she is designing, she thinks of all the things she values, freedom, love, joy and tries to put them into the prints.

Deepa was selected to showcase at the New York Fashion Week through Oxford Fashion Studio, a UK-based fashion company. Each year, Oxford Fashion Studio reviews more than 8,000 designers issuing invitations only to extraordinary designers with original concepts. Deepa’s fashion house was one of the lucky ones to be selected.

“Whilst I have participated in shows outside of Kenya. This is the first time I have participated in a show of this magnitude,” said the fashion graduate from Lasalle College in Montreal, Canada.

“This will obviously be a huge opportunity to network with influential people in the world of fashion. I look forward to interact with the buyers, bloggers amongst others.”

Deepa started her company under the name Va bene (Italian for fine) Couture in 2000 and specialises in silk, linen, wool and cotton which she imports from Italy, India, Germany and France.

She also has a special collection of stretch silk prints.