Larry Jay — IA Connect | Industrie Africa

Larry Jafaru

Production Location

Ghana

Year launched

2016

Social

Biography

Founded in 2016 by Larry Jafaru Mohammed, Larry Jay is the unisex Ghanaian ready-to-wear and accessories brand that plays tribute to its home country’s vintage years. With an emphasis on ‘70s inspired design, Jafaru draws from his local surroundings of nature, art, and culture to inform his aesthetic, incorporating local fabrics and traditional East and West African references (think boubou-inspired cuts and jute detailing) into urban silhouettes. Keeping sustainability at the forefront, fabrics are sourced in Ghana and hand-dyed by artisans, and the brand prides itself on being both fashion-forward and socially responsible.

Larry Jay started as a fashion accessories line in 2012, before beginning work on a range of ready-to-wear garments of fashion clothes which officially debuted in 2017. Characterized by a clean, minimalist aesthetic, the brand’s casual yet refined collections boast a versatile, androgynous appeal, and its offering of pieces like tailored trousers, billowy button-downs, and basket-style bags are timeless in their simplicity.

In 2020, the brand was one of five Ghanaian designers profiled by Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Accra in a photography series that replaced 2020’s physical event and highlighted his status as “one to watch”. For designer Jafaru Mohammed, it's important for a brand to be identifiable. "What makes us really stand out as a brand here in Ghana is our ethical and sustainable pieces and production, our unusual and timeless clothes and accessories, and also our gender-fluid nature—which many are not sure how to embrace yet," he tells Not Just A Label.

Accolades

Lagos Fashion Week, Fashion Focus, Finalist, 2018
Accra Fashion Week, Best New Designer of the Year, 2018
Ghana Menswear Week, Emerging Designer of the Year, 2018
Ghana Menswear Week, Discovery Designer of the Year, 2017

Press

Vogue,

2020

WWD,

2020

Schick Magazine,

2020

Guardian,

2020

Vogue Italia,

2019

Bella Naija,

2019

Ameyaw Debrah,

2019

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