Kibonen NY is an ethical fashion brand, and a fresh fusion of the Western Highland Cameroonian garment, the toghu, with a contemporary twist. The company aims to capture an international clientele through its trendy West African designs and sensual silhouettes. KibonenǀNY utilizes assorted African fabrics to enrich every piece produced, such as wax prints, tye-dye, kanga and bogolan (Mud Cloth). After realizing the ability of ethical fashion to provide sustainable income to local talent, particularly undervalued female garment weavers, KibonenǀNY together with some partners formed the Cameroon Fashion Common Initiative Group and instigated the start up of an ethical factory, Made in Camer. This factory is currently an independent charity based eco and ethical clothing production unit, which provides employment to Cameroonians in one of the poorest communities. KNY in conjunction with Made in Camer aims to create a sustainable and creative long term solution to Cameroon’s economic crisis by putting forward community driven, ethical and environmentally friendly trade in fashion.

Check out my interview with the ladies that are making news in today's African fashion. Côté Minou is definitely one my favorite African fashion label.The designs are young, fierce and fabulous and of course i can't wait to be part of one of their fashion show.

Hello, I am very excited to have you on my blog.

Ciaa:How and why did you start your own line?

CM: I think it was over a telephone call two summers ago. We wandered off topic and started raving over our secret obsession with drawing clothes and turning it into a lifestyle.

Ciaa:Did you study fashion design in school?

CM: No actually we did not; Architecture & Biology- Maryanne and Stephanie respectively.

Ciaa: Who are your favorite African designers?

CM: We are fans of Alphadi and Louise Niamen.


Ciaa: How did you come up with the name Côté Minou ?

CM: Well Côté is french for corner, side. Minou is a combination of both myself and Stephanie's nick names. Therefore Côté Minou is where Stephanie and Maryanne meet.

Ciaa: What is the inspiration behind your designs?

CM: Africa its culture as well a number of other aspects. Rhythm, geometry, structure, pattern, texture, nature, music, dance...art in general. All with a mix of modern and traditional concepts.

Ciaa: Do you plan on expending in the future like having an online store , or a regular store?

CM: Yes..Yes....we intend to be featured in a number of stores in the US cities and other countries. We would also like to have our own boutique.

Ciaa:What are your plans for the next 5 years?

CM: E-Commerce Website, Being available at stores, Having a fashion house, Fashion Weeks, traveling, numerous editorial shoots, and many more fashion features.


Ciaa:I'm not a size 0 or 4, so do you have clothes for all body types?

CM: Yes we do. We have for any size. We normally readily have sizes 0-12 but we can customize any style for anyone at the same style price.

Ciaa:Where can our readers go in case they would like to purchase your clothes?

CM: We are available on Facebook. We have a group by the name Côté Minou . People can also contact us at coteminou@gmail.com after viewing some of our works on our blog http://www.coteminou.blogspot.com/. We will be launching our website http://www.mycoteminou.com/ in a few weeks.

Ciaa:Last but not least what do you think of The African fashion ?

CM: It is growing very fast and people are definitely watching....This we are very excited about.


Ciaa: Thank you very much for your time, you are a great inspiration for all of us and I wish you all the best for any future project.

CM: Thank you Ciaa u and best wishes to you and your audience as well.
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