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After graduating from the London College of Fashion in 1993, Nana made a
fast entry into the fashion world and developed ranges for Hype, Marks &
Spencer, H&M and New Look but soon decided to move on. "There was a need
for me to express myself more than I was already doing for the high street,"
she admits. "I set up the Nana Agyeman label with my partner Victor in
August 1998 at the OXO Tower." Since then she's held the title of 'Young
Designer of the Year', traded at London Fashion Week and 40 Degrees as well
as stocking her label in Koh Samui, Urban Outfitters and TopShop.
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Nana's latest collection embodies the delicate handwriting which has made
her designs popular. Her fluid silhouettes, unstructured coats and openweave
knitted tops intend to flatter the female form with key pieces defined in
hand painted patterns. Nana sites her inspiration for the range as flora,
natural vegetation, flowers and the fusion of colour and shapes which she
has translated onto silk and cashmere to create "the essence of understated
luxury". Unique texture and details are very important elements of her work.
"There's only so far you can go with silhouettes et cetera," she smiles.
"Individualism gives designers greater scope to experiment, obviously
there's an emphasis on wearability, but within that the constraints aren't
as tight as before, people are looking for individual pieces rather than
trends."
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Still less than two years old, the Nana Agyeman label is now sold across the
globe in countries including Sweden, Norway, Italy and Switzerland and has
attracted the attention of 'Elle', 'Drapers Record', 'The Observer' and 'The Big Breakfast'. Her clothes have been spotted on celebrities Kate Thornton and
Louise Goodall and featured on 'Top of the Pops', 'This Morning' and 'VH1'. Nana confesses that she never expected her current success and only hopes that the future will bring more stability and strength to her company.
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