Jacqueline Boakye of J'Qlyn : A rising African Star in Fashion

Story by Ruthy 

My inspiration and drive for this brand J’QLYN comes from my diverse cultural exposure to the world in a never seen classy nature. The design inspiration also comes from a book that has kept and brought me this far in line; The Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. This perfectly characterized my 2012 blazer collection ‘Amorender’, achieved from the words ‘amour’ and ‘render’. At 17, I was sketching, designing and producing prom dresses for her mates at St. Francis Xavier whilst I studied BTEC National Diploma in Art & Design. At that point, the drive was to sketch ideas and transforming them into quality designs for friends who would later become clients as well as admirers”.

Born in Accra on 27th October 1991 to George Boakye and Genevive Amevor, Jacqueline Boakye is  the proud owner and brain behind J’QLYN, a fashion brand which simply identifies elegance for different personalities and currently one of the fastest growing brands within the fashion space in the African Diaspora communities across the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.

Jacqueline had her elementary education in Ghana and after, the family had to relocate to Belgium where her father Mr. Boakye had taken up a new appointment. In 2006, her family again relocated to the United Kingdom where Jacqueline had her secondary then college education. Before graduating from the London College of Fashion, at the University of the Arts London, Jacqueline knew she had a place in the Arts industry having started with amazing drawings and sketches from a tender age of eight (8).

Her major break was when she gained an internship to work alongside Suzie Turner; a leading British bespoke designer, where she learnt the rudiments of the trade and gained invaluable insight into how to operate a fashion brand. That was a dream come and was followed by the launch of Jacqueline’s J’QLYN brand officially in the first quarter of 2013. Jacqueline’s exploits include showcasing her first ever collection at the age of 19 at the African Fashion Week London in 2011 under the brand name JB Afrique. This led to her designs being featured in Fashions Finest and Top Model of Colour (TMC) 2011 and was invited by the Miss Ghana Belgium organization to clothe the contestants in 2012 and 2013.

This year, J’QLYN was showcased as part of London Fashion Week 2014 in an off-schedule show organized by Fashions Finest in February and her designs were featured in Duvera Magazine, Amor Magazine and Akwaaba Magazine. She was also featured as the only designer in the annual Sheffield Afro Caribbean Society (ACS) event which took place in April then the Coventry Runway fashion show.

J'Qlyn is without a doubt a brand to look out for!

Follow @officialjqlyn on twitter and instagram!   

Fashion Newbie of the Month: Harriaankiss Klodin

Her glamorous Abakan collection caught our eye hence the idea of an  interview with this upcoming designer we believe has  a lot of potential. Her brand name is Harriaankiss klodin . “HK”

We hope you enjoy this interview.

TNBGH: Who is Harriet? And why fashion

HK: Harriet is a young, determine and hardworking fashion designer and an entrepreneur with a lot of passion for what she does. Fashion because I cannot see myself doing anything else with much enthusiasm, zeal and passion than fashion designing.

TNBGH: What inspires you to design Clothes?

HK: Am inspired by God as well as colors. And I find great pleasure in creating extraordinary things out of ordinary things

TNBGH: How many collections do you have? And what’s your Fav collection?

HK: I have one collection which is my maiden collection called the Abakan collection with 20 designs in all. 

TNBGH: What went into designing your Abakan Collection, What were the challenges with  with releasing this collection collection?

HK: Even though I had some difficult moments during the process, I will not say Coming out with the Abakan collection was stressful because I had a lot of fun with it. As much as I used our Ghanaian fabrics, I went outside to other countries to get other fabrics to add a touch of foreign to my collection

TNBGH: Tell us about your background and how you got into designing?

HK: After I found my passion in designing I enrolled in Joyce Ababio School of fashion. Basically, The last four years was used to build the brand Harriaankiss. 

TNBGH: What types of clothes do you enjoy designing?

HK: I enjoy designing all types of cloths but I love designing gowns most as you can see in my Abakan collection

TNBGH: Which designers inspire you? What are your general views about the Ghana fashion industry?

HK: Am inspired a lot by Christie Brown, I think the Ghanaian fashion industry is growing even though it’s a little slow this year

TNBGH: What is the future plans for Harriaankiss Klodin?

HK: Harriaankiss Klodin will bring out more great collections in the years to come, style more celebrities as well as showcase on the biggest runways across the world. We aim at gong global soon.

TNBGH: As a young fashion entrepreneur, how do you fund your business?

HK: My business is growing very fast. Thanks to God. Ghanaians have accepted our brand so far and it is doing well in the Ghanaian fashion industry.

TNBGH:If you had an opportunity to be mentored by one top designer based in Ghana, who will it
be and why?

HK: I would love to be mentored by Christie Brown; She has built her brand very well. Am very concerned about branding so I will not go for any other designer than her.