Change the World with Fashion

EMBODIED EVENING MIDI DRESS.

CHANGE THE WORLD WITH

F A S H I O N

Ihave been surrounded by beauty since the day I was born. My childhood memories are filled with beautiful experiences, in beautiful surroundings, with beautiful souls. My dad, a pastor and the president of an Adventist university, and my mom, a professor of English literature, infused beauty into every aspect of our Seventh-day Adventist home, and I never once questioned that I was loved. Strong Adventist principles undergirded my belief system, and I enjoy continuing to incorporate them into my daily life.

At the same time, my desire to create beauty for others seemed to conflict with these principles. My Adventist community looked down upon creative pursuits and I wanted to change the world through fashion.

Self-expression, especially artistic expression, was seen as being rebellious. It was regarded as an outright rejection of the church, or as a symptom of lacking love for and devotion to God. I didn’t realize the impact that environment was having on me at the time, but it led to immense feelings of shame in my self-expression and by default, shame of myself. Perhaps the most serious impact of my shame was how easily I began to pass judgement on others who were also expressing themselves differently from what the Adventist community “approved.”

Fast-forward to starting my company in 2018. What began as a social impact project seamlessly merged with my passion for creative self-expression to create Mabel Brempong, a high-end fashion brand named for my parents, the people who first created beauty in my life. I had been so resistant to the idea of actually pursuing fashion full-time, especially as an avenue to make a missional impact. However, after soliciting advice from trusted friends regarding a business they thought I could start, love, and grow for the rest of my life, fashion was the clear winner.

Growing up, I was conditioned to think that an industry like fashion was part of “the world”, and I as a Seventh-day Adventist was supposed to be set apart. I was meant to be in a field that was considered more wholesome, holistic, and serving. Although I had committed to pursuing this fashion brand, the internal conflict I had felt while growing up remained. This began my struggle with shame around my vocation.

I believed that modesty was essential in every aspect of our lives. Modesty in how we eat. Modesty in how we dress. Modesty in how we do everything, including how we spend. This was the central battle of my internal struggle. I felt supported by the “outside world” to the point that I secured sponsorship for Mabel Brempong’s fashion show, but what I was really battling with was feeling accepted by my nuclear community, my Adventist brothers and sisters. I desired to share my mission with them, yet I felt the need to hide my company from church members out of fear of what they might say or think.

My parents were leaders in the church, and as such, I didn’t want people using my decision to pursue fashion as a way to hurt them. Mabel Brempong has been dedicated to my parents from the beginning as a way of commemorating their contributions to the lives of people in need, and the last thing I wanted was for them to feel disrespected by it. In fact, I wanted my parents to believe in every thread of the fabric of the company and its foundation established in their honor.

The night after my first fashion show in South Korea, everything about my perspective changed. My parents had stayed up to watch the show online, and it was the first time they had actually seen the products. I didn’t have the confidence to show them throughout the design and production process out of fear that they would be disappointed in me. My parents called me immediately after the show and their reception could not have been any more supportive!

My mom told me that she was proud of me and this began my healing process. I remember hugging my business partner and crying ugly tears right after that call. The fear, limitations, and anxiety I had been carrying for almost two years had been lifted.

We go on mission trips. We improve living conditions and bring hope to others. Could fashion do that? My answer is an emphatic, “YES!”

You are probably reading this wearing...something. That something was made by someone going through the same processes that I go through to bring our designs to life. So why feel fear, shame, and guilt for being a part of the process and not just being the consumer?

I believe that fashion—that anything in the creative and artistic industries, for that matter—can bring about positive and impactful change and hope to people around the world.

Mabel Brempong is doing that in several ways including: 1. Mabel and Brempong Owusu-Antwi Foundation: We use 10% of our profits to support a young person with an underprivileged background gain vocational skills and secure investments to build their own business so that they can have a sustainable life for themselves, their family, and their community. We finished our first project with a young family in Kumasi this February. 2. Sabbath: I have instated observance of the Sabbath into our company policy, ensuring that every worker, regardless of religious or denominational affiliation, experiences the blessings of the Sabbath every week.

As you are considering your vocation and discerning God’s call on your own life, I hope that my story can offer some guidance and encouragement. My experience has been that if it’s changing a life for the better (your life included) and bringing hope to others, then it is God’s work, and you are God’s vessel.

Sandra Owusu-Antwi is the Founder of Mabel Brempong, a high-end fashion brand. She graduated from Andrews University with a B.S. Psychology and B.A. Religion. She holds her Master’s in Business Administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago. For the past 6 years she worked as an Administrative Supervisor and Lecturer at Yonsei University in South Korea while simultaneously building Mabel Brempong. She is now back in the U.S. and hopes to continue making an impact in her field of work and through her fashion Brand.

STORY BY SANDRA OWUSU-ANTWI PHOTOS BY FELIX GILLETT, CHRISTINA ROGERS, NICK COLLARD DESIGN BY HEATHER L. MACYAUSKI

HAND PLEATED VELVET HIGH WAISTED SKIRT, PEPLUM PUFF SLEEVE TOP.

BALLOON SLEEVE FAUX FUR CROP COAT, FRINGED BAILIAN SILK MIDI SKIRT.

CHAINETTE FRINGE JUMPSUIT.

BAILIAN TIERED TWO-PIECE DRESS.