ACTUALS SEEN AND HEARD IN THE SAUDER WORLD
MARTIN DEE
MBA grad’s social enterprise scales new fashion heights with a little help from Michelle Obama
checked her social media notifications in July, she got a pleasant surprise and a lot of new fashionista followers. Her company, Osei-Duro, had been tagged in an Instagram photo of Michelle Obama. It turned out that the First Lady of the United States was photographed wearing Osei-Duro’s “strata panel skirt in green Rubiks” at a round-table discussion on education and technology in South Africa, part of the first family’s tour of three African countries. Mathias cofounded Osei-Duro, a Ghana-based social enterprise, in 2009 with fashion designer Molly Keogh. The company produces distinctive women’s clothing and accessories, and emphasizes hand-dyed fabrics while offering employment opportunities and job training for women in West Africa. “We didn’t know Michelle was going to wear the skirt,” said a stunned Mathias. “We found out on Instagram after [design blog] Styled by Africa recognized our skirt and tagged us on an image of her wearing it.” After the impromptu cameo, Osei-Duro’s social media channels attracted a host of new followers and its website saw an increase in orders despite the skirt already being sold out.
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FALL/WINTER 2013 VIEWPOINTS
“Her wearing the skirt means we are on the right track and our hard work is paying off,” noted Mathias. The skirt worn by Mrs. Obama is part of Osei-Duro’s 2013 collection “Light on Dark” and was entirely designed and produced in Ghana. The collection combines elements ranging from hand-dyed and batiked cotton, silk and rayon to locally sourced hand-woven cotton mud-cloth. It has been featured in high-end retail shops such as Barneys New York, and the skirt is available online at Anthropologie. “It felt great knowing that Michelle made an effort to support Africa-based designers while in Africa,” said Mathias. ■ OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY CHUCK KENNEDY
WHEN UBC MBA ALUMNA MARYANNE MATHIAS
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during a Google + Hangout on education at the Sci Bono Discovery Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, June 29, 2013.