Fashion Brand MEFIRE Innovates Body-Sizing For Curvy Women. 

Joanna has always wished to create fashion sustainably, but she realised how challenging it was to find vibrant fashion cuts that fit curvy women. As an African diaspora based in Germany, She embarked on intensive training to develop her fashion illustration and pattern-making skills. Launching MEFIRE was a no-brainer. 

You have to be resilient to get what you want!

Her pieces are inspired mainly by the batik and “African” wax-printed fabrics. She grew up admiring her Camerooner mother wearing lovely and colourful bold prints. So when Joanna wanted to launch a fashion brand, it dawned on her that there were minimal Afrocentric prints with the kind of elegance and luxury fabric she wanted in the market. She desired the “softer” and more flowy fabrics, but there were none. Resilient, Joanna Atemnkeng embarked on her journey to educate herself and create the patterns for this first collection. It took her a couple of years, lots of innovation, tons of trial and error and money to bring her dream to fruition. 

Behind every piece of fashion, MEFIRE aspires to inspire women to nurture the fire from within. She says wrong beliefs often cloud women about themselves. So much so that we may rarely experience these inherent beautiful qualities within ourselves without the help of an external trigger, say, a new job, loving friends etc. Which is ok but limited because we might become solely dependent on external situations/people to feel peaceful and contented. Nurturing the fire within means clearing up the noise that holds us back and realising that the source of all the beauty we search for is already within us. 

These garments are all about femininity. Femininity has many interpretations, but for this collection, it was about Tight & Loose. Joana strived for designs that accentuated the feminine curves and silhouettes in some areas while allowing more freedom in others. 

Curvy women deserve a beautiful cut. 

Though it was challenging, Joanna shared her extraordinary approach with us. It all started with getting an outfit that fits a beautiful curvy hip area without being too big on my waist and vice versa unless the material contains lots of elastic. Most brands rarely consider this factor. As a woman of colour, Joanna designed a unique set of patterns for what she defines as the “X” body shape common in women of colour. You can read the full story in our EBIZ magazine in JoadreTRIBe App. Believe you can because you absolutely can.  The journey is the goal, so try to have fun and accept day-to-day challenges, says Joana from MEFIRE. 

About: Mefire is a German-based fashion brand founded by Joanna MEFIRE Atemnkeng from Cameroon. Mefire has the vision to honour the flame within by embracing women of different body types. Their designs are made out of high-quality, African-inspired printed fabrics.

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