Stylist PENINAH AMANDA grew up in Germany’s Ruhr region and moved to Berlin in 2010. The career of the stylist of Kenyan heritage is practically perfect. She is meanwhile among the most sought-after stylists in Germany and works not only for editorials and celebrities, but also on commercial film and photo productions.
Several of her personal productions, such as DWMC – Dead White Men’s Clothes*, have been nothing short of spectacular. “Jojo Gronostay has created a platform with his art project ‘Dead White Men’s Clothes’ (DWMC), which asks questions about values, the balance of power, post-colonialism and fashion. DWMC has meanwhile become a clothing label at the intersection of art and fashion,” we quote Claudia Ohswald, from OOOM Magazine.
Peninah has just created a beautiful men’s fashion spread entitled ‘Sapeur’ for Autre Magazine.
What interests you most about African brands or designers?
I think it’s brilliant that African fashion is getting more and more international attention, not lastly, thanks to events like the Arise Fashion Week in Lagos. And if you ask me, the collections can stand up to international competition. Of course, my own African heritage plays a big role. Certain patterns and materials give me a feeling of home.
Where do you see their strengths?
African designers bring an incredible drive with them. Life in Africa is often very loud, colorful, but also hectic and not always easy. This all flows into the creation of collections, which is what makes them so amazing in my opinion.
Who is on your personal watch list?
Kenneth Ize from Nigeria and Sevaria by Jamie Kimani from my home country Kenya!
What are the ingredients of a successful photo or film production for you?
A good team can turn every production into a wonderful experience no matter how strenuous it is. I am often lucky enough to work with great photographers and hair & make-up artists. My productions rarely feel like “work”.
What is the most important phase of the process?
Being perfectly prepared is the alpha and omega of a production!
Do you have a favorite photo?
My favorite photo at the moment is a motif by Luis Alberto Rodriguez, for which he photographed a small boy in a crowd during a production in Kenya.
Why this particular photo? How does it touch you?
Everything in this photo is just right: the light, the detail, the boy’s energy, and definitely: THE T-SHIRT!
Peninah Amanda is represented by LIGANORD. GoSee : liganord.com
*Dead White Mens Clothes, or DWMC, is a platform, art project and clothing brand that produces eco-friendly merchandise, reworked second-hand clothes, zines, and other content. The name of the label has its origin in the Ghanaian term “Obroni Wawu” ,which can be translated to “DEAD WHITE MEN’S CLOTHES”. When first waves of second-hand clothing arrived from “the West” in the 70s, the locals could not believe that such high-quality clothing would just be given away for free, so they assumed that the previous owners must have died. Founded in 2017 by Jojo Gronostay, DWMC addresses questions about the fashion system, neocolonialism and identity, creating art for gallery shows and museums. GoSee : deadwhitemensclothes.com
REFERENCES
Editorial : About Fashion, Blanc Magazine, Bunte, Business Punk, C-Heads, Diva, Fault, First, GQ Style, Her., Highsnobiety, Tokyo, HUF, I Love You Magazine, Intersection Magazine, Le Mile, L’Officiel Germany, L’Officiel Suisse, Maxima, MTV Style, Nasty Magazine, New Order, Numéro Berlin, Oyster Magazine, Prestige Magazine, Provocateur, PIBE Magazine, Quality Magazine, Qvest, Schön!, Sleek, Stern, Twelve, uMagazine, Vice, Whitelies Magazine, Wonderland ...
Fashion & Art : Adidas, Aigner, Asics, Carhartt, Converse, DWMC – Dead White Men’s Clothes, Falke, Gucci, Ele Misko, Kappa, Le Mile x Ottolinger, Levi’s, Lululemon, MTV Style, Puma ...
Advertising : Apple x BMW, BMW, Bayer, Be Berlin Campaign, Berliner Kindl, BfA, Boehringer, Brillux, BSR, Bunq, Daimler, Deutsche Post, Duravit, Eizo, Ferrero, Fielmann, Ford, FreeNow, Gasag, Glo, Grecotel, Helvetic Tours, Hyundai, Lidl, Pro7/Sat1, Mercedes-Benz, McDonald’s, MTV, Netflix, Nivea, O2, REWE, Senses, ShareNow, Siemens, SIXX, Spotify, Swatch, Swisscom, Tchibo, Deutsche Telekom, Thomas Cook, TUI, Velux, Vodafone, Volkswagen, Wüstenrot, ZDF ...