Fashion Designer Emefa Kuadey, israella KOBLA Wins the Bay Fashion Fund Award

Kuadey, British born of Ghanaian descent began her career as a civil engineer. In 2017 Kuadey left the engineering field to pursue her passion for design, enrolling at George Brown College. In 2019 she was invited to showcase her work at Vancouver Fashion Week.

Following the success of VFW, Emefa released isarella KOBLA’s debut collection, Freed from Captivity, that same year. Inspiration for the Toronto-based brand comes from a juxtaposition of the designer’s interests – fashion and engineering.

Each collection is designed to transcend time, re-imagining minimalism with focus placed on innovative construction and quality finishing.

Said Emefa, “As a designer of African descent, it has been important for me to redefine what an Africa-owned brand looks like and what clothing produced on the continent can be like in terms of quality and style. I currently produce israella KOBLA in Toronto, and I have a goal of opening a secondary production facility in Ghana…