Designer: Chloe AsaamFounded in: 2019Origin story: Asaam, who was born and bred in Accra, decided to pursue fashion after growing up around the city’s massive second market. “There’s a huge secondhand market in Accra, and it really takes away from the work that we do as young creatives,” she says. “As designers, you’re forced to be in really small markets, and it limits your opportunities. I’m looking to show people that they can buy into a brand like mine: You can buy eight pieces, and have 25 or 30 different styling options for the next four or five years. You don’t have to be constantly buying secondhand fast fashion just because it’s available to you.” She also hopes to combat the environmental impacts of these markets, as she says many of its unsold pieces end up in landfills. “I reuse and repurpose a lot of fabrics from them—a lot of cottons, linens, and breathable fabrics,” she says. Signature aesthetic: Chloe Aasam is a womenswear label fusing Ghanaian prints with strong, interesting shapes. They’re basics, but never basic: She enjoys reworking everyday staples, including ruffled tops, high-waisted trousers, and dresses. The new collection: This is Asaam’s first collection. It’s inspired by “the moods and sentiments that we’ve had during the pandemic,” she says. “I used color schemes or words that speak to the things that we gravitate towards when it’s a crisis, or when we are feeling a bit agitated and uncomfortable. For colors, I used a lot of muted tones like greens, ochers, and tans—colors that really speak to the earth, and going back to feeling at home and grounded. And a lot of loose silhouettes, because you want to feel free and easy. You want to wear something that makes you not feel as restricted as you are in life.”Current inspiration: Asaam says the women in her own family are her muse. “I tap into the matriarchs in my family and my community,” she says. “I find women to be really powerful, especially in a local context, because they keep us together and are really nurturing and strong at the same time. I feel like we don’t really appreciate and talk about them a lot, because it’s still a really male-dominated community and culture. The women in my life are really strong and really powerful, and have been able to teach me and grow me into the woman that I am right now.”