Namibia Meets Senegal in Yashena Textile Accessories

For Peyombili and Penohole Brock, Dakar is a place of endless inspiration.

A vibrant city teeming with market tailors making magic of traditional textiles. It is here, in the Senegalese capital, that the stylish Ondelela necklaces, bracelets, clutches and handbags characterising Yashena Textile Accessories truly began.

Much like in Namibia where the twins often gave Ondelela material and contemporary garment ideas to local tailors, in Senegal they did the same to prepare for a Namibian Independence Day celebration hosted by the Namibian embassy in Dakar.

“The staff, including the Senegalese employees, were given Oshiwambo material weeks in advance to have something made for the celebration,” say the twins, who were living in Dakar at the time. “We were stunned at how they had repurposed our material into vibrant West African dresses and shirts, some with a more modern twist. Every week we were in a tailor’s shop or at the market discovering new talents and products that could be incorporated with the Ondelela.”

Eventually, what started as an idea to expand the twins’ personal wardrobes and collections for weddings and events in Namibia evolved into a bigger idea that could offer opportunities to Senegalese tailors while bringing new products to growing Namibian markets.

Deriving their company name from the Oshiwambo phrase ‘ongala ya shena’, which translates to mean ‘a flower that is blossoming’, the twins – born of an Owambo mother and German father – dually celebrate their maternal cultural heritage while situating their textile company firmly within the burgeoning Namibian fashion industry.

“In the past decade, we have seen the vibrant Ondelela undergo transformation within the younger Namibian generations,” they say, recalling how local fashion designers have already begun to reimagine traditional material for modern consumers in a splash of sartorial variations that include everything from summer and cocktail dresses to pencil skirts, corsets and handbags.

“Many upcoming Namibian designers have begun revolutionising authentic Namibian fashion that is on the rise and catching up to Africa’s vibrant textile industry and international fashion modes. It is important to maintain, respect and appreciate the authentic indigenous roots of traditional attire. However, we believe this is an opportunity to bring together old-school and new-school ideas around traditions, culture and fashion, establishing a cross-cultural dialogue between the past, present and future.”

Endeavouring to deliver a contemporary aesthetic with a different graphic quality, Yashena focuses on accessories rather than garments and contrasts their material-based products with Namibia’s prevailing accessory techniques.

“In Namibia, we were used to beaded, wooden or copper necklaces, earrings and bracelets but the market for handcrafted textile jewelleries and accessories was nowhere near of that in Dakar,” they say. “Additionally, while walking through the Senegalese markets, the quality and mass production of these accessories was so overwhelmingly inspiring and unique.”

While some of their high-quality products, such as the Ondelela hoop earrings, are their own ideas, the twins’ brand draws heavily on “the talent and creativity of the tailors” they have worked with in Senegal.

“And they too have been excited to learn that Namibians are responding positively to their work. This fusion will connect Namibia, a country with an industry of vast potential, to West Africa, a region known for its raw textile and talented artistry,” they say, adding that their social media platforms will double as a fashion blog capturing their tailors’ personal journeys and how they came to be the craftsmen and craftswomen they are.

“We see this as an opportunity to bring two markets together and to increase demands for their products in Namibia while promoting the Ondelela we love so much,” they say, comparing the potential of the unique and defining Ondelela to Ghana’s Kente and West Africa’s Dashiki, which have both made their mark on not only the continent but the world.

“They have been re-purposed from traditional attire to modern clothing and accessories, while respecting the culture from which they stem,” they say.

“When they are spotted on a backpack or jacket, everyone knows where they are from. We want the same for Namibian textiles, which are already starting to make their mark on the continent thanks to so many of our creative designers and fashion personnel. We have focused only on accessories to show that there are so many ways to incorporate Owambo textiles in your everyday life.”

While acutely aware of issues of cultural insensitivity or appropriation, the twins believe that not all feedback is negative.

“Many, including ourselves, believe that with a dynamic young generation emerging in Namibia, like in many other cities in Africa, it is important that we come up with new ideas around traditional attire and add a different elemental value to it.”

“The more we modernise traditional attire, the more the younger generations will be drawn to them, thus maintaining standards and extrapolations of cultural traditions alive within fashion in increasingly modernising cities.”

Appreciating that new generations inevitably demand new ideas and thus trends are born, which, when rooted in tradition, can actually assist in keeping culture alive, the twins suggest these new evolutions can co-exist with, if not complement, traditional attire.

“Our mother’s favourite flower is a pink rose. The Yashena rose symbolises the growth and blossoming of the Owambo textiles industry on the continent,” they say, expounding on the floral element of their company’s logo, adding that Yashena Textile Accessories was created from their pride in Namibia and their love for African textiles.

“A flower can mean many things – love, passion, joy – however, a blossoming flower represents hope, new beginnings and – most of all – opportunities.”

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