THE LABEL
Set up by Nigerian-Italian Ify Ubby, OliveAnkara is known for its tailored and structured separates in bright African prints and statement earrings – a homage to Ify's roots. After completing her PhD in Italy and moving to Singapore in 2013 to pursue a career in cancer research, she struggled to find 100 per cent cotton African wax prints, known as Ankara, to make her wedding dress. So, she decided to import the fabric and make her own Africaninspired wear. Inspired by the melting pot of cultures in Singapore, she went on to start her label here in 2017 in hopes that her pieces can be worn by women of all races.
Before Ify made OliveAnkara a full-time endeavour in January 2019, she was juggling her postdoctoral work at the National Cancer Centre Singapore and running the business. Producing locally was most efficient as she cut out the middleman.
“I wanted to be able to connect with the seamstresses and be able to talk through small adjustments faceto-face,” she says. She works with five local seamstresses in their 60s, who all work from home, and says she values their feedback. “Some can be a bit conservative and they tell me upfront that something might be too revealing!”
The label operates on two sustainabilitydriven pillars: slow fashion, by producing in very limited quantities; and zero waste, by repurposing fabric scraps into earrings and scrunchies. It typically makes one piece per size per print, as Ify says: “My prints are very bold and no one wants to walk into a bar and see 10 other people wearing the exact same design.”
As her materials are all here, she easily pivoted her zero waste project into the production of masks during the pandemic. The masks, which she makes at home, have also been donated to at-risk individuals, while 10 per cent of sales go to charity organisations.
The brand currently offers over 20 designs of cheongsams for customers to create made-to-order pieces, and a collection of “Afromonos” – kimonos made with African prints, but Ify aims to expand its ethnic wear selection to include Malay and Indian designs. She’s also exploring ways to make her apparel sustainable starting from the fabric source.