Kwame Adusei is a designer you should know.
We discovered his work in the most Parisian way possible, walking through the city during Fashion Week. Our friend Ines stopped in front of his store window after Kwame himself complimented her look. While standing there she noticed the silhouettes inside the space. Within minutes she stepped in and began studying every piece closely, drawn to the clarity of the shapes and the precision of the cuts.
Inside the store we met the designer behind the garments. Kwame Adusei built his brand in Los Angeles, where each piece is produced in house inside the brand’s own factory. What started as a label rooted in LA now moves between two cities. The first store opened in Beverly Hills. Paris became the second base after a pop up quickly developed into a permanent location.
Deadstock fabrics sit at the center of Adusei’s design process. Instead of treating sustainability as a marketing message, the studio uses existing materials as a starting point for creativity. The approach pushes the team to think carefully about every garment and about the person who will wear it.
Below is our conversation with Kwame Adusei during Paris Fashion Week.
First of all, tell us about yourself and about the brand.
My name is Kwame Adusei. I am the designer for the brand Kwame Adusei. The brand was established in Los Angeles, California. Everything is made in house in our own factory. We are now in our second store. The first store is in Beverly Hills and this is the second store. We are here for Fashion Week and excited to be here.
Deadstock sits at the core of your work. How does working with existing materials shape your design process?
Answer: It starts with understanding why you use deadstock. It is not only about using fabric that would otherwise end up somewhere you do not want. You begin from an empathetic standpoint and design from within. That kind of creativity is unmatched because you are not designing from ego. You are paying attention to people and what they need. When you work with deadstock you also think about whether people will wear the piece. Even if you create something beautiful, if it does not make sense it will still end up in places you do not want. The question becomes how you take a deadstock fabric and create something valuable enough that someone keeps it in their closet and wears it for years.
Sustainability is discussed a lot in fashion. What choices make sustainability real in your studio?
A true form of sustainability is wearing the clothing you already own. If you keep something and wear it for a long time there is less need to buy another piece. We focus on making pieces with care. The cut needs to serve the human body and the human experience. It has to work for the modern person. We also focus on construction and quality. That is why we decided to own our own factory. When you produce in other factories you deal with minimum quantities and limits. Owning our factory gives us control over how the pieces are made.
You are based in Los Angeles but now also present in Paris. How do you position your brand between the two cities?
Design is universal. Being in Paris does not automatically mean the design will work. Someone might be born somewhere else and still understand design perfectly. Someone could move to Hawaii for the weather and still become the best furniture maker. Paris is simply a platform where you can show the pieces you create.
Your silhouettes feel restrained and deliberate. What does good design mean to you today?
Good design begins with functionality. That is why I admire mid century design. At that time people thought carefully about materials and about the moment they were living in. It is not about adding more elements. You need to think about the person wearing the clothes and where they are going. If design comes from ego and you do not care about the person who will wear it, then that is not design. You need to listen to the people you design for. They have lives, they move, they change. When you start thinking about their experience you are already a large part of the way toward good design. The goal is to create something that fits into their life and enhances their human experience.
Kwame Adusei represents a generation of designers who approach fashion with a clear point of view. His work combines material awareness, precise construction, and attention to how people live and move through cities. The path from Los Angeles to Paris shows how design travels beyond geography. The first thing that caught our attention was a storefront on a Paris street. The more time we spent with the garments and the ideas behind them, the clearer it became why Kwame Adusei is a designer to watch.
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