Created by Anthony Ogunlanoh, the collection entitled, Good Genes, is made up of upcycled denim pieces reverse-dyed by hand. It is a relaunch of his October 2024 collection that included jeans, shorts\u00a0and other accessories made out of denim. It’s also an ode to the West African indigo styling traditions, where\u00a0plain white cotton is transformed into vibrant textiles.<\/p>\n
Ogunlanoh moved to the United States when he was 3-years-old and lived with his mother in North Carolina. There, he created a T-shirt brand with a friend that would turn into a\u00a0drawing board for later designs.<\/p>\n
After realizing they were spending too much money on having a production company manufacture the shirts, they decided to go another route. From there, Ogaunlnoh learned how to screenprint\u00a0his own shirts, leading to the creation of the Muddaland brand.<\/p>\n
At first, Ogunlanoh grew the company simply by giving his clothes to friends and leaders in the community to wear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just put Muddaland on the shirt, and I put Africa and an elephant, because being born in Africa is like a fact about myself,\u201d Ogunlanoh told BK Reader. \u201c[It’s] something that nobody can really take away from me, something that’s like inside of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nDesigner Anthony Ogunlanoh. Photo: Provided\/Michele Eyenga
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After moving to New Jersey, Ogunlanoh became further engrossed in the fashion community, often traveling to New York City to scope out other fashion greats and to learn how to sew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ogunlanoh says that the re-release of Good Genes tells a deeper story of the inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first one was we were just trying to establish the language, or just the visual identity,\u201d he said. \u201cThis one, I think, we’re really telling the stories. [Before]I didn’t really even get the whole story, and 1780597639 even the clothes tell more of a story.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the visual component, Ogunlanoh\u2019s goal was to showcase different art forms across the diaspora.\u00a0He collaborated with musician\u00a0Greg Banks<\/a>\u00a0and his two sons, as well as artist Sadiya Ramos<\/a> and others for the campaign video.<\/p>\n Jeans is going to go down in history forever, Ogunlanoh said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the campaign really just told the story of the craft being passed down from generation to generation\u2014like how the Indigo dying craft was passed down from those Africans in Africa all the way to the Africans that came to America to create the denim that became the most popular thing in the whole world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n To further showcase his love for clothing, Ogunlanoh teaches sewing classes at Make Manifest<\/a>, a culture shop and creative hub on Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.<\/p>\n Good Genes drops on June 6. You can shop the collection here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n