For the grand finale of our Sunset Takeover party series with Tiger Beer at OC BTW*, sisters Lizzy and Darlene Okpo of William Okpo curated a charitable night supporting the 14+ FOUNDATION. Founded by Nchimunya Wulf, the amazing organization is devoted to developing and building schools and orphanages for African children in rural communities. Friends and fam turned up to snag the Okpo-designed T-shirts and totes, with 100% of the proceeds going towards the foundation's latest endeavor: the construction of Chipakata Children's Academy in Zambia. The print, an illustration by the artist Will Gallagher, reinterprets African barber shop posters with depictions of cool-kid haircuts. (You can also buy them here if you didn't make it out to the event!)
The print also appeared in the William Okpo SS14 collection, which debuted that evening in a fashion presentation. Party-goers snapped pics of their favorite looks while also enjoying Cafe Habana bites and Tiger Beer to the tunes supplied by A$AP J.Scott. But judging by all the Instagram videos, the most memorable part of the night was probably the impromptu Cha-Cha Slide that broke out on the dancefloor as soon as DJ Huggy Bear cued MJ's irresistible "Off the Wall"! Once the party cooled down, we asked the sisters a few questions about their Takeover, as well as on their exciting partnership with the 14+ Foundation.
What was your approach to curating this Sunset Takeover?
We needed to make it a traditional African-style party, meaning food, adults, children, and of course, live music. Justin [A$AP J.Scott] did an awesome job of playing West African and Caribbean dance-pop music with hints of New York hip-hop throwbacks. When we were younger, we would go to Nigerian parties and watch our parents groove to their traditional music but also reggae and the latest hip-hop songs.
Tell us about the special T-shirt partnership you produced with the 14+ Foundation.
We love the kids! Truly, we always find ourselves connecting with younger children. Darlene is actively involved with after-school volunteer programs, and she's working on building more programs for children in low-income neighborhoods. We also traveled to Jamaica and Senegal earlier this year, and were inspired by children in those places. OC's Jacky Tang connected us with his inspiring friend Nchimunya Wulf, who started the 14+ Foundation. Naturally, we formed a friendship because of our common interests in fashion, education, and youth. After speaking with her, we thought we could give back to her organization by putting our print on a T-shirt, and having all proceeds go towards building a school for the Chipakata Children's Academy in Zambia. It was a simple way of connecting our love for fashion and our love for children.
What was the idea behind the print?
We designed the print for our SS14 collection based on a cartoon image of African barbershops. In Africa, we would see these cartoon illustrations of different hairstyles to choose from in the local barbershops. The illustrations typically feature young kids' hairstyles.
What was the highlight of this NYFW?
OC's banging-ass show! That show reintroduced New York Fashion Week.
Stay tuned for an interview with Nchimunya Wulf, coming soon to the OC Blog!![]()
The print also appeared in the William Okpo SS14 collection, which debuted that evening in a fashion presentation. Party-goers snapped pics of their favorite looks while also enjoying Cafe Habana bites and Tiger Beer to the tunes supplied by A$AP J.Scott. But judging by all the Instagram videos, the most memorable part of the night was probably the impromptu Cha-Cha Slide that broke out on the dancefloor as soon as DJ Huggy Bear cued MJ's irresistible "Off the Wall"! Once the party cooled down, we asked the sisters a few questions about their Takeover, as well as on their exciting partnership with the 14+ Foundation.
What was your approach to curating this Sunset Takeover?
We needed to make it a traditional African-style party, meaning food, adults, children, and of course, live music. Justin [A$AP J.Scott] did an awesome job of playing West African and Caribbean dance-pop music with hints of New York hip-hop throwbacks. When we were younger, we would go to Nigerian parties and watch our parents groove to their traditional music but also reggae and the latest hip-hop songs.
Tell us about the special T-shirt partnership you produced with the 14+ Foundation.
We love the kids! Truly, we always find ourselves connecting with younger children. Darlene is actively involved with after-school volunteer programs, and she's working on building more programs for children in low-income neighborhoods. We also traveled to Jamaica and Senegal earlier this year, and were inspired by children in those places. OC's Jacky Tang connected us with his inspiring friend Nchimunya Wulf, who started the 14+ Foundation. Naturally, we formed a friendship because of our common interests in fashion, education, and youth. After speaking with her, we thought we could give back to her organization by putting our print on a T-shirt, and having all proceeds go towards building a school for the Chipakata Children's Academy in Zambia. It was a simple way of connecting our love for fashion and our love for children.
What was the idea behind the print?
We designed the print for our SS14 collection based on a cartoon image of African barbershops. In Africa, we would see these cartoon illustrations of different hairstyles to choose from in the local barbershops. The illustrations typically feature young kids' hairstyles.
What was the highlight of this NYFW?
OC's banging-ass show! That show reintroduced New York Fashion Week.
Stay tuned for an interview with Nchimunya Wulf, coming soon to the OC Blog!
