FASHION · ABIDJAN, CÔTE D’IVOIRE
West African textiles, with a modern point of view.
Kente Gentlemen begins with the textile. Based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Aristide Loua’s label works with artisans across the country and West Africa to develop handwoven fabrics in small batches. Contemporary tailoring gives those textiles another setting, letting color, texture and the individuality of a weave lead the design rather than disappear behind it.
The brand’s in-house ateliers make clothing and accessories through a process that places collaboration at its center. Loua describes a made-to-order approach, with construction and production shaped around the fabric itself. The current Dans mon jardin story brings personal memory into that design language, connecting clothing with gardens, childhood and return. For Ebony Voyage readers, Kente Gentlemen offers a way to encounter fashion through both its visual presence and its making: an expressive wardrobe with a tangible relationship to West African craft.
About the founder
Aristide Loua founded Kente Gentlemen in Abidjan in 2017 and remains its creative director. Born and raised in Côte d’Ivoire, he later studied in the United States. His interest in the origins of textiles helped shape a label centered on handwoven fabrics and local collaboration. Loua’s creative perspective connects fashion with storytelling, using clothing to explore cultural identity without reducing African design to one aesthetic.
Discover the collection
Handwoven tailoring
Shirts and jackets
Dans mon jardin collections
