” I don’t remember exactly when or where I first saw them … I just know that ever since, those fabrics hypnotized me. There are different types, origins and qualities of African fabrics but all share the liveliness and exaltation of colors which are arranged in fun and bold mosaics. It is as if they reflect the liveliness and the provocative personalities of the people who wear them. During my time in Africa, I have witnessed the role that these fabrics occupy in the lives of many people. In rural areas in Mozambique, for example, they use a fabric called Capulana. Most women wear several layers of fabric wrapped around their waists. The Capulana is then used as a skirt,  coat,  tablecloth, a bag to carry the kids or store things, or as an umbrella when it rains” by Cristina Mangas

Wewe is an ethical on line fashion brand that creates vibrant Spanish inspired women´s clothes using African fabrics. Cristina Mangas –  designer and founder,  founded her inspiration when traveling around Africa.

Cristina Mangas used to work for many years within the corporate world, working for IT companies. She decided one day to leave everything behind and started doing something more creative which would fulfill her soul. Having worked for many years within that environment   she initially wanted to bring that joy and exaltation from Africa into the sometimes boring office´s lifestyle and created her first ready to wear women´s wear collection in 2016. Wewe´s philosophy is to keep a clean and simple cutting aesthetic design,  making amazing sweet and funky creations as a result of a fusion between ethnical and traditional African prints with a modern and Spanish influence. 

In WEWE we use fabrics from different countries of West Africa which traditionally have been used to make dresses. We design, cut and sew our clothes in Cape Town and we source our fabrics from small shops which are imported by traders traveling from South Africa to Congo, Ghana, Mali and Cote d´ Ivoire. We are firmly committed to support Western African economies by importing our fabrics from there despite it´s  more difficult and expensive to get them.

WEWE isn´t not just a garment with ethnic style. Behind each WEWE there is a world we want to share with you.  by Cristina Mangas.