MLMA 2023 stormed the city on Saturday, November 25, when they took Liberia to the world. As the most attended MTN Liberia Music Awards in the event’s history, Liberian stars and influencers brought their best foot forward, with regal fashion trends taking center stage. At Koloqua Dialogues, we took the backstage to observe and bring you all the beaded details that our stars showed the world in terms of fashion at the MLMA 2023, starting with the night’s best dressed lady and gentleman, LeAnn Knowlden and Jamil Jwess.
Selected among big name style stars like Willimena Brown, Hector Nyangbe, Sol Joe, Ertamar Thompson, Ezy Pain, among others, this win has not come easy for Leann and Jamil. To forward the Liberian fashion discourse, we partnered with Lonestar Cell MTN to award this year’s best dressed lady and gent, along with the designer or stylist with the most stylish stars. Coincidentally this year, the two best dressed stars are both styled by the same designer – Keljhani Corp. Keljhani joins both winners to be awarded the Liberian Dollar equivalent of $200 as prizes, in partnership with MTN. We arrived at this win after compiling the night’s top looks on our Koloqua Style Fashion Police Instagram livestream, then having the public vote their favorite looks via our Instagram stories.
This win for the Keljhani team, featuring the two best dressed of the night is a strong testament to the talent at Keljhani Corp. The design team styled a rumored 16 attendees at this year’s show, so the odds were surely in their favor. With such a large clientele, there were bound to be some misses for the fashion house, but when they got it right, they got it totally right. While beading and country cloth may have been the night’s trend among the stars, it was Keljhani’s execution, dedication, creativity, and interpretation of the theme which set them apart as the brand taking Liberia to the world. Other brands who did this were Solon Collections with their styling of Hector Nyangbe and Sol Joe, and Carillven Signatures, with their creation for Wilimena Brown and Ertamar Thompson.
MLMA 23′ Fashion Review
Given the global success of Liberian music this year with stars like JZyno, Nuchie Meek, and MC Caro, the theme of the awards was “Liberia to the World”. On the fashion front, this theme could be interpreted in several ways. It could be interpreted as taking Liberian talent to the world by wearing a local designer or tailor, or it could also mean drawing inspiration from Liberian cultural icons like Chief Suahkoko, or the indigenous culture at large, as many did on the red carpet.
Here at Koloqua , we interpreted the theme as listed above, as well as an opportunity to draw inspiration from iconic fashion moments given by historic figures in Liberian culture. Some of those include former President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her lappa suit and head tie, President George Weah and his popularized pro-poor suit, RL in her iconic red-white-blue congor dress, former president William Tolbert in his white suit, or Neh Dukuly-Tolbert on the cover of Ebony Magazine, among others. We interpreted it as an opportunity to tell the Liberian story in the oneness of every detail, not just the indigenous story, as was largely done on the red carpet.
One could argue that indigenous Liberian culture isn’t a story that is often told, as many Liberians are not aware of their indigenous culture. In this case, having many attendees to the awards choose to take indigenous Liberian culture to the world is appropriate. At the same time, the Liberian story is not only indigenous, just as it is not only congor – it is both, and that duality is what makes Liberia a special place. While it was refreshing to see indigenous Liberian culture displayed at such a grand scale, a groundbreaking opportunity was missed by not telling the story in totality. Additionally, it can be recalled that the MLMA 2021 theme was “music for the culture”. This previous theme presented an opportunity to thoroughly represent Liberia’s indigenous culture, however, the stars waited for this year to do so – which on the fashion front, seemed a little belated.
At the same time, as the entertainment industry continues to merge with fashion brands like Young Geh Lappa Suit, Keljhani Corp, Big Zor Touch, Solon Collections, Monsio Couture, Carillven Signatures, Bloh Kon Dahlor, Sanorkoon Designs, Clincia Signatures, and stylists like Adrienne Tingba, Big Zor, Brahm Dorko, Alpha Bah, Bon the Boss Lady, among many others, fashion may emerge as what truly takes Liberia to the world.
