Morgan Kret: Making fashion cool through inclusivity

April 2, 2021

 

Morgan’s journey with Yesisa began in 2018, but she embarked on her current direction in 2019. It was a steep learning curve that brought with it many challenges, but it led to the rebrand of Yesisa, which is now called Geometric

Morgan first came to Ghana to work in international development, and she worked at an NGO that focused on girls’ education and improving access to technology. However, although she cared a lot about the work she was doing, she could not escape her real passion for the arts, and this is why she founded Yesisa. Morgan’s appreciation for artistry came at an early age – thanks to the fact that her parents are both artists, and she was inspired by all the artisans she was meeting. Yesisa, now Geometric, is a sustainable fashion brand. The focus is on supporting artisans working in Ghana, where she is based, as well as the surrounding region, and helping them reach a global market. Currently she works with people from Mail, Burkina Faso, Niger and Cote d’Ivoire – as well as the US, where she is focusing the sales. Morgan puts together artisans, marketers, salespeople and strategists to give these products that she really believes in the best chance of being the backbone of her artisans’ livelihood. The names of the products are also largely taken from the original name of the textiles or the region where they are made, which is always written into the product description. 

The motivation for changing the name was due to Morgan’s future vision. She is thinking big, and while she wants to keep Ghana as the centre of her social business, she wants to eventually expand beyond this region. She knows that there are artisans making beautiful products in other areas of the Global South, but they are also unable to sell them on a big scale. The intention is to grow as much as possible and replicate the Ghanaian model across other regions. At the moment Morgan employs six artisans, and works with numerous other subcontractors; the brand manager and graphic designer are based in the US. Before developing growth strategies, however, Morgan made sure that the product she is selling is the quality she needs it to be, so her initial focus was on product development and on building up a team of the best people she can find. 

Morgan sees her role as an intermediary – and does not expect the artisans to have to stay with her forever, but rather she hopes that the skills they learn while being part of Geometric mean that eventually they can maintain their own business. She believes that promoting entrepreneurship helps other areas to develop as well, and sees it as a powerful tool for growth. 

The best thing about the Y&Y Fellowship was the community for Morgan. There are several Fellows whose projects were related to textiles, and they regularly communicate about tips and challenges they’re all facing. Her key focus now is on inclusivity in the fashion world and making that a focus of Geometric, so she is finding ways that this can always stay at the forefront of the brand. To this end, she has found that the mentors always know what question to ask so that she can focus on the right thing next and know what development she needs to go through to get to the next level. For her, inclusivity is what cool fashion is. 

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