Founded by Maisha Marshall-Ende, Lehwatch focuses on creating conscious pieces from upcycled, traditional Ethiopian fabrics. Starting from respect for craftsmanship and tradition, they now present their new collection, The Mattress Movement, for which the Creative Director has reworked the classic Ethiopian mattress print into clothing and accessories. A masterful work which explores Black culture in a western context, and through which Marshall-Ende shares her understanding of race which was shaped by growing up in Ethiopia, where dark skin was the rule, not the exception.
The vibrant coloured prints, the power of shades and the brand’s identity are some of its great distinctive characteristics. The Ethiopian-Canadian brand brings together past and present in a project that reimagines the classic Ethiopian mattress print. Its founder, Maisha Marshall-Ende, was born in Addis Ababa, (Ethiopia), and was adopted by Canadian parents when she was a few days old. She grew up in Ethiopia, only spending her childhood summers in Canada, and her own life experience is a perfect example of what she achieves through her brand. She sets out to reconcile the complexities of culture and Blackness through design.
