Hi, my name is Reva Ochuba.
Before completing an MA in Fashion Critical Theory at Central Saint Martins in 2019, I founded the clothing brand and research platform, Ifeoma. This platform utilized design as a means of exemplifying research at the intersection of culture, technology, and the cultivation of value. Ifeoma has been worn by Rihanna, Solange, Kendall Jenner among others as well as being featured in Vogue, i-D, and Dazed & Confused magazines. Ifeoma’s first series (2016) touched on the expression of excess in the digital arena. This series of garments encapsulated the acquisitive expectations held by those of high nobility throughout the 14th-17th centuries. Although lacking even the vision of post-contemporary artifacts of modern luxury (Ferrari, Audemars Piguet, and Rodarte), laws set within these three hundred years fortified the foundation for desired monetary exclusivity, the need to amass great wealth, and our astonishment with those who have successfully acquired both. The second collection, ‘Renaissance,’ studied social, political, and economic dictations of Medieval Europe similar to tropes present in contemporary art and design. For this next project, with Metafactory, Ifeoma will continue as a “Maison” – an autonomous label within the larger sartorial class. Ifeoma will transfer this research and rhetoric to forge a progressive model of value: from concept to culture to currency. For this project, Ifeoma will conduct an empirical analysis of value creation, cultivation, and aesthetic construction through self-experimentation: using myself as the product, the concept, and the muse. In exchange for sponsorship, Ifeoma will act as a Brand Ambassador for the Metafactory Brand and Image. Ifeoma will build a curatorial archive, talent consortium, as well as silo grants, scholarships, and prizes allotted for the most talented students and early practitioners within art and design. Ifeoma would essentially be a foundation embedded into the Metafactory structure – a cultural ministry of sorts. The project will tenure as follows:
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Pre-Capital to Cultural Capital (first 3-6 months): During the first stage, Ifeoma’s approach will be researched and developed against the actor’s existing “self.” This brainstorm, or ideation phase, is seminal to the conception of a performative public persona. This investigation will occur over the 6 months of the ambassadorship. At this time, the actor will focus on domestic affairs, education, occupation, fashion, personal style, the cultivation of perspective, and respective literature and market research. Field notes, photography, and other methods of documentation or archiving of codes will be important to the culmination of this character template. Deliberate acquiescence through media outlets such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok is also afforded here, as it is where the intrinsic value of a “concept” manifests.
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Cultural Capital to Financial Capital (6 months – 1 year): The second phase of this project transmutes that rhetorical analysis into creative or artistic output. A poignant focus on curating aesthetically fortuitous projects will permit an expansive exploration of the dogmatic “character” determined during the first months. Again, field notes, photography, video, and other methods of documentation or archiving aid to monitor the influence of the actor’s cultural biddability. As an ambassador, Ifeoma will travel to art schools to scout talent, visit studios of potential collaborators, attend galleries, museums, give lectures, and oversee the development of the cultural vision at Metafactory. Stakers can invest in the actor’s journey.
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Financial Capital to Financial Freedom (1-2 years) This stage transfers socio-cultural capital captured during the first year to objects transacted for monetary advancement. These objects, however, will exist as “limited” artifacts. In this context, the term “limited” refers to the controlled acquisition of these materials. Aligning with the social and cultural acclaim both the actor and Metafactory have garnered, these items will populate fashion, culture, and art marketplaces as monuments of taste and upward mobility.
Until May 2021, I was the Director of Vision and Culture for a social appl and crypto wallet based in Prague transferring cultural data into currency. The premise was to distill the market into trends to avoid waste while opportuning new concepts to emerge. I decided to step down from the position as the company culture was a misfit, but saw greater opportunity in utilizing my range of skills for other burgeoning platforms. My previous role encompassed Art, Cultural, & Creative Direction, Business Development, Marketing Strategy, to name a few. I have worked with 032c, SSENSE, Eckhaus Latta, Zabludowicz Collection in London, been featured in a Gucci Mane music video, editor of Novembre Magazine in Switzerland, and randomly more.
What Ifeoma will bring:
•Encourage trailblazing works within art, design, and content production
•Intuit contracts with affiliate retailers such as SSENSE, NET-A-PORTER, and others
•Facilitate new value propositions to students and emerging practitioners
•Portend deeper cultural relevance while sustaining integrity and autonomy of brand
•Increase range of Metafactory products, services, and community
•A cultural representative to embody Metafactory core principles and values
Project Rate (per year):
$120,000
Project Length:
1-2 years
Thank you.
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