Gorgeous Ghanaian print dresses from Sika

Out and about at Proud in Camden for the Glenmorangie/Mike Figgis Five Senses exhibition launch a few weeks ago, I espied a friend of mine in a ultra-fabulous party frock. It was a structured 50s-style number with a scoop neck and belted waist - I guess in a lot of ways pretty traditional - what made it really stand out was its vibrant green and navy Ghanaian print, which added a welcome twist (and let's remember, African prints are one of the hot trends of the moment). She proudly owned it to be an ethical number, from a London-based designer label, Sika. Let's just say, I had recently made an African print dress using a West African print and a vintage Vogue pattern - it looked great, but this dress put it firmly in my mind's corner, in spite of my affection for it.
Coincidentally, the very next day trotted along to a showcase of ethical fashion, and saw a whole rackful of dresses which I knew straightaway must be the same designer, and made a beeline to check them out. The same collection (for autumn/winter 08) had previously been exhibited at LFW as part of the Estethica initiative, and I guess should hit the shops around July/August time. For the record, Sika is designed by Phyllis Taylor, who hails from Ghana but now resides here in the Big Smoke; she sources all the fabrics in local Ghanaian markets and they are manufactured by the local tailors. The pieces really do have that extra wow! factor and are worth hunting down - I think that, among other places, the Laden Showroom on Brick Lane is one of the best stockists of the Sika label.