Launching a brand and growing it is no small task. There are often many constraints to face. For some creators, the exercise is more difficult than for others, but they find a way to persist. Alexia De Bruchard is undoubtedly one of these people. Unlike others who chose to stop everything voluntarily, she was forced to do so by force of circumstances. But through hard work, she succeeds in reviving hope where everything seemed lost. The field of fashion, she discovered it quite early, thanks to her mother.

“My mother was always passionate about creation in general, and she always had tailors at home for personal consumption. We have always been in it”.

From an early age, Alexia discovers a passion for fashion, without studying in this sector. But when she finds herself in a difficult situation with her parents, she sets out as a self-taught person.

“We had a jewelry store that was vandalized with the events that Côte d'Ivoire experienced in 1999. I had traveled for studies, and when I returned to Côte d'Ivoire in 2005, the jewelry was down. So, we had to find something to try to bounce back. Coming back home, we realized that things were starting to get better, and women were starting to want to dress differently. This is how we started the clothes. We started with boubous first because we realized that all women wore them at the time. It had become the style of dress in 2005. So, we started like that, and then we realized that people liked it. And there, we thought why stay only on this segment. We started to suggest other things, then we saw that it would be good to build a brand. And that's how we launched Aya de Cauville in 2008 ".

In 2008, a new brand had just been born in Abidjan. And Aya de Cauville was on the right track to be talked about.

"De Cauville is the name of my grandfather who is French. And Aya is my mother’s Ivorian name. We wanted to highlight this crossbreeding which is ours and which is reflected in our clothes. We realized by creating that we are always in mixtures, mix of fabrics or styles. We wanted to show this mixture between Africa and the West, hence Aya de Cauville. It quickly pleased people”.

But life had not finished playing tricks on Alexia de Bruchard. Another politico-military crisis will rage in Côte d'Ivoire a few years after the birth of the Aya de Cauville brand.

“In 2011, we were looted. We ended up at zero. At the time, the workshop was in my house. So, when I say that we were looted, it is not only the workshop, but also my house. At this point, you must first think about having a house before you think about a workshop. It was hard to start again because psychologically, we no longer wanted to, morale was not there. "

Once again, there was talk of rebounding. Fortunately, all was not lost as Alexia thought. In addition, like her mother, the fashion designer is an example of a woman who is not afraid to work hard when it is needed.

"As we do a consignment sale in a local shop, she was the one who was lucky not to have been looted. We had a small stock and the owner told us that she sold a little for us, and customers want more. So that's how we started again with this very small stock, and one of our tailors who had a machine at his place. We did it this way until we could have enough money to rent a new workshop, get machines, buy new materials, etc. There was no longer any savings, but we couldn't hold on. "

For Alexia Bruchard, there is no miracle recipe for success, other than work. The brand has rebuilt slowly, but surely. Today, Aya de Cauville is finding a place in the fashion sector in Côte d'Ivoire. Since December 19, 2019, customers can find all of the brand's products in their new store.

In their daily lives, African designers regularly face difficulties. But the most disconcerting difficulties are those that were not foreseen. Some creators manage to overcome the slope. Others, however, do not succeed. Working in the fashion industry presents itself as a lifelong challenge, and often only the most determined get to the top.