Grass-Fields African Fashion is Closing Down — Find Out Why

It’s a long story with some twists and turns in the plot! Make sure you read until the end. Yes, it’s true. Grass-Fields, the mega African fashion brand was about closing down, and it is not for obvious reasons that you may have expected. The shocking news is that in February 2022, Michele, one of the founding twin sisters, had been battling a serious illness in silence. It is unclear what the medical or health condition currently is and for how long the shutdown will be for. However, the situation seems to have reached a breaking point that would warrant a temporary or permanent company closure. Here is a heartfelt Instagram statement that was released two days ago by the Christelle, the other twin sister.

They wrote:

“We are closing.

It is with immense sadness and pain we are closing Grass-fields . For the past 3 years, my twin sister Michele has been silently battling a lengthy illness and we’ve have finally reached a breaking point. The countless surgeries and brutal medication may not have been enough to give my sister her life back. I am now facing the harsh possibility that my twin, my soulmate, the person whom I have battled through this life with, may not have much longer left here. My heart breaks for not just myself but for her children who might not get to spend any more birthdays or Christmases with their mother, and a husband that may have to say goodbye to his wife.

We have both fought for so long but can no longer juggle the stresses of running a business with the uncertainty of Michele’s health and everything in between. I really don’t know where we go from here and I am unsure of the future of Grass-fields, but it’s clear that we need to step away and take a break to work out how we can navigate this undetermined time.

Michele and I thank you for the support over the last 9 years. I hope that you can hold my sister and I in your prayers tonight. Thank you for everything. ”

– Christelle Nganhou

The social media and email announcement that Grass-Fields African fashion brand is closing down has resulted in an outpouring of prayers and well wishes from both customers and followers, many of whom appear to be feeling completely heartbroken. Rightly so! Although the brand is based out of the UK, their following spans across many countries all over the world who did not hesitate to flood the comments section of their Instagram page with their deepest sympathies.

Comment from Top Influencer, Jackie Aina

Indeed, the priority right now seems to be in stepping away from the business of African fashion in order to fully navigate the changes that are happening. The love and support from customers and followers was met with another message in a social media post from Christelle.

“Michele would like to thank you all so much, we both are really blown way by the outpouring of love and support we have received from the closing announcement. We are overwhelmed by your messages and prayers and wish we could respond to each of you individually. Michele and I have been reading your words and are astounded by your kindness.

We came from absolutely nothing and could have never even imagined in our wildest dream how much love we have received. From the bottom of our hearts we truly thank you for everything.

To mark the ending of Grass-fields everything has been reduced. We will continue to operate for the next one week as we round up the closing of the business.

It has been wonderful to realize this inconceivable dream with you, please keep us in your prayers.”

– Christelle Nganhou

While coming to terms with this news is highly devastating for many, the reality is that there is a strong possibility that Grass-Fields African fashion brand might not just be closing down temporarily but permanently. And yet, the news is so fresh that it is too early to draw conclusions. According to them, “Grass-fields was created with a simple aim to create clothing that makes you feel super confident.” They wanted to offer a shopping experience that made women feel food and which provided them with fashion pieces they could wear in and out of season. The clothes were primarily sourced and made in Africa with a variety of styles and a range of different sizes. Right now, everything on the Grass-Field’s website has been marked down and is on a closing sale.

The situation remains, everything seems up in the air concerning the future of the brand – perhaps the company could be bought out by an investor or Christelle could eventually run it on her own with help from family. These are all possibilities that leave us with questions unanswered. It is always hard to see an amazing Black-owned business go but one can only keep up with high hopes that perhaps, there will be some type of future intervention which could help preserve Michele’s health, thereby sustaining the business venture and eventually, keep Grass-Fields alive.

Updated: November 2022 – Grass-Fields is up and running again.

The new management of Grass-Fields has just posted a company update building on some recent social news of January 19, 2023 in an Instagram post as posted below. Besides these public statements, no further information is available as of yet. According to the company update, Grass-fields is under a new management. However, it does not state who the new owners are, which can be very misleading. People usually develop trust for a brand when there is authenticity and transparency involved. So, although the new management might be trying to do the right thing in this instance by releasing a public statement, it might come back to haunt. It might hurt them in the end since it was anonymously written and especially amidst speculations amongst social followers that the brand may no longer be Black-owned.

It’s easy to want to pick a side for obvious reasons but many questions still arise that need to be answered in order to make an informed opinion.

• Why did the sisters wait for so long and for a mishap to happen, before they let people know that they were no longer the owners?
• If the company is no longer Black-owned, what will its future look like? How does this impact existing customer relationships and eventually, the bottom-line?
• Will the community still want to support the company, knowing the sisters are no longer at the helm?
• In light of all these struggles, will Grass-fields African fashion really be closing down?

This article will be updated over time to keep you informed but for now, the saga continues…