How a commission runs
- Brief us. Product types, customer, aesthetic direction, materials, colours, manufacturing requirements and the number of styles. Takes minutes; a conversation follows.
- We develop your designs. Akwa Studio runs your brief through Akwa's design intelligence under creative direction, across Nigerian, West African, Gulf, Turkish, South Asian, modest and diaspora registers. Our team manages the process end to end; you do not have to learn the software.
- Review and refine. We present the proposed collection as a lookbook and work with you through the agreed refinement rounds.
- Prepare for sampling. Selected designs receive Akwa-generated sample-ready tech packs and production information according to the commissioned scope.
Akwa reviews your brief and responds within 48 hours with next steps and a quote for the agreed scope.
Packages
Every commission is quoted against your brief, based on scope and the number and complexity of styles. There is no fixed public price ladder, and no commitment until you approve the quote.
Capsule - 3 designs, quoted per brief
A focused collection for brands testing a new cultural direction or occasion category.
Signature - 5 designs, quoted per brief
A complete capsule for a seasonal drop, Ramadan edit, or diaspora collection.
Collection - 10 designs, quoted per brief
Full collection development for a season. From brief to sample-ready production information, ready for your tailor or factory.
What you receive
- Original commissioned designs, developed against your brief and your market, never adapted from catalogue inventory.
- A collection lookbook and agreed refinement rounds, so the collection is reviewed and refined with you before it is finalised.
- Sample-ready tech packs and production information for the selected styles, according to the commissioned scope.
- Designs that stay yours. Commissioned designs are never listed in the Akwa catalogue, so your market window is protected.
- Priority delivery on Signature, and production-question support on Collection.
IP and exclusivity
Every Akwa Studio commission is created specifically for the commissioning client and is never offered for sale through the Akwa catalogue. Once the agreed commission fee has been paid in full, Akwa assigns to you the rights it holds in the final commissioned designs, in accordance with the statement of work and the Akwa Terms of Use. You own the final designs.
Akwa's underlying technology, systems, workflows, methods, prompts, templates and other background intellectual property remain Akwa's and are not transferred as part of the commission. Unless confidential or white-label treatment is agreed in writing, Akwa may receive design credit in accordance with the commission terms.
Drafts, rejected concepts and interim materials outside the defined final deliverables are not transferred unless the statement of work says so. Full terms in the Terms of Use.
Who commissions Akwa Studio
Fashion brands, boutiques, emerging labels and retailers who need a culturally precise collection faster than a traditional design cycle allows, and who already have a tailor or factory or want help finding one. Akwa specifies the garment; your tailor or factory makes it. Akwa is not a factory.
If you want to see the wider brand offering first, start at Akwa for Brands. If you are a production partner rather than a brand, see Akwa for Partners.