(ep 3) How Can I Transform My Life by Experiencing Other Cultures? With Asanyah Davidson- Part 2

(ep 3) How Can I Transform My Life by Experiencing Other Cultures? With Asanyah Davidson- Part 2

In this episode of Collective Drift we sat down with Asanyah Davidson, child of the world, Fashion Designer, and educator. Asanyah is Jamaican born, American raised, and has lived in West Africa. She is the founding director at the Miami Fashion Institute at Miami Dade College, she has her own fashion line Circa24. We had a really fun conversation on a wide range of topics from being Jamaican, being vegan, living in West Africa, the influence of her European fashion teacher, mentoring and more.

During part two of our interview with Asanyah Davidson the conversation goes a little deeper.  Asanyah talks about how having a diverse group of mentors helped her development. Then she discusses the people; cultures; schools such as Design and Architecture Senior High (DASH) in Miami , the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in NYC, and studying at Polimoda in Florence, Italy; and living in different countries influenced her as a fashion designer.  

Asanyah goes in depth about her time in Nigeria and Ghana. Her time there gave her a greater appreciation and understanding of textiles and the work behind them. This period in her life greatly influenced her career as a fashion designer. She will teach us about shibori, Adire, Ashoke, and Kente textiles. Asanyah learned about the significance of these fabrics and in this conversation you will learn the difference between what is and what isn’t real African fabric. Through this we delve into her viewpoint on cultural appropriation. How people think Ankara fabric is African fabric but it actually Dutch. Asanyah wants you to know what you are actually wearing so that you can truly appreciate it rather than appropriate it.  All of these topics reflect how the importance of leaving your home country to understand the world better. If you disagree with Asanyah she says you can feel free to contact her. 

Asanyah talks about the similarities she noticed of African women and Jamaican women. She reminisces about the forever young spirit of African people, about partying with people of all ages and drinking champagne on the dance floor. We talk about her travels to South Africa and the importance of living in the moment. This was an important lesson from her travel. 

We then of course talk about Asanyah’s two favorite city’s Accra, Ghana and Siem Riep, Cambodia. She adores both of the cities because of how easy it is to get around. She tells us about a great Mexican restaurant in Siem Riep, yes, you heard me right - a Mexican restaurant. Getting a traditional bamboo tattoo while in Cambodia. And she talks about nightlife in Accra, which lead us to talking about how she went to the Guinness Beer factory in Ireland and beer culture around the world. 

Of course we circle back to Asanyah’s favorite places in Miami, Broward County AKA Greater Fort Lauderdale, and even West Florida. We finalize the conversation with Asanyah’s question for all women - “How are you dealing with life?” and her powerful definition of what a woman is.

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Find this episode on the CollectiveDrift.com/podcast-blog to get the links to all of Asanyah's favorite places.

I'm Erica Vernet Knowles, a Miami native, an international traveler, and a culture enthusiast. I am the founder and producer of Collective Drift. I spent a lot of time in the corporate world, but I honed my leadership in media. Operating as the Editor-in-Chief, Publisher, and the Executive Director for multiple publications on business and entertainment.  

Culture and travel have always been my passion. Having the opportunity to spend 3 years abroad between Peru and Thailand, and traveling all around the world gave me experiences, friendships and memories tha