LOVE DOT: a fashion brand that celebrates its roots with bold style

LOVE POINT is more than just a clothing line, it is a vibrant tapestry celebrating the power and heritage of the African diaspora. Founded by designer and storyteller Nneka Ude, LOVE DOT uses its clothing and accessories to weave a narrative that honors these roots.

With roots spanning Nigeria and the American South, Ude infuses her designs with a deep respect for tradition. This creates bold, sophisticated pieces that connect her diverse identities.

Join us to discover how LOVE DOT combines culture, fashion and social impact.

Nneka Ude, founder of LOVE DOT (Credit: Nick Moody)

What inspired you to create LOVE DOT?

I started LOVE DOT to pay homage to my roots. The name itself honors my late mother, Dorothy Dudley, who was affectionately called Dot.

She is the inspiration that fuels my desire to build a brand centered around and celebrating the power of the African diaspora. LOVE DOT is truly a representation of me, my background and my family history. My roots span Nigeria and the southern United States. I have always been passionate about finding ways to connect the dots of my different identities across the diaspora.

Fashion and design have become an obvious path to achieve this. I'm not a trained designer, but I've always had an eye for beautiful textiles and unique designs that make a statement without any real effort. As someone who is constantly on the move, I realized the importance of creating pieces that are bold and easy to wear, but also timeless.

Our prints tell a story. They are bold, unexpected and ambitious. My goal is to create clothing and jewelry that inspires people to move with a higher level of sophistication and confidence wherever they are, from social gatherings to corporate functions.

How did you initially finance the launch of your business?

I am a hybrid entrepreneur. By day, I'm a senior strategy manager for one of the largest shopper marketing and creative commerce agencies in the United States. At night, and every off hour of the day, I am the CEO and Creative Director of LOVE DOT. To get the business off the ground, I relied on my corporate salary and, subsequently, commercial credit.

How to reconcile social impact and creating a profitable business?

I believe that economic development and collaboration within the diaspora is the most relevant form of social impact when it comes to building Africa.

My goal is to work directly with established small businesses in West and Southern Africa that have long been pillars of economic support and development in their local communities. I want LOVE DOT's growth to be a reciprocal reinvestment in other Black and African-owned businesses across the diaspora. Our partners employ trained and skilled workers above market wages, often providing them with food and housing.

Our items tend to be priced in line with other affordable luxury brands, allowing us to focus on people AND profit. Too many people see Africa as the land of the exploited. A place where everyone’s skilled workforce is there to be exploited by others at the lowest possible cost, setting the bar very low for what people are willing to spend for a quality end product.

From an environmental point of view, we also strive to adapt our production to demand. Our Batik fabrics are made in-house from textiles (cotton) from Togo and Benin. Each collection is produced in limited stock batches, with excess fabric used to make other items such as wallets, scarves and scarves.

We have limited production to limit waste and better control our margins. But we also limit production to break a vicious circle. An article by Brbara Poerner for Fashion Revolution, titled “Where do clothes end up? Modern colonialism disguised as donation,” highlights that 70% of donated clothing ends up in Africa as waste or to be resold second-hand. By limiting waste and maintaining high standards, we avoid contributing to this problem.

Can you tell us about the selection process that led to your partnerships in Ghana and South Africa?

We found our manufacturing partners by networking at international trade shows and retail exhibitions. Often, a country's economic development commissions bring in a group of licensed and established small businesses to exhibit at these events.

It is a way for governments to promote small business development within a specific sector. I have leveraged these events to find potential partners that fit our mission and meet our specific partner requirements.

How can we ensure the preservation of traditional techniques while collaborating on contemporary creations?

Tradition is in the fabric. Our Batik fabrics are handmade using traditional techniques. Batik is a beautiful process of wax stamping on cotton that requires a huge amount of skill and knowledge.

It’s a process that has been practiced for centuries in West Africa and Southeast Asia and has been perfected for decades by our team and partners. We don't cut corners or deviate from the process, which takes time and nature to perfect.

We then take each bundle of fabric and transform it into clothing that the modern woman or man, pursuing their dreams, can wear with the utmost confidence and pride.

If you could wake up tomorrow as an expert in any business skill, what would you choose?

Of all the questions, this one has to be the hardest to answer!

I come from a corporate background, so I'm used to ordering, processing and structuring – two qualities that are often lacking when doing business abroad.

Over the last three years, I think the three business skills I could give a TedTalk on would be adaptability, problem solving, and the power of emotional intelligence.

Starting a business is not easy. However, doing business anywhere on the continent is not for the faint of heart. Things are different. The way business is done is different. You have to learn to adapt quickly.

You must learn to quickly discern what may be happening around you, in cultures that may be foreign to you. You have to learn to figure things out to make things work – which sometimes requires focused planning and other times strong personal relationships in the country.

Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?

In five years, LOVE DOT will be a brand that is not only sold through our own online retail channels, but also available at major retailers such as Wolf & Badger, Nordstroms and Anthropologie.

Our production will not only extend to South Africa and Ghana, but will be rooted again in Nigeria and will incorporate other traditionally woven fabrics, such as Akwete.

The initial models that launched LOVE DOT were produced in Nigeria, but in recent years we have stopped production due to rising operating costs.

See the full collection on www.LOVEDOT.co

Press, corporate and wholesale inquiries:

Nneka Ude – [email protected]

Customer service – [email protected]