Beyond Trends: OSSAWA as Vision, Not Just Eyewear
For Georges “Bijoux,” eyewear is not simply an accessory. It is architecture for the self. Through OSSAWA, the Ivorian-American designer is building a brand that treats vision as both aesthetic and spiritual practice: a way of seeing, becoming, and reclaiming cultural power.
In conversation with LIVID, Bijoux reflects on the personal and ancestral forces behind OSSAWA, from his grandmother’s naming of the brand to the influence of Ivory Coast’s visual traditions, Washington, DC’s monumental architecture, and the ongoing conversation around Black luxury. What emerges is not a conventional designer interview, but a portrait of a founder building beyond trends—toward legacy.
OSSAWA feels like more than fashion or eyewear. It feels cinematic and deeply personal. What emotional world are you trying to build through your designs?
At its core, OSSAWA is about empowerment. But not the kind that comes from the outside in. It is the kind that starts within. We live in a time where there is more noise, more distraction, more pressure to perform than ever before. And I think the antidote to all of that is vision. The ability to see beyond your current circumstances, beyond the limitations of the physical world.
Eyewear is interesting because it is one of the few things in fashion that has truly stood the test of time. Across every era, every culture, every iteration of style, glasses have remained. That tells me there is something almost sacred about the way we frame sight. So when I built OSSAWA, I wanted it to be more than a product. I wanted it to be a vessel. Something that carries the wearer into a deeper relationship with their own potential. To inspire the inspired. To remind people that the most powerful vision they will ever have is not what they see through a lens. It is what they see when they close their eyes and go within.
Your aesthetic balances luxury, rebellion, and cultural symbolism. How has your personal journey shaped the visual language of OSSAWA?
OSSAWA is, at its most honest, a reflection of me. Every design decision, every standard we hold, traces back to something I have lived.
It started in college. Not with eyewear, not with a grand vision board, but with neckties and bow ties I was sewing together as a form of self-expression. I was a young man trying to figure out who he was, and I discovered that clothing could break the mold. That it could speak before you did. That it could carry your confidence when words fell short.
As I grew, so did the brand. And part of that growth was going deeper into my culture. Into what it means to be Ivorian, into what my lineage actually carries. OSSAWA comes from the Avikam, a tribe in Ivory Coast. It means God is great. And that name was given to me by my grandmother. That is not a brand story. That is a spiritual inheritance. So every time I build something under this flag, I am not just designing. I am honoring her. I am shining a light.
That is also why I have never been comfortable calling OSSAWA a traditional luxury brand. I hold the quality standards of luxury, but I reject the consciousness that usually comes with it. True luxury, I have come to believe, is not a price point. It is a feeling. It is what you exude when you experience something that was made with real intention. Style cannot be taught. It has to be found. And the only way to find it is to find yourself first. That is what OSSAWA is asking people to do.
In what ways has your Ivorian heritage shaped the way you define luxury, elegance, and cultural expression through OSSAWA?
I grew up in Washington DC, but Ivory Coast was always the foundation. The thing underneath everything else. And one of the most formative realizations I had as a young person was that in my culture, clothing was never just something you wear. Every tribe in Ivory Coast has its own pattern, its own cloth, its own visual language. What you wore told people exactly who you were, where you came from, which community claimed you. That kind of intentionality around dress is not fashion. That is identity.
And then there were the masks. Growing up, I would see them in my family’s home, and they stayed with me. Because a mask is not about hiding. It is about becoming. In this life, we are always wearing different masks. And clothing, I realized, is how we choose which version of ourselves to present to the world on any given day. That idea lives at the center of everything OSSAWA makes.
Beyond the aesthetic, my heritage also shaped my sense of responsibility. Part of what I am building through OSSAWA is a bridge back to my people. The resources I have gathered on this entrepreneurship journey are not just mine to keep. I want to use this brand as a vehicle to empower other visionaries, especially those who come from communities that were not always given a seat at the table. That is the Ivorian spirit in me. You do not rise alone.
Eyewear changes how people see themselves, literally and psychologically. What transformation do you hope someone experiences when they wear an OSSAWA piece?
Honestly, the transformation is up to them. The world is as big as they want it to be. And that is not a deflection. That is the whole point. What I can speak to is the intentionality I bring as the designer. Every OSSAWA piece is made so that the person wearing it feels empowered. Not by the frame itself, but by what the frame unlocks in them.
It goes back to the mask. When you put on something that was designed with real intention, something shifts. You carry yourself differently. You see the world differently. And the world sees you differently too. That is the transformation I am designing toward. Not a product experience, but a permission slip. Permission to show up as the fullest version of yourself. The glasses are just the catalyst.
Your work has a sculptural quality to it. Do you approach design more like a fashion designer, an artist, or an architect?
An architect, without question. And that goes all the way back to childhood. One of my favorite things to do as a kid was sit down with a block of Legos and just build. No instructions, no blueprint, just the realization that anything I could imagine, I could create. That feeling never left me.
Growing up in Washington DC, I was constantly surrounded by architecture that demanded your attention. Greek and Roman structures standing next to contemporary design. That convergence always fascinated me, because it told a story. We are living in a modern-day empire, and the built world around us reflects exactly where we are as people. I wanted OSSAWA to carry that same weight. Something that references history while speaking to right now.
So yes, my design sensibility is architectural. It is structural first, aesthetic second. And that philosophy bleeds into everything I do, not just the product. I recently launched a course called The Blueprint, built specifically for visionaries and creatives who have a powerful idea but do not know how to build it into something real. Because I have learned that with the right foundation, you can construct anything. The vision is only as strong as the structure beneath it.
In an industry obsessed with trends, how do you protect originality and keep OSSAWA culturally authentic?
I try not to put OSSAWA in a box, because the moment you do, you have already placed a ceiling on what it can become. OSSAWA is limitless in its potential, and a big part of protecting that is being intentional about who we bring into that world.
When it comes to collaboration, the filter is simple: uniqueness and the ability to express that uniqueness in a way that uplifts people. That is non-negotiable. Because the people around a brand become the brand. If they are chasing trends, we inherit that energy. If they are building something real, that transfers too.
Our identity statement is the other guardrail, and it keeps everything honest. OSSAWA exists to empower visionaries. Full stop. So when an opportunity comes to the table, the only question is: does this serve that mission? If the answer is no, we do not entertain it, no matter how attractive it looks on the surface. I have walked away from projects that did not align. And every time I did, something better showed up.
The industry will always have its obsessions. Our job is not to resist trends. It is to be so grounded in our purpose that trends simply do not apply to us. We are not trying to connect with everyone. We are trying to connect with the right people. And that distinction is everything.
Social media has changed how luxury brands are discovered and consumed. How have platforms like Instagram influenced the way you build community and visual storytelling?
I see modern social media for what it is: the largest billboard in human history. There has never been a moment in time where a brand could make this many impressions, reach this many people, cross so many borders, without a single physical storefront. That is extraordinary when you sit with it.
But the way I use it is very specific. It is not about followers. It is not about virality. It is about finding our tribe. Identifying the people who are already aligned with what OSSAWA stands for and bringing them into this world. Because once they are in, the products and the services speak for themselves. Whether someone comes to us through fashion, through eyewear, or through the resources we offer to help them build their own vision, there is something here for every visionary.
Social media lets us show, in real time, what we stand for and who we stand with. That is the storytelling I care about. Not the algorithm. The alignment. When the right person sees an OSSAWA post and feels something, that is the platform working exactly the way it should.
What conversations about Black luxury, modern elegance or cultural representation do you believe the fashion industry still is not having enough?
The luxury industry has always known how to use Black elegance. They have magnified it, glamorized it, put it on billboards and runways, and then profited from it while the culture that created it was left watching from the outside. That is the conversation we are not having loudly enough. Not just representation in the image, but ownership of the narrative.
It is time for us, as a people, to truly feel the weight of our own influence. To understand how much power we actually hold and make a conscious decision to use it with intention. Because when Black consumers and Black creators align around a brand that genuinely reflects their values, that is not just commerce. That is cultural reclamation.
And that leads to the other conversation I think we are avoiding: conscious consumption. We live in a world of excess. A world where we are constantly being sold the next thing, the next drop, the next must-have. But every product that gets made uses real resources from this earth. So the question every brand should be asking, and very few are, is this: why are we making this, and for whom? We need more brands that lead with intentionality. Not just aesthetics, not just price point, but genuine purpose behind every piece. That is the standard I hold OSSAWA to. And I believe it is the standard the industry needs to rise to.
When people look back at OSSAWA ten years from now, what legacy do you want Georges “Bijoux” to have created?
I want to have challenged what it even means to be a designer brand. Because I think we have been operating under a very narrow definition for too long. That a brand designs products, sells them, and measures success in revenue and reach. I want OSSAWA to expand that definition entirely.
What if a brand could design visions? What if the most valuable thing we could put into the world was not a frame or a garment, but a framework. A way of seeing yourself and your potential that changes the trajectory of your life. That is the legacy I am building toward.
Ten years from now, I want people to look back and say OSSAWA was a source. A genuine source of support for creative visionaries. Emotionally, financially, and spiritually. Not just a brand they admired, but a brand that showed up for them. That helped them build. That reminded them their vision was worth fighting for.
Because at the end of the day, OSSAWA is not just named after a word that means God is great. It is meant to reflect that greatness back to every person who encounters it. That is the mission. That is the mark I want to leave.
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