Boutique Corner

When Chinaedu Nwadibia, a junior film major, decided to begin a fashion line with her former partner, she wanted to name their line after a drug that influenced her generation. Crakk House was established in May 2006. 

Nwadibia gained recognition soon after she hosted an event at Howard titled “Ladies Lounge Night,” which featured her clothing. Once she began publicizing more of her line at Blackburn’s Black Market, most of her pieces began to sell quickly.

In addition to clothing, Nwadibia also creates earrings, which were also a big hit on Howard’s campus.

“The word just got out, and people began to acknowledge Crakk House and started purchasing pieces,” she said. 

With a fashion line named Crakk House, “It always brings attention,” Nwadibia said. Most  perceive Crakk House with a negative connotation. However, its meaning is a symbol for a generation lost to the harshness of illicit drug use.

The name is an essential artistic form of expression. “Most people don’t understand the name Crakk House because they are not open-minded about how crack influenced our society,” she added.

At a young age, Nwadibia shopped frequently at vintage stores. She thought she could do creative things with the garments, so she decided to create her own business.

Crakk House has many vintage and throwback pieces which allow Nwadibia to use her artistic fashion sense. 

And although there is controversy behind its name, Crakk House inspires many people to love high fashion with reasonable prices. 

Imani Wiltshire, a junior English and secondary education major is a fan of Crakk House.

“She finds cute and original dresses, and most of her pieces are one-of-a-kind,” Wiltshire said.

Most of her clothes are from estate sales, donations and thrift shops, mainly from Paris and San Francisco. Nwadibia puts her spin on the clothing by altering and tailoring the pieces to create her own style. Because Nwadibia’s minor is photography, she plans to develop pictures for photo ad campaigns. 

Nwadibia has many inspirations, including her grandmother. Nwadibia said, “[After she passed], she left all her shoes and jewelry which personalized her style. Because of her, I grew up loving runway, and I had a good eye for fashionable pieces.”
Another influence of Crakk House emerged from the high-class fashion of Paris.

“I want Crakk House to be somewhat similar–really chic–but at the same time thrifty,” she said.

Because she is Nigerian, she is also influenced by African women. She loves African prints. “When I see African girls on campus, I love to see how their clothing is fused with good prints that are stylish and unique,” Nwadibia added.

Although most of her customers are females, she does sell certain pieces for men. She currently offers eclectic ties but plans to expand her line to vintage Polos and throwback Nikes.

She caters to all sizes and styles to fit any individual. When she sees her clothing on campus, Nwadibia enjoys it.

“Some freshman girls come and purchase clothes and do wear them,” she said.

Because she is constantly searching for pieces, she has a variety of items from the 1920s through the 1970s. Her prices are reasonable, but eventually she would like to get into experimenting with expensive vintage pieces from designers like Christian Dior and Dooney and Bourke.

After graduating from Howard, she plans to go to graduate school in New York and hopefully have another student take over the business. Therefore her line would stay in Washington, D.C., and would continue to be available to students at Howard.

Senior biology major Sable Nelson said, “Crakk House is an undiscovered gem. It shows ingenuity of the Bison spirit.”