NOTABLE NIGERIAN TALENT

Words: Daniël Geldenhuys | Photography: Instagram

Just like South Africa, Nigeria is a trove of exciting fashion design talent. Collections are striking, proudly Nigerian and rendered to conquer the global market. Take a moment to meet the designers making meaningful contributions to a new African design narrative – dynamic voices that add much-needed nuance to the conversations around African identity. 

Kenneth Ize

One of Thebe Magugu’s fellow finalists for this year’s LVMH Prize, Kenneth Ize is a champion of endangered craftsmanship techniques, working to revitalise them for a modern market. His studio in Sabo Yaba, Lagos, is a meeting place for a range of artisans such as weavers to stitchers. They travel from various ends of the city to create the kind of garments that will be worn by the likes of Naomi Campbell at Arise Fashion Week. The colours are friendly and optimistic, the cuts luxurious in their abundance. The gender neutrality of many of his pieces converses fluently with fashion’s current international narratives. Kenneth studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and returned to his birth country to launch his business. With this level of success after only three years, he’s definitely one to watch. 

Ituen Basi 

A regular at AFI fashion weeks in South Africa, Ituen Basi is a reliable source of conscious optimism on the runway. There’s always a distinct sense of mood-lifting playfulness, which has no doubt contributed to sales over the past 11 years. There’s depth to the collections, too: Ituen’s latest collection, Dear George, shown earlier this year at Arise Fashion Week references George cloth, a colourful check fabric from Madras, India. Since arriving in Nigeria during the colonial era, George has been reclaimed, specifically in South East Nigeria. Ituen’s collection aims to further cement a sense of ownership of the fabric’s narrative. 

Orange Culture

Designer Adebayo Oke-Lawal conjures an immersive world of print in a language that would be understood anywhere on earth, but also feels unmistakably his own. Pieces strike a constant balance between artistic motifs (a rich colour palate, vivid patterns) and streetwear elements (androgynous silhouettes, enthusiastic use of slogans). The 2017 collaboration with musician Davido, stocked at Selfridges, was a pioneering moment for the brand – as was its showcase at London Collections Men in the same year. Though many of the label’s achievements hinge on European validation, it remains proudly Nigerian, with fabrics ethically sourced and clothing manufactured in Lagos. Thinking global and acting local rarely looks this good. 

Tokyo James

At its core, Tokyo James is a men’s suiting label. But let it never be said that the British-Nigerian designer has allowed himself to be constrained by that category. A reliable showstopper at Cape Town’s SA Menswear week (until last season when he debuted his Spring 2020 collection in London), Tokyo has never shied away from experimenting with a determined theatricality. The Tokyo story deals with how conflict and differences of opinion manifest in the male psyche, with the resulting narratives deconstructing toxic masculinity and finding the beauty in its gradual degradation. The pieces