From TV To Festivals: Nigerian Fashion Taking Over The World – Lupita Nyong’o in Orange Culture’s SS17 collection!
In the last decade, there has been an explosive amount of interest in the African fashion scene, which in some ways is a plus for the industry, given that attention from global powerhouses brings about an unprecedented amount of exposure for those being noticed.
This is great, as it creates a new niche, allows room for creative expression for the people and boosts confidence levels in the industry! Sometimes, it attracts the wrong kind of attention that is neither helpful or useful (Thanks to the UN for picking up that cultural appropriation needs to go!) but that is not the focal point today, we are celebrating!
Thanks to brands like Oxosi which aim to provide exposure for African fashion through a contemporary lens, there is a wider reach to locals, Africans in the diaspora and other people who enjoy the fashions.
We are celebrating our local designers who have been appreciated on a global stage and worn by international superstars especially in light of this weekend, where Insecure’s Issa Rae was sporting a silk crepe Fulani blouse in one of her famous monologues on this week’s episode.
Lupita Nyong’o also attended Afropunk in a piece from Orange Culture’s SS17 collection! Given that it has been a usual occurrence for top designers in the industry such as Maki Oh and Duro Olowu to be worn by famous people like Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Solange and Lady Gaga, we don’t think this is the last of them you’ll be seeing them on the international stage.
As fashion week all around the world creeps up, we are excited to see which Nigerian designers will be showcasing!
At first glance, it’s easy to tell Oxosi is not your typical online store. Its robust collection of content ranges from beautifully-styled shoppable editorials to intimate videos – serving as enough proof that the platform is setup to do more than just sell you stuff.
Technically it’s a channel for luxury and contemporary brands to reach consumers outside of their home markets but also aims to present African design through a contemporary lens.
With the belief that understanding the stories behind the things we buy is imperative to creating a connection between consumer and designer, Akin Adebowale and Kolade Adeyemo are out to provide exposure for the growing community of creatives building the Afromodernist movement on the continent and throughout the diaspora.
This focus on community and storytelling is the founders’ approach to covering various aspects of the new Afromodernist subculture. In this context, Afromodernism is a term they define as being African in modern times and African around the world.
In conversation with Protein, the duo stated:
“It’s important that our platform is not just transactional. When you are buying an item, you are also buying into a story and helping to support an ecosystem of creativity.”
However, Oxosi has its sights set beyond the realm of design. Speaking to Vogue, they said:
“We want to make sure that OXOSI is fully representing the entire continent. We’re looking at skateboarders in Nigeria, tattoo culture in Kenya, punk-rock culture in Zimbabwe . . .”
