Anjolaoluwa Abiosun
It’s officially Fashion Month! For the newbies, New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is tagged the fashion month, a month where both promising and established designers get to showcase their collections for the upcoming season.
For this season, the NYFW would be taking fashion lovers through a range of activities from runway shows to lectures, presentations, and events centered around analysing and showcasing trends for the upcoming spring/summer24 collections.
The event, which would be held from September 8 to 13, 2023, has a lineup of African designers who are set to showcase their designs, from runway shows to showroom exhibitions, particularly the Black in Fashion Council Discovery Showroom, which was designed to spotlight emerging black designers.
On many occasions, African designers have harnessed the influence of the week to kickstart their careers and launch themselves into the international space with their debut; this was the case for Deola Sagoe in 2014 when she showcased the Deola Sagoe/CLAN SS14 Collection at the Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week 2014.
Here are the designers slated to showcase their collections this week
Victor Anate
Although we would not be experiencing Victor Anate’s usual luxury showcase, in line with his vision to create pieces that celebrate the existence of women, he collaborated with fashion icon Naomi Campbell to create the PrettyLittleThing x Naomi Campbell Spring/Summer 2024 collection.
Anate, alongside Jamaican-born, Brooklyn-based Edvin Thompson of Theophilio, worked together with Naomi to create a 70-piece collection for the runway show.
Victor Anate emerged into the fashion industry as one of the beneficiaries of the ARISE Fashion Week’s ’30 Under 30 in 2020 and has since created womenswear pieces that celebrate women with all kinds of styles.
Head of State
When Taofeek Abijako founded Head of State at 17 all he wanted to do was represent the post-colonial youth culture today while paying homage to the culture and critiquing Western influence.
For Taofeek, fashion is a way for him to give social and political commentary, and he has done that successfully since the launch of his brand in 2016. From being intrigued by the discussion on the intersection between art and everyday social relationships in marginalised spaces, to becoming a multidisciplinary artist who makes designs with historical contexts in view, Taofeek has created a lane of his own.
Although he debuted at the NYFW in 2018 with his Spring/Summer19 Collection, his return is one we are looking forward to.
Kílèntár
For Michelle Adepoju, Kílèntár was a way to bridge the gap between African designs and contemporary fashion. With the help of traditional African techniques – dyeing and weaving – and a blend of modern feminine silhouettes, Michelle has been able to create a brand that captures feminine fierceness and elegance to create timeless African pieces.
Over the years, the brand has become known for working with indigenous artisans to further promote their skills while showcasing their designs to the international space. Kílèntár would be a part of the Black in Fashion Council Discovery Showroom.
Onalaja
Kanyinsola Onalaja’s love for traditional art, colours, and textiles led her to create Onalaja. The womenswear brand that experiments with demi-couture blends African design elements with contemporary and Italian aesthetics.
Onalaja explores texture, proportions, and textile manipulation while trying to blend these elements to create one-of-a-kind ready-to-wear pieces. Onalaja would be joining the likes of Tia Adeola and Kílèntár at the Black in Fashion Council Discovery Showroom.
Tia Adeola
Tia Adeola is no newcomer to the New York Fashion Week. In 2022, she unveiled her Fall collection that celebrates the beauty of using your voice.
In 2017, the New York-based Nigerian designer launched her brand as a result of her passion for the Renaissance period. Her goal was to rewrite history with fashion, and she has done this for years while refining fashion elements to tell her story better.
She would also be showcasing her collection at the Black in Fashion Council Discovery Showroom.
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