Twice a year, the world’s leading fashion designers, models and fashion enthusiasts come together in London,to showcase and enjoy the innovation and artistry of modern day fashion. The week-long event is filled with glamour and excitement as new fashion collections are celebrated. This year’s London Fashion Week included a few African designers who, as usual, brought a unique and inspiring air to the show. Here is a list of African designers at the SS24 London Fashion Week event.
Abigail Ajobi
Abigail Ajobi, the creative director and fashion designer of the self named brand is of Nigerian descent. The label is a luxury streetwear brand which utilises unique and limited fabrics to create its stunning pieces. In addition to that, it promotes sustainability through its convertible styles, which can be worn in
multiple ways. Since its inception in 2020, Abigail Ajobi has appeared in several magazines and has showcased her collections at both London and Lagos Fashion week events. Profits from the collection are donated to charity organisations of the brand’s choice.
Abigail Ajobi showcases her SS24 collection Anti-Muse, inspired by the distinct and chic styles of Nollywood Y2k fashion.
Dumebi
Created by British Nigerian Fashion Designer, Barbara Biosah, Dumebi is a luxury womenswear brand which specialises in handmade couture clothing, shoes and accessories. As a result of Barbara’s British and Nigerian heritage, her designs draw inspiration from African, European Renaissance art with a British modern twist and Parisian flair. The brand’s goal is to revive custom made clothes created with quality materials and artistic vision, all while reducing excessive mass production.
Feben
Inspired by her Ethiopian heritage, North Korean and Swedish childhood, Feben’s collection draws from the nomadism of her own identity. After graduating at Central Saint Martins, where she completed MA Fashion as an Isabella Blow scholar, Vemmenby worked alongside Beyoncé, creating and styling costumes for the Brown Skin Girl music video. Feben’s designs take a surrealistic approach to exploring the visual codes of Black life from all corners of the globe.
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Labrum London
Foday Dumbuya, creative director and founder of Labrum, drew inspiration from his formative years learning and growing up in Sierra Leone, Cyprus and London. The modern-day menswear brand aims to “tell the untold stories of West Africa to help bridge the gap between western and West African culture.” Labrum’s style is a mixture of West African inspirations brought to life through the distinct elements of British tailoring.
His SS24 collection titled NOMOLI ODYSSEY, was showcased at the Trinity Square’s Four Seasons hotel as a celebration of his Sierra Leone heritage. A few of Labrum’s designs were adorned with images of the Nomoli figure, a figurine native to Sierra Leone which represents good health and harvest.
Tolu Coker
British Nigerian Multi-Disciplinary Artist, Tolu Coker launched her eponymous brand in 2018 after graduating from Central Saint Martins. Her work, which is largely inspired by the politics of identity and social climates, uses fashion as an avenue to advocate for social change. In 2019, her collection was in honour of the lives of women survivors of rape through war violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2020, the proceeds from a part of her collection was donated to ‘Choose Love’ a charity organisation that supports refugees, immigrants and minority communities both locally and globally.
Tolu Coker’s SS24 collection, Irapada takes inspiration from her Yoruba lineage. Her designs explored the perception of Yoruba spirituality, through the lens of her own family dynamic with religion and fashion.