In the spirit of the recently concluded ARISE Fashion Week 2019, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best season’s collections that hit the runway.
Arise fashion week has managed to bring a touch of pan African brands from across the world and this platform aims is to showcase Africa fashion globally. Over 30 local and international designers from Africa, America, and Europe, as well as over 150 models, including British supermodel, Naomi Campbell, graced the runway to promote African fashion.
Style Temple
If we have to list out African(Nigerian) fashion brands that embody feminity with the use of modern silhouettes, Style Temple will most definitely be on it. Runway after runway, Style Temple designs clothing that balances between femininity and strength, and between structure and softness.
Kenneth Ize
The eponymous fashion line, Kenneth Ize is at the forefront of African fashion. The brand takes a sustainable approach to the design by using locally-sourced materials locally and ensuring a fair and safe working space for all workers and artisans, one that encourages collaboration and births magic.
CLAN
Clan has done away with its signature minimalism and adopted techniques that bear the baroque aesthetic. Clan is designing clothes for independent, free-spirited, adventurous young women who want the way they dress to reflect their emboldened attitudes.
From the spectacular evening dresses with cut out chest areas, lace necklines that are reminiscent of the Victorian era and puff sleeves to the young and vibrant metallics.
Mowalola
Skin tight teeny leather skirts and cutout tops, cropped jackets, tall boots. Designs that confessed the pure sex of thong straps and pelvic bones—of a curve, a nipple, a zipper, the dipped low-rise of leather pants, and the turn-on of a trench (worn with little under). Each piece from Mowalola was slick, suggestive, like some sort of leather hallucination. The palette was forceful, almost accelerated; turquoise, pulsing green, yellow and PVC-blue, red (pyretic and earthy).
Andrea Iyamah
Andrea Iyamah is popularly recognized for its eccentric and unique take on swimwear, using vibrant colors and cuts inspired by an array of African cultures, the brand also specializes in ready-to-wear and custom made special event dresses.
David Tlale
Renowned for his undeniable knack for showmanship and elaborate designs, Tlale’s work is both daring and elegant—a brand that defies convention and a brand that impenitently employs unpredictable use and understanding of fabric, color and texture.
Maison ARTC
Through stacks of fabrics and old metals, Maison ARTC use of raw materials has created a niche with his unique style and crazy originality. His unique pieces take form like magic and reveal new aspects of personalities. Freshness, humor, and lightness are found around him; as well as clothes that taunt us until we can no longer resist them.
Photography Credits: Reze Bonna | Kola Oshalusi