Story by: Nelly Gachanja for Fashion & Beauty, Nigeria | Photography Courtesy of: Fashion & Beauty, Nigeria
In a bid to support local fashion designers, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an Award-winning author, recently launched a “Wear Nigerian Campaign,” where she has decided to dress in Nigerian brands in all her public appearances. The motive of her campaign is to sensitize and encourage people to buy from both upcoming, as well as established designers, in order to boost local trade and manufacturing.
Nigeria is a fashion powerhouse not only on the African continent, but globally. Numerous Nigerian fashion designers have won accolades for their exemplary work and roles in showcasing the Nigerian spirit, culture, and diversity.
These 10 fashion designers are, no doubt, the trendsetters putting Nigerian and African fashion on the international map.
Folake Folarin–Coker
Folake Folarin-Coker is the founder of Tiffany Amber, a world-famous iconic label whose journey began in Lagos in 1998. Born in Lagos, she did her schooling in Europe (England, Scotland and Switzerland), where she got an opportunity to interact and engage with various cultures while still at a young age. Interestingly, she has a Master’s Degree in Petroleum Law from Switzerland, but as fate would have it, her insatiable passion for fashion led her into fashion design. Her curiosity for cultures steered her love and interest to focus on unique fashion designs that appeal to women of various tastes and preferences.
Duro Olowu
London-based, Nigerian born, Duro Olowu, shares both Nigerian and Jamaican roots and is a household name in both the Nigerian and global fashion industry. He is, undoubtedly, a well-respected Nigerian fashion design personality, famous for his unique and colorful African prints. He’s super talented in working with patterns, and his designs incorporate the rich culture, spirit, and diversity of the Nigerian people.
His interest in fashion began when he was only six years old and went on throughout his childhood. Olowu’s talent has earned him global fame and recognition with top clients to his name such as Michelle Obama, Solange Knowles, Uma Thurman, and Linda Evangelista, among others.
Despite being a lawyer by profession, fashion was Olowu’s first love. During his career, he has bagged numerous awards further raising his profile in the global fashion industry. In 2005, he was the first designer to be named New Designer of the Year at London Fashion Week without staging a catwalk show.
At the African Fashion Awards in 2009, he was named the Best International Designer and was one of the six nominees for the Swiss Textile Federation’s top prize of 100,000 Euros. Both British and American Vogue in 2005 named his waist patchwork “Duro,” as the “Dress of the Year.” One of Olowu’s famous quotes is, “My job is not dictating to women what they should wear; it is presenting them with beautiful options.”
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