APRIL 2015
Organized by the British Council and British Fashion Council, the International Fashion Showcase (IFS), reasserted London’s position as a truly international fashion city that supports diverse fashion cultures. Launched in 2012, the IFS is renowned for promoting the work of emerging young designers from all over the world on a large scale. For the unique project, each participating country was asked to present a selection of emerging designers whom they feel most represents the future of fashion in their region. This season, for the Nigerian section, Lagos Fashion and Design Week (LFDW) teamed with the Nigerian Export Promotions Council, to present five designers: Grey, I Am Isigo, Kenneth Ize, Orange Culture & T.I Nathan under the intriguing title “5 Metamorphosis”.
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According to the LFDW statement, “5 Metamorphosis” is to be considered as an experiment in time that admires both the naturally – subtle and wildly – obvious progressions in the trajectory of a designer’s fashion artistry. The Nigerian section ended up being awarded, Best Curator by the British Fashion Council. The curator for “5 Metamorphosis” was YEGWA UKPO who ingeniously used the Nigerian Ebola epidemic as the foundation and backdrop for the Nigerian concept space. The design was executed by Whitespace, a Lagos-based event agency. BIKI JOHN selected two of the chosen Nigerian designers from the IFS 2015 exhibition - KENNETH IZE & GREY - for SUPERIOR MAGAZINE, to learn more about the journey of both their founders and their labels thus far.
LTR: Biki John and IFS Designers: Rukky (Grey), Bubu ( I Am Isigo) and Kenneth Ize | photo BIKI JOHN