FA S H I O N
FASH IO N
I.KOLLECTION I.Kollection was founded by mother of three, Ihuaku Patricia Nweke, out of long standing passion for fashion. She started making jewellery from her study in 2006 and formed I.Kollection in 2009. She trained under established jewellery and clothes designers and followed up with a college course in Silver-smithing. I.Kollection now designs and makes couture jewellery in precious and semi-precious stones as well as a line of clothing with authentic and contemporary African fabrics. The foundational ethos of the brand is quality first in terms of the basic materials such as fabrics and jewellery stones, exquisite design and personal attention to individual needs. The perspective of I.Kollection is that everyone has a unique style and can look unique whilst looking fashionable.
AFRICA FASHION WEEK LONDON 2015
- DESIGNERS SHOWCASE By Yemisi Suleiman
ATHAENA BRIDE At Athaena, they custom-make luxury bridal and evening wear for the discerning woman. They are a brand synonymous with grace, elegance and craftsmanship. Their garments are made from fine silks and fabrics, which are sourced from around the globe. They cut, drape, hand-embroider with love and care in the studio. The result is the trademark of an Athaena gown.
Come August 7-8, Africa Fashion Week London will be transforming the London Olympia into a stunning showcase of Africa-inspired designs as the 5th edition of AFWL takes off. The 2-day event brings together fashionistas and industry professionals from around the world to Europe’s largest event while highlighting a unique and fashionforward catwalk collection with daily runway shows and vibrant exhibitions. Now in its 5 year the AFWL is
MARY MARTIN LONDON Mary Martin is a self-taught, award winning fashion designer; setting fearless trends and taking Africa by storm. Mary is still studying Fashion in London, which is remarkable – considering she was asked to headline the International Fashion Week 2015 in Accra, Ghana, and as a result, was honoured as Best Designer in Africa. She has a faithful fan-base of celebrities who adore her outrageous, bespoke designs. Her self-produced catwalk shows in Mayfair are always a sell-out. Self-driven for success and a desire to ensure longevity in her designs, Mary is on a mission to ensure that her designs outlast her as an individual.
TANGERINE This is a ready-to-wear/couture brand based in Abuja. The brand is known for designing timeless, simple and elegant pieces. The brand is run by Ibee Egbuson who quit her 9-to-5 job 4 years ago to pursue a career in the fashion industry. She is also the creative director of the fashion design brand. The Tangerine woman is simple yet classy; stylish and definitely loves colours! She is no slave to trends yet she has enough funk regardless of her age. The brand is working towards stocking pieces with retail outlets in major cities in Nigeria and even beyond.
Europe’s largest catwalk event, providing relatively unknown and emerging designers a platform to showcase their Africa-inspired designs to an international audience. This year the event promises to be one of the biggest yet, as a record number of designers have applied to showcase, with country-sponsored exhibitors creating pavilions of style, hair and make-up demonstrations. We bring you some international and Nigerian designers showcasing at the Olympia this year.
AIMEEKU Aimeeku is a newly established Africa-inspired clothing brand based in Taiwan, a new tribe of fashion designed with lots of wax prints, colourful tweed, coloured denim and picturesque patterns for men and women.
NEEDLE POINT Needle Point is a lifestyle brand defined by love for African culture and fashion. As a brand, Needle Point, focuses in creating contemporary ready-to-wear clothes in African print. It is distinguished by the use of high quality prints and embellishments to create timeless pieces that transcend seasons in addition to impeccable customer service. It caters to the personal style needs of its clientele of varied ages who seek to be effortlessly stylish, elegant and comfortable in their clothes. Founded by Creative Director, Theresa Onwuka, as a hobby in 2006, Needle Point was re-launched in 2010 with the opening of its flagship store in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. Theresa has a passion for making women look amazing in her timeless pieces. According to her, “It’s all about adding that touch of effortless chic to every piece”. The need to collaborate with other brands while staying true to their core brand DNA, saw the launch of a commensurate line, “Needle Point Xchange” in October 2014. Each Xchange collection, is exclusive to the brand it is associated with. This way, the uniqueness and intrinsic values of the collection are maintained.
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/ July 19, 2015
FARIDA’S ATELIER
GRAZEE STITCHES KILUMBA Kilumba’s (beautiful woman) is an Africa- inspired fashion brand of choice, symbol of quality, style and comfort internationally. Created, in late 2013, by the main designer and founder, the Angolan Luciana Peres and her team, it is the first ready-to-wear and accessories brand of African origin.
Grazee Stitches is a clothing line known for its simple but sophisticated and stylish designs for men, women and children. They encourage the use of Africainspired designs for people of class. Designers at Grazee Stitches are top of the range, having gone through formal fashion training. The focus of the fashion house, currently, is to make stylish designs with African/Western touch and achieve global appeal. These outfits include casual and formal designs. They aim to be a leading international clothing brand with a knack for stylish designs with a blend of African/Western touch as they continue to strive towards introducing their clothing line. Support for the less-privileged remains at the core of all they do.
Farida’s Atelier was founded by Farida Musa Halliru. Farida is an award-winning, emerging African fashion designer from Nigeria. She specializes in women’s bespoke clothing and ready-to-wear. Her designs are a blend of African prints in European contemporary style. Her inspiration comes from almost anything that catches her eye; from prints, pictures, accessory objects, patterns and even a woman’s silhouette. Her flair for fashion motivates her and pushes her to be unique and true to herself. When designing, Farida puts the modern African woman in mind and creates flattering feminine designs that would accentuate a real woman’s body. Her technical knowledge of proper cloth fitting and design alongside her creativeness enables her to design clothes that reflect the modern day African woman.
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