This summer London concept store Koibird is offering up a delectable curation of African fashion. Thanks to their partnership with Lagos Fashion Week, the edit includes some of the most desirable labels from across the continent. While sadly its physical store is currently closed due to the Covid-19 crisis, Koibird continues to put its best digital foot forward. Check out the website here.

As media partner, here’s Nataal’s pick of four joyous looks from some of our favourite designers – each based in a different African fashion capital.

Orange Culture in Lagos

Since launching Orange Culture in 2011, Lagosian Adebayo Oke-Lawal has become a pioneer of gender fluid fashion with his androgynous silhouettes and unabashed use of colour and prints. Each collection is a call to arms against toxic masculinity and societal norms and with SS20, entitled Goodbye To Me, he explores “the fiery battle with self as we probe the relationship with man and his destructive shadow”.

Mixing bespoke printed cotton and linen with sultry organzas and chiffons, the look is sporty but spicy. One of the boldest looks of the season is the Busola matching shirt and trousers covered in a print of many faces. “It represents different pieces of people who have inspired change, difference, freedom and rebellion for their community,” Oke-Lawal adds.

Read our SS20 Orange Culture catwalk report here and interview here.

Loza Maléombho in Abidjan

This Ivorian, award-winning designer works with female artisans in Abidjan to create her powerfully tailored womenswear and statement accessories. Her designs, production and inspirations are all wedded to championing women and this season is no exception. “The collection explores the idea of a futuristic cross culture between the Akan women warriors and the Dahomey amazons; also called Mino, which means our mothers,” Maléombho explains.

These two West African forces go head to head to inform her brazen suiting and fearless dresses. Strong pieces are the deconstructed jacket and shorts in her take on leopard print cotton paired with a crisp white shirt. Cutaways and brass mask buttons make it an indomitable look.

Rich Mnisi in Joburg

Joburg’s finest is sought after for his minimalist, angular cuts and oh-so-wild prints. Ferociously modern yet rooted in his culture, Rich Mnisi’s collections offer layers of meaning. This striking jumpsuit has a retro vibe and swirling pattern that befits a wearer with confidence and purpose.

It’s taken from the designer’s current collection Alkebulan (an ancient name for Africa), which returns to his forever muse, his late great-grandmother, Nwa-Mulamula. Mnisi explains: “From the journey of unearthing a time capsule of her story, reimagining her as a guiding light during ceremonial rites of passage and to the visceral dreams of connection in Milorho, she revisits. Alkebulan is a symbol of returning myself to the ancestral ground she rests on.”

Christie Brown in Accra

Named after her seamstress grandmother, who was her girlhood inspiration, Aisha Obuobi has been putting Accra on the fashion map for well over a decade. Christie Brown excels at feminine shapes, energetic prints, playful detailing and luxurious finishing. These are flattering clothes for confident women to wear from desk to dancefloor.

Catching our eye is this cotton midi dress – a classic style for the label. Drawstring sleeves and scrawled signature rope embroidery elevate the simple yet elegant silhouette. It sits well within a collection entitled She Is King, featuring bodice vests, bow blouses and balloon trousers that certainly show who’s boss.

Read all about the season and Nataal’s partnership with Koibird here

Photography Ruth Ossai
Art direction Ben Robertson
Styling by Julia Sarr Jamois at CLM
Model Bibi Abdulkadir at Storm
Hair Issac Poleon
Make-up Athena Pagington

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Published on 02/04/2020