“We try and create an expression of black cultures beyond imagery and tokenism, by working with craftsmen and employing environmentally and economically sustainable practices,” says Onye Anuna about his vision for Gravalot, the rising menswear label he co-founded with Prince Comrie in 2014. “It’s a holistic view of how we feel work and business should be. I think I’d call it local enrichment.”

Born in Nigeria – “and basically growing up in a slummier part of Lagos” – Anuna’s family relocated to South London when the designer was five years old. With a natural inclination for all things design related, he studied Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Design at Brunel University, which was followed by a career as a UX and software designer. During that period he began thinking more about his own identity and how it was being reflected sartorially.

“After I finished uni, I had space to be more introspective and saw that my garms didn’t represent me as much as I wanted,” Anuna remembers. “It was very London and anything that I liked was a cross-over from American hip hop and UK grime culture. A lot of our clothes were cool for our environment, but carried very little of what it meant to be African. I realised that what I wanted would have to be created from the ground up and this became Gravalot.”

Since then the brand has shown in Paris, Tokyo and London and developed a unique path, which the designer describes as “an expression to cross borders and merge new identities.” As such, the collections come about quite organically. “There’s no set design process. Some collections are borne out of fabrics, some out of stories and others out of old garments reimagined.” But while the design process is fluid, what is fixed is the Gravalot philosophy: ‘Purpose over consumption. No longevity in mediocrity. Dignity in labour. Good to nature.’ In practice these mantras mean that the brand works with local artisans and makes use of sustainable fabrics to craft its collections, with production houses in the UK, Nigeria and Ghana.

The label’s SS20 collection is titled Providence. Shot in Surulele, Lagos, the lookbook includes pieces cut from the Yoruba woven asò-ókè fabric while inspiration has been gathered everywhere from Maasai ceremonies to the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Looks travel from sharp tailoring in bold hues through to a softer silhouettes expressed in a more sombre monochrome palette as a way to express the four stages of manhood: The Adolescent, The Man, The Elder and The Self.

“The adolescent is a lot more colourful, more playful and more expressive,” explains Anuna. “Then we have a transition where the garments are still colourful but are more structured. They lead on to the man’s expression, which is more defined and direct, however he is blinded by his faults, so in his images we hide his face. The telling image is the man in a field of grass contemplating the destruction of nature. It’s a transitory note to a future update on the elder phase, which explores the need to look after what is within our control. Similar to the act of providence.”