Despite creating bespoke looks for musicians such as Skepta, J Hus, Burna Boy and JPEGMAFIA, Abaga Velli has kept a deliberately stealthy profile since launching last year. The label by London-based Nigerian art director Ade Udoma and co-founder Diallo Hasmat-Ali is wedded to offering what they call “street elegance” with their made to order pieces and soon-come capsule collections.

Stemming from a deep appreciation of the sartorial aesthetics displayed in the rap music videos of his youth, Udoma’s eye for style inspired him to start collecting designer pieces, from Armani to YSL, at an early age. He dubbed his vintage haul the Silhou Archive, and it was under this moniker in 2018 that he started developing handmade samples with his mother’s tailor on a trip back to Nigeria. These pieces have formed the basis of Abaga Velli’s debut collection, Coup 001.

“Once I started delving into craftsmanship and thinking about quality and shapes, that was what really started transitioning into my real love for clothing,” Udoma explains. “For me, having garments that last 50 years or 100 years was a very impressive thing.”

Sustainability, purpose and versatility are key tenets of Abaga Velli. Not only are the designs solution-focused, but they are also created with adaptability in mind, features which can be attributed to the military manoeuvre that inspired the collection’s name. “Coup 001 is the original manifesto,” says Udoma, “If you look back to at philosophical and psychological writings of the past - that first idea, the food for thought per se, that’s Coup 001.”

The collection boasts pared back, tailored pieces with uniform-like detailing crafted from Japanese cotton and Italian denim. Think pleated combat trousers, branded bomber jackets and printed bucket hats that deftly encapsulate the wandering spirit of the brand.

Taking the collection to Marrakech and New York to shoot films that tell the stories of the musicians and artists whose lives inform Abaga Velli, Udoma explains that the vision goes way beyond clothing. “Abaga - Art Brings Access Grants Ascendance - is a community of individuals all around the world. It is a new thought process that isn’t only innate to London – or to me - by any means.”

The new label sits under a broader Abaga collective umbrella that lives the motto ‘In us we trust’. This year they’ll also open Abaga House, a physical space with a workshop, atelier and photo studio that will act as a nurturing incubator for emerging talent. “It’s our take on a creative ecosystem,” he adds. “Once again, it’s a coup, we’re trying to destroy all of the political elements of the creative world. We’re trying to go straight to the core.”