ADEJU: Bubu and I exist in a similar world yet she travels around the continent while I’m hyper focused on Nigeria’s Yoruba culture and becoming a master of adire. I think I'll be there for the next 20 years as I fine tune my ideas.

LUKHANYO: Adeju, you’ve showcased both in Lagos and Paris, and now in Cape Town. Is there a difference in reception between these three regions?

ADEJU: Showing in Lagos is always going to be special because I take most of the inspiration from the history in Nigeria. It’s also important to be visible there as a way to give back. When I started out, I remember seeing Maki Oh’s work and it really helped my own creative journey. In Paris, it’s not easy but its somewhere I’ve invested in and it’s getting better. And Cape Town is an interesting balance of Africa and the West and everyone I’ve met has been amazing.

RICH: I have loved showing at Lagos Fashion Week. It’s chaotic but Nigerians' commitment to fashion is so inspiring. People really invest in it, more-so than in South Africa.

ADEJU: I'm a huge fan of Rich’s work. It's so impressive how fearless you are. And how your sexuality is always at the centre. It's unapologetic and that’s very disruptive.

RICH: In the beginning, it wasn't the case but because South Africa is the only African country where you can be legally queer, I began to feel that it was my responsibility to be proud. That's why we repositioned the brand.

LUKHANYO: Your global campaign for adidas was so impactful. Through that, you were able to represent the essence of what queer culture looks like and be inclusive – and the whole world saw it.

ADEJU: Bubu and I exist in a similar world yet she travels around the continent while I’m hyper focused on Nigeria’s Yoruba culture and becoming a master of adire. I think I'll be there for the next 20 years as I fine tune my ideas.

LUKHANYO: Adeju, you’ve showcased both in Lagos and Paris, and now in Cape Town. Is there's a difference in reception between these three regions?

ADEJU: Showing in Lagos is always going to be special because I take most of the inspiration from the history in Nigeria. It’s also important to be visible there as a way to give back. When I started out, I remember seeing Maki Oh’s work helped my own creative journey. In Paris, it’s not easy but its somewhere I’ve invested in and it’s getting better. And Cape Town is an interesting balance of Africa and the West.

RICH: I have loved showing at Lagos Fashion Week. It’s chaotic but Nigerians' commitment to fashion is so inspiring. People really invest in it, more-so than in South Africa.

ADEJU: I'm a huge fan of Rich’s work. It's so impressive how fearless you are. And how your queerness and sexuality is always at the centre. It's unapologetic and that’s very disruptive.

RICH: In the beginning, it wasn't the case but because South Africa is the only African country where you can be legally queer, I began to feel that it was my responsibility to be proud. That's why we repositioned the brand.

LUKHANYO: Your global campaign for Adidas was so impactful. Through that, you were able to represent the essence of what queer culture looks like and be inclusive – and the whole world saw it.

ADEJU: I'm becoming more confident in that way. In the SS25 collection, I have these bum slacks that are formed by jockstraps tailored to the pants. I first showed them in Paris at Afreximbank’s CANEX Presents Africa initiative and I was like, I want to see asses out. I want to show that there are gays in Africa! And I won’t be muted by respectability politics. I liked the fact that it could be very sexy.

LUKHANYO: Being in Paris was always my goal and I manifested it. The reception was wonderful, and some amazing opportunities came from the [LVMH and Amiri] prizes. But the more I positioned myself there, the more aloof I became within my own country. The arts and culture in South Africa are so extraordinary right now that I’ve decided to focus more on my local community.

RICH: I completely agree. I’ve realised that when you have too much hunger for the rest of the world, it’s a distraction and your business can suffer. Our brand has been a success because of South Africans. You know, we’re here and that’s what we care about.

LUKHANYO: I've gained the confidence to move within my own rhythm. And there's just a certain kind of storytelling that's woven within the fabric of African designers that I'm more attracted to. There's something within our DNA that means anything we produce is going to be intrinsically African.

ADEJU: Everything you guys are saying is valid. For me though, it’s my dream to show in Paris. And I'm a masochist, so I’m going to double down for now. A lot of times, when people think of African culture, it’s from the archival perspective. But what we do is contemporary. And as a queer designer, I’m adding to my culture and doing it with a sense of excellence. So, when I won the Woolmark Prize, it was like the judges understood that, and it was a cherry on the sundae. It’s not about pandering to the West. It’s about believing in myself. That's it.

BUBU: I find that there’s this sense in these [Western] spaces that people expect so little from African designers. When I did the Victoria Secrets campaign, there were designers from Japan, Nigeria, England and Colombia and I was the only one who created everything – the clothes, the jewellery, the shoes – and people were surprised. Was I over compensating for their low expectations? Or was I simply doing my work to the best of my ability? I just do what I do because I love it. It's like my oxygen.

NATAAL: So Paris holds no sway for you, Bubu?

BUBU: I studied there and appreciate the idea of reaching a wider audience. But really, people need to start coming to our countries. And collectively, we need to set the bar for the designers who come after us. For my last Lagos Fashion Week show, I did my own production and had people travel from all over the world to be part of it.

RICH: It’s crazy that we only really hear about fashion coming out of South Africa and Nigeria and the rest of the continent doesn’t get enough visibility.

BUBU: We have to enter these smaller markets in order to help show them how to utilise what they have. I’ve been living in Nairobi for eight years and so many designers have risen up in that time.

RICH: One thing that both Nigerian and South African brands are good at is presenting ourselves to the world. Our storytelling is intentional and we know how to make our brands appear bigger than they are.

BUBU: You guys are loud. And we’re super loud! And that’s because for us, dressing up is our lives. If you go to a church in Lagos on a Sunday, it’s fashion week and car week all at the same time. My mum had a car that she’d only unravel on Sundays! And when I’m in South Africa, I appreciate how everyone dresses. But in Kenya or Uganda, spiritually speaking, the act of dressing isn’t so important. So, when you go there, they understand that it’s something they need to work on. Nairobi is the essence of East Africa, so why are we dulling? If they don’t do it, someone else is going to do it for them.

RICH: Often when I’m interviewed by someone outside of Africa, I’m asked about the struggles of working here. And I'm like, ‘Yo, we're fine’. But for other people, it just gives them fatigue. They don't start because they’re already identifying the problems more than solutions. Instead, you just need to work with what you have. Let it be an exchange between designers so we can help each other, rather than talking ourselves down.

ADEJU: Exactly. With what we do, nothing makes sense. But in the same way that Japanese designers came along and triumphed in the 1980s, why not African designers now? It’s beautiful what all of you are doing. I’m going to champion you and celebrate you.

NATAAL: What will we be seeing from you all in 2025?

RICH: I’ve been enjoying working with furniture design [with Southern Guild]. It’s so much slower than fashion, so you get to refine a piece for two or three years, which I love. We’ve also started an agency to help South Africans navigate the creative industry. There’s a lot of legal areas that people don’t understand.

LUKHANYO: I’ve curated two exhibitions recently [The Provenance Part 1 & 2] based on our extensive research into South Africa’s cultural archives. The last one focused on literature and textiles and I want to look at music next. Fashion will always be part of what I do but I want a break from runway shows and engage with it in a different way.

ADEJU: I've always fundamentally been an artist and shown my work in museums. It’s only been the past two years that I’ve sustained my practice through fashion. So next year I’m excited to work on projects where those two world can cross pollinate even more. Perhaps it’s a performance artist doing something with my clothes.

BUBU: For the first five years of my brand, I looked at Africa through a West African lens. The next five focussed on East Africa. Now I want to study the southern part of Africa more. I’m looking at the stone sculptures in Zimbabwe and the mohair and weaving in South Africa. So yeah, I’ll be back.

Read Nataal’s full report on Confections x Collections 2024 here.