Rather aptly, footwear and accessories label Omo Autem Artis has named its debut collection ‘é houn ibęrę’, which, translated from the Avikam and Yoruba languages, means ‘new beginning’. The brand is the work of Kouadio Amany and Ade Balogun, two London-based multi-disciplinary artists whose design lab Sons of Craft is dedicated to “nobility, innovation and collaboration”. The conceptual platform has many outlets for its creativity, among them hosting music festivals and curating art shows, and through Omo Autem Artis their talents and beliefs truly shine.

With ‘é houn ibęrę’, the duo say they are “inviting you into our new world deeply rooted in Africa. With worldwide influences, it’s a dance that crosses the mortal realm and the ‘blolo’ – the spiritual world as defined by the Baoule tribe from Côte d'Ivoire.” This translates into shimmering baroque pearls punctuated with deep blue lapis lazuli stones on earrings and pendants plus architecturally structured leather bags festooned with silver coins. It’s an unabashed celebration of African beauty.

Craftsmanship lies at the very heart of this thoroughly modern label, with the jewellery pieces all made by hand in London and the leather goods coming from a family-run atelier in Portugal. “The world doesn’t need another mass production fashion brand,” reflects Amany. “We are embracing slow fashion and want to give the best quality possible in order for each piece to last.” As such, all of the products are made-to-order and can be customised. And drawing on their shared West African traditions – Amany is from an Ivorian background while Balogun’s heritage is Nigerian – Omo Autem Artis weaves a natural concern for the environment into their design philosophy.

“Ade and I have spent portions of our lives witnessing crafts people make what you need. With the brand we wanted to continue this way of working and considering the most local way possible to do this,” says Amany. “Creating a luxury experience today is more than another sales-driven journey based on aesthetics. As creatives we have to build alternative solutions, even if it takes time. We researched the processes that will be the least damaging for our environment and fair to the makers at the same time. We have a complete transparency policy with our master craftspeople. Everyone is paid fairly.”

They’re quick to give flowers to the incredible talent that they surround themselves with and that includes the team that pulled together to create this beautiful campaign. “Haruna, our model, is also a stylist, music producer and DJ. Dizzy Bagley, the photographer, is also an artist, creative director and graphic designer. Emily Robson, who worked on the creative direction, is a fashion designer and Weini Haile was our extremely gifted make-up artist,” lists Amamy. “We are blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing community that keeps growing and, cheesy as it may sound, everyone we work with is a really kind person who makes teamwork easy and enjoyable.”

And now Nataal joins their family as partners with Sons of Craft, Consciously Connected and Mortimer House for a new monthly conscious music night, Future Sounds. Party report coming soon…