Although Amaka Osakwe, creative director of "Maki Oh," showed her S/S16 pieces in an exclusive release video for Vogue.com, her LFDW15 show was still eagerly anticipated by the crowd. Known for utilizing local fabric and taking native Nigerian aesthetics to a global stage, Maki Oh has strong supporters at home and abroad. This year's collection was inspired by the Yoruba custom "Arodan," a practice that parents use to distract pestering children by sending them in search of a thing that does not actually exist. Though native to Nigerian culture, Arodan is relatable to general philosophical inquiries into the absurdity of life and the planned undertakings of humans which often render results other than our intended outcome.
Tsemaye Binitie launched his self-titled women's wear brand in 2010 and since then has consistently delivered on his founding principles of complex minimalism. Often incomporating traditional African aesthetics into contemporary fabrics and sleek sillohettes, Tsemaye produced clothes that are well-finished and wearable by any woman who appreciates a good dress
In a short statement about the inspiration for the S/S 2016 "Geometric Fusion" collection, the brand explains that the collection is "[h]eavily influenced by geometry" and "uses tie-dye from Nike Art Gallery and digital images to create hexagon ad triangle tessellation prints." Innovative, yet reflective of culture. Fabulous! Check out a few of my favorites from the collection below:
