HADIZA LAWAL AND ADEKUNLE GOLD LOOKING SUPER CASUAL @wovenblends

As explained by HAdiza @wovenblends .When asked about his style, Adekunle described it as “Afrocentric, Urban and Simple.”

Known first for his photoshop talents, Adekunle Gold is now one of Nigerias most sought after musicians. His vocals and African dress sense are unique to his personality. Not only does he have a good voice, he writes good songs.

No wonder he is one of my favourite people, as his artistic ways speak so much to me. In the past couple of months, I have gotten to know Adekunle better on a personal level and his persona is nothing short of what I expected.

While in Atlanta, we hung out a couple of times and I decided impromptu to shoot with him.

In a bid to match our outfits, we decided to keep our looks within the same colour scheme. I wore a pair of high waisted jeans, with this sweat-shirt like crop top, and some red addidas sneaks.

Adekunle wore blue patterned adire pants he made – with a white shirt to match my outfit and red sneakers too. I wore sunnies to match his look.

For a shoot that was unplanned, it went really well. For the first time, I was not shy to ask a stranger in the street to please take a picture for me.

Both our looks are super casual and can be worn just about anywhere. Although both are typically street looks, both outfits can be worn to hang out with friends or to run errands as they are super fashionable and comfortable. I definitely need me a pair of the female version of adire pants – because I believe in African fabrics and overall, I am a lover of prints.

This is my first feature on my blog and I hope to do more of these in future either on my own or with external help. I love how this post has something for both males and females – this makes it different from all my other blog posts.

What do you guys think about our looks? yay or nay? I think YAY!

As usual, thank you for reading. Don’t forget to follow me on instagram – @wovenblends

Source:stylevitae

SHOULD OUR LOCAL DESIGNERS WHO DISPLAY THEIR COLLECTION AT INTERNATIONAL FASHION WEEK SHOWS SHOWCASE SAME AT OUR LOCAL FASHION SHOWS?

After my review of their different collections, I was on a phone conversation with one of the designers when I curiously asked if he was showing a different collection at Lagos Fashion and Design Week (LFDW) 2016, which starts sometime in October or if he’s show the very same collection. The designer wasn’t sure either. He says although he’d like to show something completely different from what he’d shown a few days ago at the SAMW, funds are not necessarily available for that. The likelihood? He might most probably show the same collection at LFDW.

This is the case with designer Lisa Folawiyo, who showed the same collection she’d debuted at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) Spring/Summer 2015 at the 2014 Lagos Fashion and Design Week and Mai Atafo who’d shown the same collection he’d debuted at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africasome days earlier at LFDW. 

Somewhere within this thin lining, lies a slight disrespect or a lack of regard for LFDW or its show goers. And for me, that’s a letdown and a bore. Why should I come to a show that I’ve seen several months before either in person or  by proxy, via blogs, at a completely different fashion week several months later?

Absolutely not! Not even as a recap or for the sake of the presentations as the clothes are primary to everything else. I’d want to come to a show with great expectations and have them met with pleasant surprises. And seeing the same clothes that I’d seen months before will not count as that.

Personally, I’m of the opinion that these designers should be made to choose. To either debut their Spring/Summer collections at LFDW exclusively, or made to create new ones specially for LFDW after such international showing.

But beyond the surface value of things, I know there’s the slippery slope of fashion politics. LFDW would not want to loose these major designers who are somewhat the placeholders of it’s schedule. And an ultimatum of LFDW vs. NYFW or any international week at that, almost anyone would go for the latter.

Consequently, LFDW might not be ready for such a drastic step. After all, last season without Lisa Folawiyo and Deola got tongues wagging, imagine one without Orange Culture and Mai Atafo.

As LFDW 2016 draws nearer, it’ll be interesting to see what happens next. Will the likes of Orange Culture (the hallmark of Nigerian menswear), Mai Atafo, Tokyo James, Maxivive, Kola Kuddus be forced to create new collections specially for LFDW, or will they take the easy way of showing the same collections that they just did at South Africa Menswear Week?

HESEY DESIGNS RELEASED IT NEW CAMPEIGN PHOTOS FEATURING RONKE ADE FALOJU

Hesey Designs a fashion accessories brand has release their new campaign photos featuring makeup artist and fashionista, Ronke Adefalujo. Ronke brought in her fashion and styling game when she teamed up with Hesey Designs, to create these stunning images. From quirky designs, colourful prints, and a playful outlook, this capsule collection reflects all the Hesey brand stands for and Ronke plays the perfect muse.

BFNYE UNVEALS ITS 2016 SMOKING HOT KENTE SWIM WEAR COLLECTION

 BFYNE, unveals it's beautiful  Kente swim wear collection 2016. They are so beautiful you'll want to go on a swim.The Virgina based Nigerian designer tailored this collection to fit all body types and different tastes as the collection comes in two pieces and swimsuits all in Kente, an Ashanti fabric peculiar amongst Ashantis in Ghana.

The swimsuits are said to be reversible and sold exclusively on the label’s website retailing at over twenty thousand Naira.  This is definitely a swimwear you want to be sipping in to this summer.

DENOLA GREY- THE RISE OF THE FASHION GUARDIANS

Models wearing Ozwald Boateng during ARISE Magazine Fashion Week Lagos 2012, GT Bank Tent, Federal Palace Hotel on March 11, 2012 in Lagos, Nigeria. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/WireImage)

I remember trying to figure out where I fit in when I moved back to Nigeria in 2013. I was convinced that my future lay in public relations in some shape or form. I was always drawn to fashion and I liked to think I had a decent sense of style. Soon enough, I launched a fashion blog and started venturing out onto the Lagos fashion scene. What I found was a multi –tiered structure, which had grown exponentially in a very short time. Each tier had a crop of key players that set the tone and dictated what it meant to be fashionable and stylish in Nigeria. They’ve shaped the Nigerian fashion scene and have exported our aesthetic through various forms of media to create a louder dialogue with the rest of the world about what it means to be fabulous and African.

The designers were the first to rise. Between 2013 and 2016 it is truly outstanding how many of our local brands have not only upped the ante with their designs and the quality of their work, but have also managed to export themselves and are now positioned as international brands. From Michelle Obama favorite Maki Oh, to the quirky and loveable Orange Culture, there has been an emergence of designers that are ready and capable to go head-to –head with existing fashion powerhouses like Thom Browne, Marc Jacobs and even British based Nigerian designer Duro Olowu

Other pioneers in the industry like Deola Sagoe and Lanré Da Silva Ajayi have also achieved international success; with the latter now being stocked in Dolce and Gabbana ’s multi-brand store, Spiga2 Concept store in Milan while Deola Sagoe has also received critical acclaim for her work and has become a regular at New York Fashion week, Even in the less saturated menswear sector, there have been great strides to maintain creativity and innovation with a clear shift toward ready-to-wear pieces while incorporating more individualistic distinctive design that caters to men who embrace masculinity in  fresh and unique ways.

To put it simply “ when the fashion is a poppin’ , the fashion darlings are a comin’ ” . As trite as this next statement may be, we cannot deny the power of social media when it comes to self-promotion and cyber marketing. There has been a significant influx of young, creative individuals who are keen to share their experiences with the world. Visual stimulation is the trick of the trade.  The visual curators and photographers are also fashion lovers. They are also willing to patronize and support the designers around them that they deem worthy.  The designers also help make their brands more relatable by selling the brand lifestyle through pictures or even through its creative directors life. Whether its a subtle humble brag of fabulosity by Lisa Folawiyo or celebrating personal style in the best way with fashion bloggers like Fisayo Longe or Dodos Uvieghara, one thing is clear, the fashion industry needs personalities that people love, to show off designer talent.

Other fashion darlings to watch are Yagazie Emezi, Zina Anumudu , Temi Otedola and  Igee Okafor ;who holds it down all the way in New York for the men in diaspora. While Ian Audiffren, a designer and visual curator with a very keen , artistic eye has set the standard for lifestyle in Lagos through his pictures, I’d throw myself in the mix, but I’ll plead humility on this one. These people are pretty much getting people excited about individuality and are influencing a generation on how to embrace individuality through style and flawless visuals.

“ A collection is only as good as its lookbook” . I’m a firm believer in favorable presentation. Creative directors, photographers and the designers all have to work together to produce a lookbook that best captures the aesthetic of the collection. Lookbooks have become less of a retail tool and more of a measure of who executes creative vision with the most panache. The go-to’s here are Lakin Ogunbanwo, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Tope Adenola and of course Remi Adetiba , who, has already shot one of the best magazine covers  (Made Magazine  Issue 15, April 2016 issue with Ifan Ifeanyi Michael..) of  the year.

There are certainly more people who are pillars holding up the fashion and media community in Nigeria. I highlighted those with the most visible impact today. It’s safe to say that the fashion revolution is in full swing and everyone is doing their bit, albeit subconsciously, to make sure that Nigeria becomes a major player in the cutthroat and fabulous world of fashion. There are still major hurdles to overcome and there needs to be more invested into this sector; time, money and research are all necessary for growth. We have eyes on or fashion guardians there is room for more and I know that Nigerians are just getting started. We are ready to kick it up a notch and take this revolution to a whole new level.

Source:Guardian

OMONI OBOLI STUNNS IN A POOL INSPIRED CLASSY CHIC APPAREL IN AN AYO VAN ELMAR SPRING SUMMER 2016 COLLECTION

The fishbone spring summer 2016 collection by Ayo Elizabeth Olaogun which featured Omoni Oboli with the "table de bollard" pool inspired setting.The game of nobles, with an inception dating as far back as the 15th century is the creative director’s plot for the editorial. Omoni Oboli and her latest movie, Wives on strike, which has hit the screen, with a tremendous and continuous success of sixty million naira in less than a month!

In order to enhance the appeal of the movie, Wives on strike like a billiard table, is cushioned with comedy, but also stuffed with substance to allow the balls of thoughts about the girl child rebound.

The shoot depicts strength in the beginning and victory at last. May triumph prevail eventually and may the girl child in our nation and everywhere on planet earth, be forever playing the winning game of freedom, may she grow to express her rights to life and development, and above all, her rights to equality before the law.

More photos after the cut 

BEAUTIFUL HAND MADE ANKARA ACCESSORIES BY ELLANA TUNNER OF E.TUNNER COUTURE

Jewelry designer Ellana Turner of E. Turner Couture put some of her handmade jobs on display as she showcases her statement accessories and jewellery made from ankara. Her love for unique ankara prints, sewing, and quality craftsmanship inspires her contemporary ready-to-wear pieces. I love the colorful nature of the prints the creativity and afrocentricity of her designs.

MORIN MADE IN NIGERIA BAG FOR THE CHIC ABOUT TOWN

As the rave of made in Nigeria stuffs grow more nigerias residents and in the diaspora have kept coming up with creative stuffs like this as the Morin O luxury brand unveals it's spring/summer collection for it 2016 campaign which is Set in a cosmopolitan city and it tells a story about the city girl with a million and one functions to attend; be it a gala, date with her girlfriends, fashion show or just some good old benefit gala, she always has a place to go to and a purse that is equal to the task.

See more shots after the cut Regardless of her profession or daily itinerary, one thing the brand’s target woman has is an impeccable taste for good purses made out of the finest leathers.Although a  spotless campaign, we’d have loved to see a more practical campaign for the made in Nigeria brand. Perhaps a girl about town themed campaign in Lagos or Abuja would have brought the message a little closer to home.