One Nigerian Boy Takes You Backstage For an Intimate Look at Menswear Designer of the Year Angelo Van Mol's Collection at The Arise Magazine Fashion Week

Menswear designer Angelo Van Mol of Ghanaian and Belgian heritage was recently awarded menswear designer of the year at the recently concluded Arise Magazine Fashion week in Lagos, Nigeria for a stunning collection which happened to also be his graduate collection from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp –ranked amongst the top 5 fashion schools in the world- known to have churned out the likes of Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Marina Yee (The Antwerp Six), Martin Margiela, Veronique Branquinho, Haider Ackermann, Peter Pilotto, Bruno Pieters.

Seeing the kind of talent the elite Belgian school has produced in the past it was no surprise to see Angelo Van Mol’s intricate work which stood out from most of the collections at the event –be it men’s or women’s- for its craftsmanship and aesthetic.

His inspiration for the collection was male paintings of Polish art deco genius Tamara de Lempicka, mod culture and art deco. All of these elements quietly reverberated around the collection and you could sense its spirit or be it, vibe engaging and slowly charming you.

The shapes of the collection are inspired by classical Formal menswear mixed with free wear clothing. I want to create a man who is wearing formal clothes but at the same time it should be clothes you can wear whenever you like not only for formal events. Therefore the shapes are not defined as new shapes but are within the existing shapes of clothes we know.

The whole collection was produced and handmade by the designer himself, from embroidery to stitch on sequences, patterns, basically everything. 

Fabrication included metal chains, cashmere, shaven pony skin, python skin, camel skin, and more. ‘I choose to use only the best materials because the man I want to portray lives in luxury a world.’

 The colors are inspired by the city by night, there are a lot of black and white shirts referring to formal wear but also some colors. If you are familiar with the works of Tamara de Lempicka you see notice that the colors came from her paintings fused with images of city's by night and art deco art. The mix of this all creates the man Angelo Van Mol wants to portray.

The shoes in the collection were designed by Angelo and produced by Giorgio Paponi using new handmade shoemaking methods and doing the designer a big favor. The details include metal pins -inspired by the dials on Cartier watches- inserted into a space in the heel carved out by hand. 

See more close up images of the clothing and footwear from the collection after the jump

DFL (Designs for Love) GIVEAWAY & Show Invite

Stand a chance to win a DFL clutch purse, a DFL Ankara bib necklace or a DFL Ankara hair accessory by answering these questions:

What is the name of the ready to wear collection to be launched?
What is DFL`s predominant choice of fabric?
Name three popular Ankara  styles that women wear now?

Answers  should be sent to wunmia@yahoo.com

Entries close by 12 midnight on Monday 21th march and winners will randomly selected from the correct entries and contacted by Wednesday 23rd march

Good Luck

Okunoren Twins Set Sartorial Standards at The Arise Magazine Fashion Week with Their Fall/Winter 2011 Collection

London trained Taiwo and Kehinde Okunoren have long been sauntering on Nigerian fashion fringes. They were well known by fashion insiders but not so much by the Nigerian populace but they finally stepped into the light at the just concluded Arise magazine fashion week with panache.

Finally they delivered the most elaborate menswear collection by any Nigerian label operating here and not just bland renditions of suits or crested blazers –no pun intended- we’ve become used to.

I keep repeating that the strongest collections all had strong local content and the Okunoren Twins fall/winter 2011 collection did not fall short of that. They embrace the in vogue fabric, Aso-oke and employed it tastefully for ties, bags, trousers and blazers.

Although I felt their presentation was a bit corny it was nonetheless a SHOW with loads of entertainment value. 

More images after the jump

Laquan Smith, Jewel by Lisa and Toju Foyeh Fall/Winter 2011 Collections at the Arise Magazine Fashion Week

African American designer Laquan Smith’s is one of the most interesting young designers at the moment. His creations for fall/winter 2011 were neon bright in interesting colors like pink, green and turquoise all done in nylon fused with spandex. He also layered lace over the nylon fabric which created an interesting effect.

My favorite pieces in the collection are the multiple colored jackets.  

See more images from Laquan Smith's collection and read reviews of Jewel by Lisa and Toju Foyeh after the jump.

Mataano, Bridget Awosika and Tsemaye Binitie Fall 2011 Collections from the Arise Magazine Fashion Week, Lagos

 New York based Somali twin sisters who run the label Mataano, took a softer approach on their fall/winter 2010 collection. The fabrication was flowing and chic with interesting fur headpieces and accordion pleats on some of their pieces. I adore the collection for its wearability and subtle display of elegance.

See more images of Mataano , and the reviews of the Bridget Awosika and Tsemaye Binitie collections after the jump.

MAKI OH Fall/Winter 2011 Collection Displays Excellent Craftmanship and Heritage at The Arise Magazine Fashion Week in Lagos

The days of top African Fashion designers putting out mediocre designs are long gone, most especially the designers from the western and southern regions of the continent. Maki Oh fall winter 2011 collection in one word….errr honestly I can’t find one word that perfectly sums up the entire collection.

There’s something about this thriving new label and its eccentric British trained designer Amaka Osakwe that I adore the most and it’s the fact that she doesn’t look to the left or right to see what this designer or another is doing, doesn’t follow trends, she is just focused 100% on her work.

  Loads of handcrafting evidenced through the appliqués

Maki Oh collection evokes loads of emotion so much that when the show ended it moved Pop’Africana editor in chief Oroma Elewa into tears. Tears of joy or perhaps tears of hope and a vision that Africa has finally nurtured that top star designer whose work can stand alongside any of the world’s top designers.

The amount of local content and tribal trappings in this collection is clearly evidenced. I adore the use of traditional mat fiber appliquéd onto most of the dresses and also the custom adire prints on luxe silk. There was also vintage Aso-oke in the collection executed beautifully.

One of my fav pieces of the collection, love the color on the appliqués and their pattern.

The shapes were mostly lose and relaxed a bit billowy on some pieces but overall the vibe of the collection was reminiscent of the Flintstones during my cartoon watching days.

 

Loads of Images and more text after the jump

Innovative Fashion Design from UK Based Nigerian Label Buky Akib at Day 1 Arise Magazine Fashion Week Lagos 2011

Knitwear designer Buky Akib and her eponymous menswear label was by far the most impressive label that showed on the first day of shows during the Arise Magazine Fashion week 2011 in Lagos.

The University of the Arts London B.A holder took creative a unique kind of fabric that was a mash up of batik print, Aso-oke and knit. The whimsical shapes and cuts in the collection would leave some men pole-axed and even I admit that I might now wear all of the pieces but I admire the craft and artistry employed in its construction.

I find that British trained fashion designers are always more idiosyncratic and sometimes make beautiful pieces that can stand alone as art and most times not even make it into the street, but to me I feel that’s real fashion design. The designer is not bothered about the commercial prospects of the piece but instead is free to design from their core.

I felt that same vibe of no restrictions in this collection and I was duly impressed by Buky Akibs work upon first sight. Top marks for innovation and quirkiness.

See more of the pieces from the collection and close up detail shots after the jump

Arise Magazine Fashion Week Lagos 2011 Day 1: House of Nwocha & Kiki Kamanu Fall/Winter 2011

House of Nwocha opened the first day of shows at the ongoing Arise Magazine fashion week 2011 a few minutes ago. One Nigerian Boy is live and reporting from backstage bringing you all images of the collection in real time.

Wld add my review later in the day….enjoy the fotos for now.

 

 More House of Nwocha and Kiki Kamanu after the jump

Haute Fashion Africa Speaks to Multi Talent Wale Adeyemi of B Side by Wale

HauTeFashionAfrica’s Editor-At-Large Bunmi Opeodu caught up with him “Somewhere between the kerb and the boutique”

Bunmi Opeodu: Wale Adeyemi in 3 words – Fun, Honest and Sincere. The B-side man- is into music, life style, not 100% on Trend but in Fashion, He stands out in crowd and has a unique style.

BO: The Brand is known for Urban Street wear any plans of something different?

Wale Adeyemi: We are known for stylish street wear, but I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as urban, urban is a way of life in our collection we have pressed trousers, shirts, so I’d like to say we pretty much do traditional menswear.

Read the rest HERE

Get to Know Nigerian Jewelry Label, Little Luxuries

 

One of the main reasons why I attend the monthly LPM market is not only to shop yeske, I shop, I no dey pose like some of una is discovering new labels and designers. The last event held at Harbor point got me perambulating the whole of Ahmadu Bello way trying to find the location. Glad I finally did and went in cos alas! I discovered the chic jewelry label, Little Luxuries.

The label is 100% Nigerian and all of their jewelry is handmade by the creative director and owner Emi Faloughi. The pieces are easy on the eyes and on the skin for people who feel uncomfortable wearing heavy jewelry. A label to look out for in the future.

 

More images and contact info after the jump 

Nigerian Fashion Label iamisigo introduces its 'Le Poseur' Collection at the Project Red Charity Fashion Show

New Nigerian Label, iamISIGO by designer Bubu Ogisi showed a bohochic collection at the recent Project Red HIV charity initiative. Red was the dominant color in the collection and the shapes where very modern. 

I liked the hooded dress, and other details in the collection I fancied include billowy shapes, drapery and strong shoulders enforced with pads.

 

See more images after the jump