2. 02
Sustainable street-luxe bohemian fashioninspired by African and European art,culture and creativity; made with love inLondon for the active dreamer.
20. 06
06
THE DESIGNER
Elizabeth-Yemi Akingbade
here. As you may know I am
a British-Nigerian born in
London of Yoruba parents
and raised in Bournemouth
by an English family. My
work explores this hybrid
through luxury clothes.
For my second ready-to-wear
collection titled ‘Down and
Out In London and Lagos’
I took a darker approach
with the SS17 collection as
it reflected my mindset at
the time. Alongside putting
the collection together
I have been completing
a Masters programme in
African Studies at SOAS
and working a full-time
summer job. During this
strenuous period I found
some time to listen to the
audiobook of ‘Down and Out
In Paris and London’ by
George Orwell and connected
with the protagonists
hustle and determination
to survive. I hope that my
latest collection expresses
how the contrast of a grim
reality can lie so close to
beauty.
21. THE MODELS, HAIR & MAKE-UP
Standing shy of 6ft and size
S, I create garments to fit my
own frame. I am the fashion
designer, print designer, fit
model and so much more. Ratiba
(cover girl) and Ajara are
similarly tall and slender
making them ideal Yemzi
mannequins.
I am a huge advocate of natural
hair since having the big chop
in July 2010. Textured hair
should be embraced. Afro hair
should not be subjected to
creamy crack and weave-on’s to
be accepted.
The combination of cornrows and
threading with glitter gel in
the partings is modern whilst
acknowledging traditional
techniques.
Fela Kuti’s wives inspired the
bold unblended eyelids and
dotting make-up framing the
eyebrows.
THE LOOKS
The Yemzi customer is a go-
getter, she’s in the driving
seat and is not waiting for
anybody to make her dreams
reality. As you could imagine
this means that her clothes
have to be easy to wear as well
as alluring.
The kimonos are back by popular
demand; elegant, weightless
and ideal for all body types.
The winged bomber makes an
oversized come back, the
high-waist trousers gain a
contrasting hem, the shirtdress
and wrapper skirt (iro)
remain unchanged. The spbra
top and boyfriend shorts look
new without the logo elastic
of SS16. This season the
introduction of the Boubou has
me particularly excited as it’s
so simple and striking.
THE PRINT
The four fashion prints for
this season are inspired by
scarification and rock art
symbolism. Beauty is not always
obvious, sometimes we must seek
it through painful processes
and dark places.
A tradition of the Yoruba
people in Southwestern
Nigeria is to etch patterns
and stripes into the skin to
visually identify a person to a
particular lineage. The process
represents creativity, coming
of age and beauty. Wearing
my illustrations, which have
been digitally printed on to
the finest silk satin and silk
chiffon, identifies you to
#TribeYemzi and the values we
stand for.
THE LOCATIONS
The two locations for the SS17
visuals are seconds walk from
each other. In fact, the mural
backdrop in The Bee Garden is
opposite my office and above
Dalston’s World War II bunker.
The bunker’s interior walls
could be that of a building
in Lagos. The dark, damp
underground space is safe and
secluded, contrastingly to
the garden which feels open
and optimistic, the same way
Orwell’s book and the SS17
fashion film ends. Although
shot entirely in a small corner
of East London both locations
could be in the cosmopolitan
cities of London or Lagos.
