The diverse lineup of Day 2 was an exciting blend of colours, cuts and telling the African story through the clothes.
Day 2 of Lagos Fashion Week saw the show hit its stride as the Wings teamed with people eager to see the day's sartorial offerings. From Style Temple to Orange Culture, Kenneth Ize and more, Day 2 was set to be quite the feast for the senses.
First up was Sisiano whose Creative Director Paolo Sisiano, credits Lagos Fashion Week andOmoyemi Akerele for giving him a start in the industry. Sisiano was one of the finalists of the 2013 Lagos Fashion Week awards which saw him catapulted into the spotlight.
His A/W presentation 'Lost Archives' was a palette of earth tones with a hint of bright yellows, whites and a splash on pink. Fabric billowed from the wide leg pants which were paired with funnel neck crop jackets and luxurious velveteen sweaters. The models looked like a fashionable tribe from the far reaches of the continent. The look was finished off, thanks to Bimpe Onakoya of Maybelline, with a thick swipe of terracotta eyeshadow and hair pinned in high buns with runaway tendrils.
Sisano's use of dark models was surely not by accident and made a bold statement in a world where dark models tend to be underrepresented. Their skin was juxtaposed beautifully against the richness of the materials used and it further highlighted the importance of representation and being given the opportunity to tell our own stories in our own countries.
We could spot those signature Kenneth Ize stripes from space. Kenneth's collection, which was one of the most cohesive of the day, was a feat in fashion designing. Kenneth's dynamic use of aso-oke continues to blow our minds as he produces pieces that are both wearable, fashionable and versatile. His models looked like a clan of cool kids from way back when in a retro Nigerian vision. The beauty of Kenneth's collection being that everything was distinctly his from the clothes to the slippers and of course, the now-famous Kenneth Ize scarves.
Style Temple's presentation was a lesson in being a lady. The colour palette of was rich with jewel-toned blues and purples, bright orange hues, fuschia and white. The models looked the picture of elegance and guests were thrilled by the structured dress, pants and skirt which had exaggerated pleats on the hips and moved like a dream.
Orange Culture has set itself aside from the everybody else. Orange Culture is so much more than a label, its a movement. Creative Director Adebayo Oke-Lawal has always driven home the idea that Orange Culture wants to redefine our attitudes, not only towards menswear but towards masculinity as a social construct. At Day 2 of Lagos Fashion Week he presented 'Raindrops and Tears' and showed how the label is breaking down toxic masculinity and letting men know that it really is OK to cry.
Models strode out to melodious music by Flume and Adebayo wanted people to know that the beauty of the collection was in the fabric. He artfully mixed hard and soft fabrics as a metaphor for the struggle between vulnerability and caged emotionalism.
The props and furniture which were provided by The Aga Concept were a great addition to the overall presentation. The collection which featured both male and female models drove him the idea of androgyny because it was hard to decipher which piece, was 'masculine' or 'feminine'. Male models wore flowing silky pants and blouses and the female models wore long shirts madw up of rigid material.
The overall effect was an afrofuturist utopia where there are no boundaries and rather than being bound by societal expectations of what they should do, people are moved by how they feel.
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