Fashion Company in Nigeria

Nigerian designer Kenneth Isedonmwen reached the final of the prestigious LVMH Prize for young fashion designers last year, debuted in Paris in February - closed by Naomi Campbell herself, and now his signature brand Kenneth Ize is preparing a special capsule collection for Karl Lagerfeld. Starting with such a powerful start already deserves attention, but the main thing is not high-profile achievements, but a unique combination of traditional handcraft and a subtle sense of the spirit of the times. The world started talking about Kenneth Ize after the brand reached the final of LVMH Prize 2019. The finalists of that year turned out to be extremely diverse in terms of the cultural background: they were designers from Africa, Israel and Japan. And although the Nigerian Kenneth Isedonmwen did not receive the main prize (the victory went to the designer Teba Magug from South Africa), his talent attracted the attention of the world fashion community. The brand itself has existed since 2013 - the designer launched it almost immediately after graduatin Fashion Company in Nigeria g from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna: “I wanted to have my own brand, as soon as I found my aesthetics, right away, immediately!” The first collection of Kenneth Ize was shown at Lagos Fashion Week, was a success, but Kenneth decided to take a break, returned to his studies, rethought his approach to fashion and relaunched the brand in 2016 - more than successfully, as we now see. In addition to the fact that Kenneth Ize clothes are worn by world celebrities of the level of Naomi Campbell (yes, the supermodel not only participates in the brand's shows, but also willingly wears Kenneth's clothes in her free time), recently it became known that the brand will release a capsule collection for the Karl Lagerfeld brand - she will be released in April 2021. Kenneth Ise (the designer prefers to shorten his surname not only in the brand name, but also in life) is 29 years old, he received a design education at the Vienna University of Applied Arts - first he graduated from a bachelor's degree, and then, with a short break, a master's degree under the guidance of designer Hussein Chalayan. The young designer's initial interest in fashion grew out of a love for fabrics and weaving. “I have vivid childhood memories of my mother wearing a headscarf - we call it 'gel' - at my best friend's party: beautiful black-gray-orange silk. It was about 18 years ago, and I still remember this image, ”says Ize. Therefore, the designer focused on working with traditional textiles, and a European fashion education helped him rethink Nigerian heritage in a global cultural context. A distinctive feature of all Kenneth Ize products is the bright checkered color of the fabric from which they are sewn. This fabric is called aso oke, which translates as "high clothing" - it was traditionally used in Nigeria to create formal dresses. This special weave material is woven on small hand looms, and the checkered pattern is obtained by weaving cotton and silk threads. Kenneth Ise initially decided that he would only use hand-crafted fabric in his collections - this is both a way to support local craftsmanship and artisans in Lagos, and an opportunity to create unique pieces. “For me, luxury is something that is done carefully, conscientiously and with heart. When I create my own fabric, magic happens! I'm not just interested in creating something beautiful, it must be something very personal at the same time. I believe that my products will be wearable and desirable, and in 20 years, their value will remain, ”says the designer. We have already talked about how the fashion industry in Nigeria is now on the rise, and Kenneth Ize is a prime example of how the designer manages to competently work with the local culture, while fully responding to the growing demand of the fashion industry for manual labor, sustainable development and the creation of out-of-season clothes. and out of gender (although the brand was initially positioned as a male brand, and its female line appeared only in the new fall-winter 2020 season). Regarding the division of clothing into "masculine" and "feminine," Kenneth also notes: "In Nigerian culture, there are everyday rituals associated with dressiness, with beautiful clothing, and they have nothing to do with gender." Elegance balanced with restrained dignity, reverent attention to materials and quality of tailoring, absence of seasonal obsolescence - these are the characterist https://jiji.ng/company/fashion-and-beauty