After taking the world by storm at the Dubai Expo in 2021, ARISE Fashion Week is making a triumphant return to Lagos this February for a 3-day celebration of ARISE’s effect on the fashion industry in Africa and around the world.
This special edition of “ARISE Fashion Week & Jazz Festival,” which will run from February 2–4, 2023, will feature more than 25 world-class designers and jazz-themed performances by well-known worldwide performers.
Here are designers that will be showcasing their work at the Arise Fashion Week
AJABENG
Founded by Travis Obeng-Casper. Ajabeng is a unisex brand from Ghana that was created at the confluence of minimalism and modern African art and culture. Both the simplicity of minimalism and the exuberance of African culture are represented in its creations.
At Arise Fashion Week 2020, AJABENG made its premiere on a global runway to rousing praise. The company was chosen as one of the “30 under 30” African businesses by a team of judges that included international supermodel Naomi Campbell and Dawodu Mobolaji, fashion director for GQ Style USA. In the end, LVMH Prize Finalist Kenneth Ize and South African fashion icon MmusoMaxwell were chosen alongside AJABENG as one of the Top 8 African companies.
AJABENG has since collaborated with renowned African creatives such as stylist Daniel Obasi and photographer Stephen Tayo. Amaarae, a Ghanaian indie music superstar, modeled for the company in Clash Magazine, while Cape Verdean singer Mayra Andrade wore the clothing line on IndustrieAfrica.
AMEER BY AMEER
Ameer Bunu is the founder of the Nigerian clothing line Ameer by Ameer. The brand strives to highlight characteristics that directly represent traditional West African dress, developed for the elegant, everyday man.
AWA MEITÉ
Awa Meité, a Malian fashion designer, makes ready-to-wear items in a variety of eye-catching designs and hand-woven textiles that pay homage to her nation’s extensive history of craftsmanship and design, while highlighting local artisans and promoting sustainable design principles.
Bianca Saunders
The award-winning Designer & Creative Director Bianca Saunders is the driving force behind the Bianca Saunders brand, which addresses the dichotomy between history and modernity, between the masculine and the feminine. Her Jamaican and British heritage served as inspiration for the brand, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to design and incorporates cross-cultural allusions into a contemporary and rejuvenated development of menswear.
Following international acclaim since its beginning in 2017, the brand is in an exciting time of expansion, having been named a ‘One To Watch’ by the British Fashion Council in 2018 and later receiving The 32nd Andam Grand Prix Fashion Award in 2021.
BLOKE
BLOKE is a brand that introduces a different idea of luxury by fusing handcrafted sensibility with contemporary style and an undercurrent of self-discovery. founded in 2015 by Faith Oluwajimi to forge a new path of cultural inquiry with an avant-garde approach to textiles and knits. The company’s mission is to continuously explore the possibilities of producing ethically created clothing that champions the principles of inclusivity and teamwork.
With its skillfully produced and innovative goods, Bloke explores the link between art, culture, and fashion by generously portraying the vibrancy of its local context.
ÉKI KÉRÉ
The key values of Éki Kéré are derived from reducing fashion waste and its environmental impact. The brand creates modern products while fusing handcrafted styles and designs with African tradition and skill.
FRUCHÉ
Founded by Frank Aghuno. The brand seeks to explore profound, revolutionary, futuristic, and contemporary progressive tales that cast doubt on the idea that Nigerian/African women and men should appear and dress a specific way. Traditional Nigerian culture, legacy, handmade methods, and modern design are all combined in fruché. The brand embodies a distinct sensibility that deftly fuses an assertive narrative with a strong, opulent modern sensuality.
Hudayya
Founded by Hudayya Fadoul Abacha. Hudayya is an Abuja-based bespoke ready-to-wear fashion company that offers opulent clothing and top-notch craftsmanship.
I.N OFFICIAL
Ifeanyi Nwune’s namesake fashion line, I.N Official, is one of the leading lights of Lagos’ new wave fashion scene. It draws inspiration from a wide range of experiences to produce classic designs with a universal appeal and elegant yet understated interpretations of high fashion.
ITUEN BASI
Ituen Basi’s inventive celebration of the omnipresent Ankara design is a perfect example of how the brand combines cutting-edge design techniques with age-old handmade craft abilities to create the new standard of luxury.
Joy Meribe
The Joy Meribe brand, which was established in 2017, is a result of the background, experiences, and thirst for varied and affluent taste of its founder, Joy Meribe.
Kadiju
Kadiju is a womenswear brand headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with the mission of redefining sartorial beauty via maximalist creations and ethical production.
Lanre Da Silva Ajayi
African eponymous label and ground-breaking feminine luxury brand Lanre Da Silva Ajayi was established in 2005. The innovative use of traditional African designs, eye-catching colors, and patterns in Da Silva’s works over the years has been praised.
Lisa Folawiyo
Lisa Folawiyo is renowned for her vibrant ensembles that combine traditional fabrics from West Africa with contemporary tailoring and beaded embellishments. Since launching her brand in 2005, Folawiyo has led the way for Nigerian designers to get attention abroad for their creations, putting traditional African patterns beyond the status quo and making them appealing to a global market.
MARIYA SANUSI
A pandemic-era brand named Mariya Sanusi designs with the goal of fostering a new way of life that cherishes the essence of womanhood and promotes self-love, drawing inspiration from high fashion, modesty, African nature, and the history and culture of Northern Nigeria.
MOKODU FALL
Mokodu Fall, a Senegalese painter and caricaturist, moved to Italy at the age of 22 in order to “experience the art of culture.” Fall creates collections that are a reflection of his African heritage while dividing his time between Rome and Dunkirk in northern France.
NiNiE
NiNiE is a modern Nigerian menswear brand that incorporates elements of both African and western culture into its designs. The brand emphasizes contemporary designs that carry on the tradition of Nigerian fashion and craftsmanship while fusing the aesthetics of both traditional clothing and streetwear.
NKWO
One of the brands pioneering the sustainable fashion revolution in Africa is the Nigerian handcrafted fashion label NKWO. In order to sustainably preserve indigenous African artisan skills, NKWO leverages the power of technology by experimenting with and exploring cutting-edge new approaches.
OLOOH
OLOOH is a ready-to-wear brand located in Côte d’Ivoire founded by Kader Diary that promotes Ivorian tradition and modernity via creative, well-made, and classic unisex clothing cut in organic fabrics. OLOOH’s designs are a sartorial expression of Diaby’s country’s rich untold history, influenced by the Ivorian culture of Diaby and the dynamic energy of the city of Abidjan.
PEPPER ROW
In all of its collections, Pepper Row continually celebrates the arts and craftsmanship of Africa with a contemporary touch, fusing the continent’s rich legacy with current influences.
SELAM FESSAHAYE
Selam Fessahaye, a Swedish-Eritrean fashion designer known as Sweden’s “fashion miracle,” strives to create collections where each piece has its own unique identity, charisma, and character.
SYARI BESPOKE
Bespoke design house , Syari Bespoke, draws its inspiration from abstract and contemporary influences and infuses them with traditional approaches to create a diverse range of unique designs.
UNI FORM
A fashion brand with its roots in sustainability and high quality is called UNI FORM. The brand merges the modern with the traditional by borrowing inspiration from Johannesburg and incorporating it into ultramodern shapes.
VICNATE
Vicnate embraces a basic, methodical vision that is full of young bursts and transcends personal and social engagements.
XULY. Bët
Lamine Kouyaté, a Malian/Senegalese fashion designer, established the Parisian fashion house XULY. Bët in 1991. The name XULY. Bët means “keep your eyes open” in Wolof. His utilization of used clothing to produce high fashion has made him the most well-known.
ZIVA LAGOS
Tania Omotayo created the ready-to-wear fashion label Ziva Lagos in 2016 in Lagos, Nigeria. The company was established with the goal of dominating the market for providing rapid fashion to African women at reasonable prices. All textiles are acquired locally, the clothing is designed and made at our factory, and it is sold in our flagship store in the center of Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria. Ziva Lagos is committed to fostering the trade and labor markets in Nigeria.
