How Nigeria Was Everywhere and Nowhere at the World Cup
Where the 2026 World Cup rank in recent history is discourse for another time, there’s no doubt that it has uniquely taken its place as a cultural tentpole. A reason for this? The host nations, particularly the United States, which, months before the tournament kicked off, was speculatively doomed because of anti-immigration sentiments, ICE crackdowns, […]
After the Applause: Heritage Textiles and the Economics of the Runway Moment
Florentina Agu went back to the wood carving workshops she had visited as a child, and many of the artisans her family had once worked with were dead. The ones still alive were in difficult circumstances. Agu’s father had run a wood carving studio in Nigeria that produced parquet flooring and carved objects for sale […]
How to Dress for a Rave (Across African Cities)
To dress for a rave, one must first recognize how raves are buzzing all over our social radar
African Ritual Aesthetics in the Age of Luxury Fashion
Across Lagos, Dakar, and London, African designers are increasingly turning to the sacred. From Adama Paris’ waridjé mask bags to Bubu Ogisi’s
The Sustainability Checklist: African Fashion in the Age of Green Demands
While African fashion practices have long been inherently sustainable, designers are now navigating a global system where sustainability means compliance
Snatched Waists and Style Play: The Corsetification of Nigerian Fashion
Corsetification in Nigerian fashion is cinching itself into the heart of style, emerging from Lagos red carpets, owambes, and endless scrolls of Instagram and TikTok. It’s a waist, pulled tight, hyper-defined, framed by elaborate bustiers and couture-heavy tailoring that now defines one of the most visible aesthetics of Nigerian femininity. This isn’t just a trend, […]
What Makes a Brand African? Rethinking Made in Africa Fashion
While African fashion has reached greater heights—the question of what makes a brand “African” resists easy answers. It can’t be answered through surface-level aesthetics or generic motifs, but instead, it demands a deeper interrogation of history, structure, and power. At first glance, one might say an African brand is one founded or designed by an […]