May 2024, we launched an African luxury fashion series at Soho House to narrate the stories of the African diaspora’s luxury fashion creators and help retail buying teams at leading British and international retailers discover their design houses.
The series, speakers’ panel and showcase activation is a key element of Untapped Creatives’ 2024 focus on championing emerging Africa-based and Africa-inspired luxury fashion houses.
The first in the series, a members event at Soho House 76 Dean Street on Tuesday 14th May, saw Untapped Creatives founder Funmi Scott joined by panellists including African luxury fashion designers Abiola Olusola, Muktar Onifade and Deborah Latouche, Sherri Andrew (Lifestyle Editor at SheerLuxe), and fashion journalists Kemi Olivia-Alemoru, Eileen Gbagbo and Ezreen Benissan. The panellists shared their interpretations and experiences of what African luxury fashion means today and global routes to market for African luxury fashion designers.
Panellists shared their experiences of working to elevate the understanding of African luxury fashion. Muktar Onifade, founder of gender-fluid luxury apparel and accessories brand GVDŠ, Deborah Latouche, founder of luxury modest fashion brand SABIRAH and Abiola Olusola, founder of her eponymous luxury womenswear brand, explained how they work with African artisans to make sustainable pieces both locally and internationally using materials from the continent. Writers Sherri Andrew, Kemi Olivia-Alemoru, Eileen Gbagbo and Ezreen Benissan shared how international customers are seeking authenticity and newness with strong stories which embody their values of sustainability, ethicality and creativity.
2024 sees Untapped Creatives shine a spotlight on emerging African fashion brands, both those who create pieces on the continent and those inspired by their founders’ African heritage. With a diverse selection of techniques and materials on show, Untapped Creatives is also highlighting the overlooked artisanal excellence and centuries-old techniques being used to create sustainable African luxury fashion, while championing the creativity of the African diaspora’s craftspeople. From the traditional beading artisans of Lagos, Nigeria to the craftspeople of East Africa, African luxury fashion encompasses many different styles and influences pushing the African narrative forward through fashion.
Africa-inspired luxury fashion is beginning to take a more prominent position within the global luxury fashion industry, however, more still needs to be done to make the industry truly diverse in its product offering.
Despite this appreciation of African design, in the UK, between 2009 and 2019, only around 40 Black founders received VC funding. This has meant emerging designers of African heritage have struggled to invest in the public relations, brand building and supply chain management resources that established global luxury brands benefit from. The designers on the Untapped Creatives panel at Soho House echoed this, describing how they have found it challenging to source funding for their shows during London Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week to present their collections.
Scott comments, “the new generation of African luxury fashion designers that we represent dispel outdated notions of what African fashion is, by showing that African luxury fashion design influences extend beyond wax prints (traditional motifs and certain colours). These designers include Muktar Onifade of GVDŠ, who utilises traditional West African beading on strong engineering lines in their collections, making the brand a favourite of big names in the music industry.
Our brands, and other emerging African luxury brands, are reinterpreting what luxury fashion means by anchoring designs within their identities and heritage, in turn connecting with consumers in international markets.”
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