Image copyright Manny Jefferson, 2019.
A visit to Kenneth Ize’s studio, located in the heart of Lagos’ mainland district of Yaba, offers a welcome breather from the constant bustle of West Africa’s liveliest fashion and creative hub. The Nigerian designer’s atelier is housed in a two-storey colonial-style building, typical of this part of the city. The light and airy space contrasts with Ize’s vivid woven designs, which have equally been worn by the Nigerian fashion jet set, Afrobeat musicians like Burna Boy and international superstars including Childish Gambino and Beyoncé.
“I chose to set up my studio in Yaba because I can literally walk out onto the streets and engage with people around me,” says Ize, sitting at his pattern-cutting table. “I can get whatever I need within seconds and if you know Lagos, with its gated communities, this isn’t really the norm,” he continues. “Community is very central for me, I work with a group of weavers, and this way of working facilitates the need for conversing constantly.”
Image copyright Manny Jefferson, 2019.
Born in Lagos, Ize moved to Austria with his family at a young age. It was in 2013, freshly graduated from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna (where he studied under Bernhard Willhelm and Hussein Chalayan) that he took a leap of faith and returned to the motherland to set up his eponymous label. Since then, Ize has embraced Lagos’s many cultural inspirations and everyday challenges — from traffic congestion to power outages and safety — carving out a unique label that centres on reinterpreting West African traditional weaving for a contemporary audience. This move clearly paid off given his recent nomination for the LVMH Prize, the most prestigious award for rising fashion stars; in April this year, he was a joint winner of the Arise Fashion Week Award for “Designer of the Year.”
Ize’s design aesthetic draws on the rich heritage and rituals involved in Nigerian dress that ranges from being Sunday’s best dressed at churches across the land to planning months ahead for Aso Odun — the annual Christmas outfit that is known to bring misery and joy to tailors and customers alike, referenced in Ize’s FW19/20 collection. His clothes are made from woven yarn, sourced locally or from Europe, using traditional Yoruba Aso Oke — one of few authentically Nigerian woven fabrics originating from the Yoruba culture in southwestern Nigeria. These laborious techniques — most often used to make traditional Agbada gowns for men or Buba wrappers for women — are here implemented in daring, contemporary unisex styles.
Image copyright Manny Jefferson, 2019.
“The label began from the stories my mother told me growing up which I would then interpret through experimenting with textiles,” Ize remembers. “I really see this label exploring the rich and limitless possibilities offered by Nigerian culture, as we have so many stories to tell,” he continues. Now, several years after its creation, the once unisex label has expanded to womenswear, and is now planning to launch a furniture line. “I am grateful for how well the womenswear label has been received as I get to tell a different story through this form.”
Right now, Ize is focusing on expanding his studio to house all of his weavers and his growing design team under one roof — a space where he hopes to provide training opportunities for a younger generation of designers. “I want to continue to grow this brand beyond design, with a real community focus that enables learning and exchange.”