Pitti Immagine dedicates space to the new names on the international creative and economic scene from emerging nations to stimulate exchange and further mutual knowledge and understanding. This Pitti W edition's guest nation will be Nigeria, in cooperation with Lagos Fashion and Design Week (LFDW), which have come forward in recent seasons with some of the most interesting concepts in fashion research.
The designers who will take part of this special project dedicated to Lagos Fashion and Design Week have been selected by Omoyemi Akerele. Lawyer at first, she then became pioneer of the most creative talents of the Nigerian fashion scene. Omoyemi - fashion consultant and former fashion editor of True Love Magazine - gave birth in 2010, as creative director, to Style House Files (SHF), a style platform and point of reference in African fashion, that spots emerging designers and support them with initiatives such as "BuyNigerian".
The designers from Lagos Fashion and Design Week that will be in Florence:
Jewel By Lisa - Lisa Folawiyo launched Jewel by Lisa in 2005, the Nigerian brand which – thanks to the skills of expert craftspeople – has revolutionized Ankara fabric working with aesthetic codes of a rich ethnic tradition.
Anita Quansah - After graduating from Chelsea College of Art and Design and working with some of the biggest names in Fashion - Christian Lacroix, DKNY, Diane Von Furstenberg, Ischiko and Victoria Secret - Anita Quansah created her own jewelry label in London in 2006.
Bridget Awosika - Bridget/Bukky Awosika's origins are Nigerian, but she was born in Washington D.C. After earning a degree in business management she went on to study fashion at the Parsons School of Design in New York and then moved to Nigeria.
Lanre Da Silva Ajayi - Lanre Da Silva Ajayi has a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Coventry University and a Masters degree in Finance from the University of Leicester. She created her eponymous label (LDA) in 2005 and it has gained a strong international following in just seven years.
Zashadu Enterprises - All creations by Zainab Ashadu – the designer who founded the Zashadu brand – are handcrafted in Lagos using Nigerian leather than has been exported and tanned in Italy, Spain and Portugal, exotic skins and rough-cut semiprecious stones so that each unique piece characterized by different colors, shapes and ornaments is a collector's dream.
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