6. TEXTILE REINVENTION: The Possibilities of Cloth
Building on the inheritance of cloth innovation, Nigerian designers began to explore new ways of working with familiar textiles, transforming not only how cloth was worn, but how it was conceived, produced and understood. Aso-Òkè was reimagined through new approaches to weaving, colour, construction and tailoring. Printed cottons became canvases for intricate embellishment, reconstruction and playful experimentation with pattern and volume. Adire was explored through unexpected materials, techniques and silhouettes. Innovation could begin at the loom, in the dyeing process, through the manipulation of a fabric’s surface, or in the relationship between cloth and the body. Central to it were the relationships between designers and the weavers, dyers, embroiderers and artisans whose expertise made new forms of experimentation possible. Reinvention was never simply about making tradition modern. Here, tradition is not a fixed inheritance, but a living source of possibility, continually reimagined by those who make, transform and wear it.
LIST OF WORKS
1. TIFFANY AMBER, FOUR LOOKS AND ACCESSORIES
Lagos, Nigeria
Reimagined iro and buba
Red silk wrapper and blouse with floral appliqué.
Reimagined iro and buba, emerald green silk with corsage and wrapper.
Intricate interlocking strips of black cotton, with green sequins.
Courtesy of Tiffany Amber
2. LISA FOLAWIYO
Lagos, Nigeria
2022–2025 · Lace and silk, hand-beaded and sequinned
Two dresses, each built on print and hours of hand embellishment.
The Referee Dress, from the Spring/Summer 2025 collection ‘The Startling Line’, takes the lines of a sports pitch and beads them across the whole look to catch the light. Beside it, a dress in beaded and sequinned lace: the stitches that give it structure are the same ones that give it play.
Courtesy of Lisa Folawiyo
3. LANRE DA SILVA AJAYI
Lagos, Nigeria
Pink, black and gold, ruffled and embellished
Courtesy of Lanre Da Silva Ajayi
4. ODIO MIMONET
Lagos, Nigeria
Surface treatment of beads and other embellishment on wrapper made with Ankara fabric
Courtesy of Odio Mimonet
5. BESPOKE MAI ATAFO
Lagos, Nigeria
Courtesy of Mai Atafo
6. KENNETH IZE, ASO OKE SUIT AND OVERCOAT
Lagos and Ilorin, Nigeria
Aṣọ Òkè
Kenneth Ize’s aso oke is woven for the label by weavers in Kwara State using experimental yarns, in checks and stripes of his own design, then cut as tailoring.
Collection of ALÁRA
Mrs Ebi Williams
Faridah Folawiyo
7. ITUEN BASI
Lagos, Nigeria
Innovative surface treatment of Ankara
Courtesy of Ituen Basi
8. MAKI OH, ADIRE
Lagos, Nigeria
Hand-dyed adire, print and sequins, tailored
Maki Oh, founded by Amaka Osakwe in 2010. Amaka took adire out of the wrapper and into the cut garment and became the catalyst for the Adire renaissance we see today. Using cloth dyed by artisans with traditional Adire dyeing skills and combining with the designer’s contemporary design aesthetic, she created a modern nostalgic language.
Reni Folawiyo collection
9. NUPE WEAVING, BIDA TEXTILES
Attributed to Bida, Niger State, Nigeria
Date unknown · Handwoven textiles
Associated with the weaving traditions of the Nupe people, these textiles feature distinctive patterns and woven inscriptions.
Acquired together approximately twenty years ago, the pieces offer a glimpse into the relationship between weaving, personal expression and cultural identity.
Their inscriptions and precise origins remain subjects for further research.
Private collection of Reni Folawiyo
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1. HUE BY IDERA
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Fringe of multicoloured bead strands
Courtesy of Hue by Idera
2. TURFAH
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Woven metallic Aso Oke wrap dress
Courtesy of Turfah
3. ONALAJA
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Intricate multicoloured hand beading
Courtesy of Onalaja
4. ASALEWA
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Indigo dyed Adire
Courtesy of Asalewa
5. EMMY KASBIT, AKWETE TAILORING
Lagos, Nigeria
2026 · Contemporary Akwete, tailored
Emmy Kasbit works with weavers in Akwete to produce cloth for tailoring. The vintage Akwete at the start of the exhibition and these garments are the same weave, a century apart.
Courtesy of Emmy Kasbit
6. ÉKI KÉRÉ, RAFFIA
Nigeria
Contemporary · Woven raffia, cotton
Raffia, the triangle, patchwork and the pom-pom: the four elements Éki Kéré names as its design language, drawn from the craft and adornment of the designer’s home community.
The tote is woven on a local loom by artisans the designer works with; the triangular headpiece carries a knotted apex and patchwork within the form.
Courtesy of Éki Kéré
7. NKWO, DENIM LATTICE DRESS AND RELOVED BLAZER
Abuja, Nigeria
Contemporary · Reworked second-hand denim and tailoring
The Denim Lattice Dress and the ReLOVED Blazer are made from clothing bought in Abuja’s second-hand markets. NKWO treats waste as a resource: discarded cloth reworked into new garments, keeping traditional textile craftsmanship in work while breaking the cycle of waste.
Courtesy of NKWO
8. RE LAGOS
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Created with Kotoku embroidery style
Courtesy of Re Lagos
9. DYE LAB
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Hand-dyed cotton
Courtesy of Mrs Funke Bucknor
10. IAMISIGO
Lagos, Nigeria
Plastic beads, brass discs
Courtesy of IAMISIGO
11. TIFFANY AMBER, DRESS
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary
Courtesy of Tiffany Amber
12. ENIOLA DAWODU, CLOAK
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary
Courtesy of Eniola Dawodu
13. THE EDO BRIDE, COUTURE BY TABIK, BEADED GOWN AND RED CAPE
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Burgundy gown, hand-beaded in a pale paisley pattern; deep red cape
Courtesy of Couture by Tabik
14. GUINEA BROCADE, BABANRIGA
Northern Nigeria
Dates unknown · Cotton brocade (shadda), hand-embroidered in colour
Guinea brocade, a stiff damask-weave cotton imported from Europe and later Asia, became the everyday and ceremonial cloth of Northern men’s dress. These babanriga carry dense, multicoloured hand embroidery across the chest and back in the Hausa manner.
Private collection of Reni Folawiyo
15. EMBROIDERED BABBANRIGA
Hausa, Northern Nigeria
Dates unknown · Cotton robes, hand-embroidered
1. HUE BY IDERA
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Fringe of multicoloured bead strands
Courtesy of Hue by Idera
2. TURFAH
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Woven metallic Aso Oke wrap dress
Courtesy of Turfah
3. ONALAJA
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Intricate multicoloured hand beading
Courtesy of Onalaja
4. ASALEWA
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Indigo dyed Adire
Courtesy of Asalewa
5. EMMY KASBIT, AKWETE TAILORING
Lagos, Nigeria
2026 · Contemporary Akwete, tailored
Emmy Kasbit works with weavers in Akwete to produce cloth for tailoring. The vintage Akwete at the start of the exhibition and these garments are the same weave, a century apart.
Courtesy of Emmy Kasbit
6. ÉKI KÉRÉ, RAFFIA
Nigeria
Contemporary · Woven raffia, cotton
Raffia, the triangle, patchwork and the pom-pom: the four elements Éki Kéré names as its design language, drawn from the craft and adornment of the designer’s home community.
The tote is woven on a local loom by artisans the designer works with; the triangular headpiece carries a knotted apex and patchwork within the form.
Courtesy of Éki Kéré
7. NKWO, DENIM LATTICE DRESS AND RELOVED BLAZER
Abuja, Nigeria
Contemporary · Reworked second-hand denim and tailoring
The Denim Lattice Dress and the ReLOVED Blazer are made from clothing bought in Abuja’s second-hand markets. NKWO treats waste as a resource: discarded cloth reworked into new garments, keeping traditional textile craftsmanship in work while breaking the cycle of waste.
Courtesy of NKWO
8. RE LAGOS
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Created with Kotoku embroidery style
Courtesy of Re Lagos
9. DYE LAB
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Hand-dyed cotton
Courtesy of Mrs Funke Bucknor
10. IAMISIGO
Lagos, Nigeria
Plastic beads, brass discs
Courtesy of IAMISIGO
11. TIFFANY AMBER, DRESS
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary
Courtesy of Tiffany Amber
12. ENIOLA DAWODU, CLOAK
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary
Courtesy of Eniola Dawodu
13. THE EDO BRIDE, COUTURE BY TABIK, BEADED GOWN AND RED CAPE
Lagos, Nigeria
Contemporary · Burgundy gown, hand-beaded in a pale paisley pattern; deep red cape
Courtesy of Couture by Tabik
14. GUINEA BROCADE, BABANRIGA
Northern Nigeria
Dates unknown · Cotton brocade (shadda), hand-embroidered in colour
Guinea brocade, a stiff damask-weave cotton imported from Europe and later Asia, became the everyday and ceremonial cloth of Northern men’s dress. These babanriga carry dense, multicoloured hand embroidery across the chest and back in the Hausa manner.
Private collection of Reni Folawiyo
15. EMBROIDERED BABBANRIGA
Hausa, Northern Nigeria
Dates unknown · Cotton robes, hand-embroidered
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