Inside ÌGBÀANÌ: Craft, Culture & Intention

Townspeople, we had a conversation with Adebola Adekunle, founder of ÌGBÀANÌ, who is launching her contemporary African luxury brand in London on the 30th of August.

Read on to discover the story behind the brand and details on the exhibition.

Get to Know the Brand

What does “slow fashion” mean to ÌGBÀANÌ in practice, beyond simply making fewer pieces?

For ÌGBÀANÌ, slow fashion is not only about quantity. It is about allowing the work to take the time it genuinely requires.

Our Aso Oke is handwoven in Ilorin, our Saqi is produced by artisans in Kano, while much of our embroidery, beading, woodwork and garment construction happens in Lagos. Different parts of one garment can pass through several skilled hands before it is complete.

Every bead, wooden element and detail is made individually by hand. Those processes take time, and the slight differences that come from making things by hand are part of what makes each piece special.

We do not want to create pieces whose relevance depends entirely on a particular trend or season. The intention is for someone to discover an ÌGBÀANÌ piece today and still find a reason to wear it years from now.

Slow fashion to us is ultimately about respect, for the material, the maker, the craft and the person who will eventually live in the garment.

How does ÌGBÀANÌ challenge or rethink that idea of luxury?

The conversation around luxury can easily become centred on price, exclusivity and having the newest thing. ÌGBÀANÌ is interested in a quieter and more lasting expression of luxury.

For us, there is luxury in knowing that the textile you are wearing was woven by hand. There is luxury in someone spending hours placing beads individually, carving a piece of wood or creating embroidery. That is the kind of luxury ÌGBÀANÌ is interested in.

African luxury does not have to be loud to be recognisably African. At ÌGBÀANÌ, culture lives within the materials, techniques, craftsmanship and people involved in making each piece.

Our pieces have a quiet boldness. They can be expressive and distinctive without relying on excess.

Ultimately, luxury is knowing that something has been considered, who made it, how it was made, why those materials were chosen and why the piece deserves to exist.

To me, the greatest luxury is owning something made with enough intention that, years later, you still want to reach for it.

Get to Know the Founder

What made you question the way we currently consume fashion?

There was not one dramatic moment. It was a gradual discomfort with how quickly we are encouraged to move on from things.

A garment can still be beautiful, functional and in perfect condition, but because it has already been photographed, posted or worn to an occasion, it can begin to feel as though its moment has passed. We are constantly being shown what is next, which makes it difficult to appreciate what we already have.

I kept thinking about the clothes people hold onto for years. Often, it is because they carry a memory, reflect exceptional craftsmanship or feel personal to the wearer.

With ÌGBÀANÌ, I wanted the story behind a garment to matter just as much as the way it looks. I want you to know that somebody wove that textile, somebody carved that wood, somebody sat down and attached those beads.

When you understand what went into something, I think you are more likely to value it differently.

How do you want to change the relationship people have with the clothes they own?

I want buying the garment to be the beginning of the relationship, rather than the most exciting part of it.

Fashion should be exciting. I still want someone to see an ÌGBÀANÌ piece and immediately want to wear it. But I do not want that excitement to disappear once they have bought it.

I want our pieces to become part of people's lives - something they style differently, repeat, travel with, remember occasions in and eventually associate with their own story.

I want people to notice the work in their clothes and understand that they are holding something another person spent time making.

Self-expression is also a huge part of ÌGBÀANÌ. The brand may provide the garment and its story, but once someone owns it, I want them to make it theirs.

Ultimately, I would like the question to shift from, “What can I buy next?” to, “How can I continue enjoying and valuing what I already own?”

Get to Know the Launch

Why did ÌGBÀANÌ’s first chapter need to happen in London?

ÌGBÀANÌ is rooted in African craftsmanship, but London is where that story currently meets my everyday life.

The craftsmanship begins across places like Kano, Ilorin and Lagos, but the ambition has always been global. London is a city where different cultures, identities and creative perspectives exist alongside one another. It is also home to a large African diaspora and remains one of the world’s most important creative and fashion cities.

Launching in London is not about asking the city to validate an African brand. It is about creating a meeting point between the people making the work across Nigeria, the community around us in London and an audience encountering these techniques and stories for the first time.

I want someone from Lagos to recognise something in it, while someone with no connection to Nigeria can appreciate its design, craftsmanship and artistry.

It felt right for the first chapter to begin in a city that reflects both where the brand is rooted and where it is continuing to grow.

Why introduce the brand through an exhibition rather than simply a traditional fashion launch?

A runway asks you to look quickly. An exhibition asks you to stay.

For the first introduction to ÌGBÀANÌ, I wanted people to have time with the work. I do not want people to only see the finished clothes, but the construction, textures, embellishments, materials and processes behind each piece.

An exhibition gives us the opportunity to slow that interaction down. You can look more closely at the weaving, embroidery, shells, beads and hand-carved elements, and understand that one finished piece might represent the work of several different craftspeople across Nigeria.

It also creates space for conversation. People can ask questions, engage with the story and think about the clothes as more than products waiting to be purchased.

That is important to ÌGBÀANÌ because we describe what we create as wearable art.

I want people to experience our clothes in that way first - and then realise that they can actually take that art home and wear it.

We hope to see you at the ÌGBÀANÌ exhibition on the 30th of August at The Factory Project - Sign up here.

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Interview by Tomisin Amsata-Awani, Founder of The Town Crier LDN