September 28, 2021 |
There was a profound sense of optimism in the air at Kenneth Ize’s show yesterday evening. The official opener to the back-to-life Paris Fashion Week, and the first physical catwalk Ize has staged since making his debut on the eve of the pandemic in February 2020, the Nigerian designer looked to better days ahead.
Ize – who earlier this year made it to the Woolmark Prize finals and became the first designer to make a collection for Karl Lagerfeld’s eponymous label since his passing – is known for his traditional asoke fabrics, which are handwoven in the factory he has built in Ilorin, Nigerac. This season, the attractive stripes came in an abundance of poppy hues: a parade of aqua blues, pinks, greens and oranges which dressed wraparound skirts, roomy knits and sloped-shouldered tailoring.
The collection was spun from the desire to dress up and get out into the world again, with gold fringe accents, tiger print frocks and dancefloor-ready pantsuits ushering in a new dawn for Kenneth Ize’s fledgling label. You can’t help but be giddy about where this designer is headed next.
Photography courtesy of Kenneth Ize.
