The GTBank fashion weekend began on Saturday, 10th of November. Opening the show wiith a bang was Nigerian womenswear designer, Ituen Basi. On the catwalk was a great performance by a troupe of female dancers clad in white fringed regalia as Fela Afro beat blasted and filled the hall. We were entertained, among the pleased audience was Dapper Dan who sat at the front row with his phone in the air recording the performance as seen in the picture below.
The collection, “27” was inspired by Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s 27 wives. Using bold colours for her Spring Summer 19 collection, Ituen Basi served us with radicalism and art. If you know anything about Fela’s music he was an activist, the voice of the people, singing about our struggles, the political issues. That’s what Ituen Basi did with this collection. She wanted to remind people about the essence and importance of choice, and how it affects our personal lives, our communities and the nation at large.
Models wore t-shirts with the words “Jaga jaga” “Scatter Scatter” and “Not For Sale” printed, to speak about the issues in Nigeria. Everything is so disconnected and chaotic. Our government is a mess. You may think the bonnet worn by the models were random but those are sleeping nets to fit the stay woke movement. Open your eyes to the issues at hand. This entire collection was brillant.
Photo Credit: Femi Alabede
