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London Fashion Week is renowned for uncovering and spotlighting new design talent. Cue Tolu Coker, a 27-year-old British-Nigerian, who makes her fashion week debut on 18 September backed by the British Fashion Council’s (BFC) NewGen programme.
Coker launched her eponymous label in 2018 after graduating from Central Saint Martins with a degree in fashion design and textile print. She’s bringing a taste of Yoruba culture — one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria — to the Old Selfridges Hotel, the location for the BFC’s NewGen space.
The London Fashion Week spotlight is very much on NewGen, this season in its 30th year. The talent programme has uncovered some of the industry’s buzziest names including Grace Wales Bonner, Jonathan Anderson, Martine Rose and Simone Rocha. To mark the anniversary, a celebratory exhibition, Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion, curated by Vogue’s chief critic Sarah Mower, is being staged by London’s Design Museum (until 11 February).
NewGen is also receiving extra support from the UK government, with a new grant of £2 million in funding announced last week. “NewGen is an essential R&D programme for the global industry and central to the BFC strategy to celebrate British fashion on the world stage,” said BFC chief executive Caroline Rush.
The NewGen programme has been a game changer, says newcomer Coker. “As a young brand, the costs of fashion and operating as a brand and surviving are really really difficult, especially in this climate,” she says. “It’s the visibility that you have. There are so many different communities I want to spotlight with my work and I think it isn't really held in spaces with maximum visibility. Having a platform as big as this… is really powerful.”
The title of Coker’s latest collection ‘Irapada’ means ‘redemption’ in Yoruba. The collection marries two cultures together, “infusing elements of Western ‘Sunday best’ with traditional Yoruba spirituality”, as Coker explains. Key pieces include denim jacquards, gowns inspired by Nigeria’s Aladura churches and Sunday best-inspired hats featuring traditional Yoruba prints.
Blending traditional cultural references with contemporary design energy is what Coker does best. The designer, who has specialist expertise in denim development, is creating denim jacquards that feature cultural references, motifs and patterns inspired by traditional fabric. A photograph of her grandmother in her traditional Nigerian attire and traditional cloth has been translated onto denim jacquard trousers. “It’s about exploring the way those of us who are across the diaspora might dress or express our sense of style,” she says. “That might not look exactly the same as those who came before us, but the way in which we have preserved those elements of culture through our clothes.”
A global surge in interest in African cultural energy, including music, fashion and beauty, is opening up opportunities for brands that lean into the culture. “With the emergence of music, and Afrobeat and Amapiano, it’s interesting to see how language and spirituality is being infused back into the culture on a very, very global scale,” says Coker. “We call it culture but a big part of it is the preservation of spirituality and this collection is looking at that.”
Coker is already building up a celebrity fanbase including Rihanna and British actor Thandiwe Newton. This year, Coker joined Net-a-Porter’s Vanguard scheme (the e-tailer is currently her exclusive stockist). Prices range from £270 for a polo shirt to £960 for a double-breasted cotton-blend twill blazer. “This is where I envision the brand sitting — a Black African-owned brand sitting in the luxury heritage space is really powerful.” Coker declined to share annual sales, but says the brand has topped £100,000 in overall sales to date.
Mentors have been a valuable source of support. A key mentor is Felita Harris, founding member and executive director of Raisefashion, a non-profit organisation that supports BIPOC brands and individuals in the fashion industry. “These [BIPOC] brands operate with minimal resources hindering their ability to adequately staff and expand their businesses,” says Harris. “Advisory support is just as critical as funding.”
“She is creating a trend, not following one,” says Harry Fisher, founder and director of Htown, a London multi-brand retailer and agency that works with emerging designers in the UK including Martine Rose, Ahluwalia and Saul Nash. “Tolu Coker brings something new and unique to the industry. Her dedication to craftsmanship, and story-telling through real-life experiences really attracted me to the brand and her personally.”
Coker is learning fast. “When you’re a young designer, you’re wearing all the hats in your business. Just being able to speak to people who have done this before, they’re seasoned in it and give insight into things that you’re not really aware of — that is a real changer,” she says. “It really allows you to focus on the creativity and story you want to tell.”
A sustainable debut
Coker believes in continuity in her design message. Silhouettes and garments that have featured in previous collections will make a reappearance in her LFW show. “You’ll see things that have featured in previous collections because it’s also a continuation of a story from before,” she says. “The messaging is really about building on our existing wardrobe, it’s about finding new ways of reimagining what you already have.” The clothes are made locally in London and in three factories across the UK.
As with previous collections, Coker also works with waste and deadstock material. Around 90 per cent of the fabric is deadstock, she says. Sophie Hallette, the industry’s go-to lace producer, is a sponsor and sends her old and damaged bits of lace that are upcycled, dyed and reworked. “A lot of the time I don’t know what I’m getting but they will send me odd bits of lace, damaged bits of lace and we just give it a new light,” says Coker. “We dye it, cut it and assemble it in a new way to create something new.” The remaining 10 per cent of the collection is made up of pre- and post-consumer waste.
Coker secures deadstock from multiple brands and suppliers. She’s leaning on relationships formed during her time at Central Saint Martins, where she benefitted from work experience placements at fashion houses. “I used to see how much stuff went to waste. At the time, as a student, I thought I could probably use this scrap in my collections,” she says. “I just continued the relationships. It’s like ‘what have you got for me this season?’... I think they also love seeing applications of how their product and waste can be used.”
This article was updated to include comments from Htown founder Harry Fisher (18/09/23).
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