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Fresh off a collaboration with Victoria’s Secret in September, Nigerian designer Bubu Ogisi will unveil the Spring/Summer 2024 collection from her luxury womenswear label Iamisigo on Sunday during Lagos Fashion Week.
This year marks an important milestone for Ogisi, who launched Iamisigo in 2013 after graduating from the Ecole Superieure des Art et Technique de la Mode in Paris, where she studied fashion business. “It’s been 10 years since I started working in fashion and showing at Lagos Fashion Week. This year it’s about fully projecting our core values… exploring those ideas or ideologies related to not only my culture but Africa as a whole,” says Ogisi.
Iamisigo, known for its storytelling and experimental or magical imagery, seeks to spotlight the different crafting techniques and materials used across Africa by working with local artisans across the continent including Uganda, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya. The brand has built a cult following and has been worn by the likes of model Naomi Campbell and Nollywood actress Ini Dima-Okojie.
Ogisi only creates five pieces per item in a bid to challenge and move away from the trend of mass production. Retail prices for previous collections range from $341 for a jumpsuit to $998 for a mesh poncho. Ogisi declined to share annual sales but says the brand has topped six figures in overall sales. “It hasn’t been an easy journey,” says Ogisi.
Still, the brand is gaining recognition internationally. Ten years in, Iamisigo is available in seven countries, including France, India and the US, with approximately 70 per cent of sales coming from wholesale and 30 per cent direct-to-consumer. In September, she was one of four designers to create a one-off collection for Victoria’s Secret’s film, The Victoria's Secret World Tour. The film featured a total of 20 creatives from four cities, including Bogotá, Lagos, Tokyo, and London. Though these pieces were not sold to the public, they were featured in the brand’s runway show and helped bring new awareness to Iamisigo.
Ogisi describes the collaboration as an “immune booster”. It was an opportunity to experiment outside of her comfort zone and in a way that aligned with her business ideals: creating rare pieces that adhere to her “wearable art” aesthetic. Her gold, hand-cut brass dress was worn by Campbell.
What is wearable art? “These are pieces that have taken a lot of time and a lot of hands. The act of taking time to create something, whether it can be one or not, is something that is very, very different from couture,” Ogisi says. “Some of our pieces are too heavy; some of our pieces are too long to walk; some of our pieces are too heavy you can’t even sit down.”
Ogisi’s slow fashion approach evolved from her roots. Africa’s fashion economy is growing, with cultural and creative industries becoming a key target for governmental organisations on the continent. The garment and footwear market in sub-Saharan Africa is worth approximately $31 billion, according to Euromonitor International, with South Africa being the biggest luxury market, worth $133 million. However, the region is yet to unlock its full potential due to a number of barriers, including persistent lack of investment, limited educational and training systems, and difficulties in accessing new markets.
In response, designers on the continent, such as Ogisi, Adeju Thompson or Lukhanyo Mdingi, are taking their own approach to fashion by producing collections outside of the traditional seasons as well as producing smaller collections with longer lead times. It falls in line with a shift in consumer behaviour globally as interest in sustainability grows — from materials to the treatment of workers in the supply chain. New designers are emerging across the continent with a focus on responsible fashion, thanks in part to incubators such as Lagos Fashion Week’s Green Access initiative, which encourages the next generation of young designers to build sustainable businesses.
Iamisigo’s DTC business is mostly made up of customers seeking bespoke and custom pieces; ready-to-wear customers prefer to shop from partners, including multi-brand retailer Industrie Africa, which Ogisi describes as “the Net-a-Porter of Africa”. “[It’s] among the top-searched brands our customers seek when visiting Industrie Africa,” says Nisha Kanabar, founder and CEO of shopping platform Industrie Africa noting that best-performing categories include jumpsuits and dresses. “The product versatility is something that we see continually resonate with our customers based on their purchases from the brand.” Customers are purchasing Iamisigo from Asia, Europe, the UK and the US, as well as Africa, Kanabar adds.
Pieces range from ready-to-wear items such as shirts and trousers to intricately designed pieces that are better suited to museums: a yellow raffia and cotton jacket and dress from her AW20 collection was loaned to London’s Victoria & Albert Museum as part of its Africa Fashion exhibition last year.
Ogisi’s slow approach to business is winning over consumers on the continent. “Scaling up and encouraging her clients to consume more has never been the guiding principle for Bubu,” says Mazzi Odu, Nigerian-based writer, editor and founder of online platform Magnus Oculus. She notes consumers are drawn to her business for a multitude of reasons. “Clothes are art, acts of resistance and a place of rebirth. In a world driven by algorithmic conformity, she makes pieces for those who dare to be different and who also want to patronise a brand that has sustainability and community as its beating heart,” she adds.
Adapting a European fashion education
Attending fashion school in Paris allowed Ogisi to gain an understanding of how international giants have created successful businesses and apply those learnings to her own, she says.
A lot of what she was taught was not appropriate to her environment, or how she intended to build a business in Africa, she says. “For me, it was about ‘how can I transcend these strategies or change it so that it works in my environment’. We were taught that in trying to penetrate the market, you’re trying to create huge volumes, and that was something I really hated. So, I decided to go the other route, which is to skim the market.”
Iamisigo’s pieces can take anywhere between nine to 12 months to create and are priced according to how much work and ‘hands’ have gone into the production of the garment. “Anything that has to evolve properly has to be done slowly. We don’t have to rush in order to compete with the West. It’s more about being mindful and understanding your environment. Whenever you want something done fast, that’s when you lose track of what could be or what is sustainable,” says Ogisi.
Understanding the business of fashion is where Ogisi felt fashion school could help her succeed. “By understanding how the business works, I was able to figure out how to strategise myself around that but from an African perspective,” she says. “The concept of communication and marketing was totally different in Africa… how do I communicate my brand without having to pay a PR company ridiculous amounts?”
There is an abundance of raw materials, fabrics and culture in Africa that consumers on and off the continent are not familiar with. One of Ogisi’s key goals was to evolve the use of traditional fabrics and materials, such as raffia and cotton, as well as encourage innovation among her artisans.
The preservation of ancient techniques, as well as the ability to modernise, is a unique differentiator of Africa's fashion market, says Ogisi. Her pieces often merge traditional with contemporary: for example, Iamisigo’s two-tone tailored shirt features fringe detailing, which is hand-woven by artisans using cotton threads. “It’s a ritual practice that will consistently live on, but in order for us to preserve these practices, we also have to evolve with new materials, new ideas,” she says.
“Don’t be afraid to make a mistake” is something Ogisi often tells the artisans she works with across the continent. Mistakes are part of the process, especially when attempting to evolve traditional crafting or sewing techniques by introducing a new design concept.
Ogisi’s ability to challenge Eurocentric standards towards fashion makes her stand out, says Industrie Africa’s Kanabar. “The label’s simple, often raw silhouettes are fresh and rebellious, and its inimitable spirit drew me to the brand and its founder. I’ve always been in awe of Ogisi’s curiosity — each season, she immerses herself in a new study of artisanship from a different part of the continent, revitalising and deconstructing them to create new codes of contemporary design for Iamisigo.” Ogisi remains tight-lipped about what will be unveiled during Sunday’s showcase, saying only: “You can expect a story.”
After evolving the conversation around African fashion and showcasing the nuances, craftsmanship and innovation taking place across the continent, Ogisi hopes to do the same in the art space. “Now that we’ve transcended and a lot of people understand us as a ‘wearable art’ brand; the galleries and museums understand that too,” she adds. “They’re commissioning us to create one-off pieces or one-off collections. It’s about consistently evolving this strategy and channelling that into new spaces that can also show the world — through museums and galleries abroad — that can exhibit this so that people understand what and why I’m creating this way.”
Key takeaway: Bubu Ogisi is taking a different approach to creating a fashion brand, with intricate, handmade pieces designed and produced in small batches. The target customer is one who appreciates “wearable art” and a luxury collectable made to last. Ogisi, who will debut her next collection at Lagos Fashion Week this Sunday, is part of a growing cohort of African designers spotlighting the continent’s rich ecosystem and its skill and creativity.
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