Lagos Fashion and Design Week: Lanre da Silva Ajayi

Apart from the daily runway shows at Lagos Fashion and Design Week, a great number of not-so-side attractions are on full display, from dresses lining the red carpet, to exhibitionists displaying and selling everything from python and aso-oke clutches to Anita Quansah's incredible statement necklaces. Here are Grace Osime and Lanre da Silva Ajayi (LDA) by LDA's presentation on Thursday.

- SLiq

Photos: Tunde Adedeji (Unleash Media) for Shop Liquorice. Tunde is a great friend of ours at Shop Liquorice. If you require the services of an amazing professional photographer who goes above the call of duty, feel free to contact us - shopliquorice (at) gmail (dot) com.

First Look: Lanre da Silva Ajayi S/S 2012 Lookbook

Fresh off an appearance at Arise Magazine's Made in Africa Collective in New York, Lanre da Silva Ajayi presents a closer look at their offerings for Spring/Summer 2012, featuring America's Next Top Model alum, Aminat Ayinde. A thrilling melange of lace and layers and brights set the stage for a summer worth looking forward to.

NYFW Spring 2012 - Lanre da Silva-Ajayi Made in Africa Runway Review

Total looks: 16

Lanre da Silva-Ajayi's pieces always seem to have an effortless innate, elegance about them, and for her showing at Arise, LDA stepped boldly into that core, using luxurious lace as a base, an embellishment, and as colorful layers invoking the sense of an alluring, wild bloom and delicate flapping butterflies. Strong, bold colours were combined with mastery,  enhancing - not drowning - clean lines and silhouettes. 

A visual treat ensued, as a pink lace skirt was highlighted by yellow undertones and paired with a satin blouse spruced with an embellished white lace bib, alongside a see-through neon green lace blouse, and layered purple lace shorts. For all the deft use colour, black seemed to lurk and eventually infiltrate, showing up as a belt, hem, and then a full-blown blouse. A light powder pink was combined with white and covered in petals and stones, giving the illusion of a creeping bloom contained and turned into a lampshade in one look and a strong bouquet shoulder in another. This was very LDA - art, class, construction (not unlike Italian architecture she used as a reference point this season), and we wished she stayed in this moment a little longer.

Who Wore What: Hafsat Abiola-Costello in Lanre da Silva Ajayi

Taking a short break from our NYFW coverage to bring you the latest cover of Nigeria-based TW Magazine.

This issue sees Hafsat Abiola-Costello (daughter of late Chief MKO Abiola and late Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, and founder of KIND Nigeria) in a silk floral floor length dress adapted from Lanre da Silva Ajayi's Modern Age collection, as first seen at Arise Magazine Fashion Week, Lagos.

Dramatic voluminous sleeves consisting of petals and string adorn an already stunning bodice embellished with swarovski crystals.

We wish more had been done with Hafsat's hair, and accessories had taken another direction entirely, but all in all, another good cover (albeit rather cluttered, unlike previous editions) from TW Magazine.

- SLiq

Revamped and Reloaded: Lanre Da Silva Ajayi Online

Every other week, there's a website re-launch or a new e-commerce venture in global fashion news. Closer to home, they are few and far between but nonetheless becoming more common as the need for a fresh creative direction or a more functional portal becomes apparent. 

Lagos-based label Lanre Da Silva-Ajayi recently revamped their online image with more media. The overall design is clean (perhaps a little too clean for a brand that's anything but ordinary), but the site is packed with crisp, high quality backstage images, videos, and a closer look at past collections.

There's much to see in this virtual extended look book of sorts, so head on down and get your eyeful of a contemporary take on womanhood and the Victorian era by one of Africa's most exciting labels and one of our firm favourites at Shop Liquorice.

Visit: lanredasilvaajayi.com

- SLiq

look here: lanre da silva-ajayi

who: designer lanre da silva-ajayi

where: wedding ceremony of alima oyofo and abdumalik muazi

why: LDA rocks the heck out of what we imagine to be her own creation, featuring the most stunning lace fabric and sequin detailing contrasted with the most gorgeous fuschia shoulder pads (genius!). way to tackle several trends in the most understated, elegant way. her brooches infuse her signature victorian era air and act as the perfect punctuation to this blog-worthy look. a very well-deserved 10/10.

xo

source

couture fashion week 2009 photos: zizi cardow, hallero, house of jola, lanre da silva-ajayi

[model wearing a hallero dress, N38,000 approx]

a while ago, we blogged about looking forward to couture fashion week and later updated you with a few photos of some of our favorite pieces (see here and here). we're very excited to direct you to a site where you can view photos from each designer. click each link to continue:

hallero

house of jola

zizi cardow

lanre da silva-ajayi

xo

fyi: elan oct 11

we're super, SUPER excited that pieces from lanre da silva-ajayi's couture fashion week collection are featured in this week's elan...especially since we only just blogged about it yesterday. we're secretly convinced this is a sign we're supposed to acquire the dress above by hook or crook...hopefully it's not sufficiently out of budget to induce a conniption.

this is easily one of the most exciting elan spreads we've seen in recent times. bravo, elan. this is what we're talking about.

o o o

we also spotted this rather insane Hallero piece that we kinda sorta need to have. strapless cocktail dresses have always made us weak in the knees.

sigh. where's money when you need it, eh? 

see the entire spread here ("GALLERY Elan October 11").

o o o

oh, one last thing, designer zizi cardow's also featured in this week's elan, as is lanre da silva-ajayi's hair and beauty routine.

more here and here.

happy reading :-)

xo

wearing africa/who wore what: NY couture fashion week

what's almost as exciting as a fashion show? seeing what attendees wore to shows and after parties. we love, love, LOVE Jo and Ozzy's (of 4acesdate) lanre da silva-ajayi's pieces. Jo (left) wore an embroidered metallic dress straight off the runway...

...while Oz (right) wore a fitted LDA jacket. both ladies hit all the right style notes. nous adorons!

xo

spotlight: LDA @ NY couture fashion week

LDA's pieces are the stuff our dreams are made of. the dresses she showed @ New York Couture Fashion Week had her usual victorian edge and were expertly executed in metallic brocade with lace and velvet trimmings, as well as the most luxurious embroidery and embellishments. this is Lanre da Silva-Ajayi at her finest:

xo

photos courtesy of ladybrille via Andre Aquinoh/Couture Fashion Week

looking forward: arise promise of africa collective & couture fashion week

THIS FRIDAY:

see our previous post on the arise promise of africa collective/the african promise collective here. we're also expecting to see designs from jewel by lisa. stay tuned :-)

THIS SUNDAY:



we're also looking forward to seeing spring 2010 collections from lanre da silva-ajayi, frank osodi, house of jola, and zizi cardow @ couture fashion week in NY.

more info here.

xo

ARISE AFRICA FASHION WEEK PHOTO UPDATES: LANRE DA SILVA-AJAYI and TIFFANY AMBER

[a model wearing LDA @ africa fashion week 2009)

we've added a few more photos from lanre da silva-ajayi and tiffany amber's collections. see them here!



[a model wearing tiffany amber  [*edit* jan 25, 2010 - the model's actually wearing a piece by THULA SINDI] at arise africa fashion week 2009)

xo

ARISE AFRICA FASHION WEEK: DAY 3 - - LANRE DA SILVA-AJAYI (NIGERIA)

the always thrilling lanre da silva-ajayi (LDA) put on a showstopper at Arise Africa Fashion Week consisting almost exclusively of a delectable array of dresses. LDA's victorian and "throwback" sensibilities seeped through her choice of tartan and lace, while her choice of flowers as embroidery added an endearing touch of spring. with her expert hand, gorgeous details (ruching, gathering, layering), and her generous use of shimmer and metallics, Lanre Da Silva-Ajayi is set to remain a strong contender for Africa's top talent.

see the collection via our flickr page here.

xo

photos:

simon deiner/SDR photo

ARISE AFRICA FASHION WEEK: the countdown - - eyola designs (UK/nigeria)

[ from EYOLA's "acrifa octette" collection]

we're pretty familiar with many names out-of-africa but, much to our regret, we hadn't heard of eyola designs until this morning. founded by the UK-based ayole adede, EYOLA (a play on her first name, ayole) strikes us as a celebration of all things sharp, chic, and wearable...but with an air of delicious unpredictability in tow. she speaks of being influenced by the victorian era (like fellow nigerian designer, lanre da silva-ajayi) and of being inspired by africa in an unconventional way:

"...designs from Acrifa Octette mirrors the riches of mother Africa- a continent full of rich resources. The focus on the choice of fabrics and the detailed shapes and cuts take inspiration from Africa looking at the continent from a different angle. Instead of the typical African inspirations designers employ in their collections from traditional prints and textiles, Eyola’s Acrifa Octette adopts a different approach. The choice of colours celebrate the African culture married with the Victorian flavor both of which coexist very well..."

here are some pieces from her "africa octette" collection:





here are some pieces from her other collections:







[see more here]

from what we've seen, we can continue to expect incredibly striking, expertly-executed pieces. the influence of couture is apparent but this is the kind of couture that doesn't make one wonder: "who wears this stuff, why, and where to?".

we're MAJORLY excited to see her work at Arise Africa Fashion Week and we know you probably are too after reading this!

stay tuned for more exciting posts throughout the day :-)

xo