IAMISIGO

Founded in 2009 by Nigerian stylist and creative director Bubu Ogisi, IAMISIGO is a fashion label based between Lagos, Nairobi and Accra that is dedicated to preserving traditional garment production techniques in West Africa and incorporating them into a streamlined design aesthetic. The label creates wearable art pieces, all expertly and experimentally crafted within Africa from unconventional materials and heritage textiles. Speaking to Juno about her impetus for starting the brand, Ogisi said, “I’ve always been obsessed with clothes and I am fascinated by discovering different traditions and weaving techniques from African countries… In the beginning, I was planning to become an architect. But then I really got into indigenous fabrics and learned how to communicate with them.”

For each collection, Ogisi—who graduated from the Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Technique de la Mode (ESMOD) in Paris—researches textile techniques from remote communities on different parts of the African continent, and works with them to create her pieces. By conveying these lost processes throughout her works, she aims to share stories and ancient traditions, applying them to modern garments, and in some form, silently protesting Post and Neo-Colonialism through art.

Stocked in multiple countries across the globe, the brand was shortlisted at the International Fashion Showcase at London Fashion Week in 2015, later catching the eye of Naomi Campbell, who wore the brand’s Agbada dress in 2018 during Arise Fashion Week. It’s founder, Ogisi was also named one of Okay Africa’s 100 Women of 2020, tapped for what the publication called her “way of exploring Africa’s various layers and its perception” through clothes.