Hey Creatives,
Have you heard about our new platform for inspiring community members within our community?
This weekend, The Assembly will be hosting its second edition of the ‘How I Got Started’ series with amazingly talented and successful co-hosts; Adebayo Oke-Lawal and Selly Raby Kane. Our co-hosts will be in ‘Fashversation’ about their creative journey, major milestones, their pain points and opportunities.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, they will also be sharing how the current situation might be affecting their brand and how they’ve chosen to handle it.
The Event
The purpose of this event is to inspire and empower startups in the fashion industry with insights into the process, wins and hits exceptional brand owners experienced and currently experience in starting up and running a successful fashion brand.
Meet the Anchors
ADEBAYO OKE-LAWAL, CEO / CREATIVE DIRECTOR ORANGE CULTURE Adebayo Oke-Lawal has been designing since the age of 10. He started Orange Culture in 2011, after having worked with several Nigerian designers to turn his unique vision of fashion into reality. Since starting the label and an official runway debut at Lagos Fashion & Design Week 2011, he’s been hard at work trying to showcase Orange Culture to the world.
The label is more than a clothing line, Adebayo insists. It is a “movement” that covers universal silhouettes with an African touch to a creative class of men, translating into a heady mixture of Nigerian inspired print fabrics, colour, and contemporary urban streetwear. This does not, however, mean that Orange Culture forgets women who have taken over the brand, giving an androgynous twist to Adebayo’s designs. All pieces are manufactured in Lagos, from ethically-sourced fabrics and from local Nigerian fabric makers.
Asides from fashion design, Creative Director Adebayo Oke-Lawal also worked for three years as the fashion editor for WOW! magazine, and. has styled numerous celebrities such as Kate Henshaw, Rita Dominic, Munachi, Lala Akindoju and Ice Prince. He has done editorial work for magazines like Vogue Italia, Nataal, WOW and many more.
Orange Culture has created a new niche for menswear in Nigeria and has undeniably opened doors for brave and more creative menswear brands. The brand has achieved international recognition and has been featured in prestigious publications such as Vogue (US, UK, ITALY), WWD, BoF, Fucking Young, L’Uomo Vogue, Huffington Post, New York Times, CNN, BET, MTV, Vanity Fair, ELLE, Marie Claire, L’Officiel, Style.com, The Guardian and The New York Times.
Orange Culture is a regular participant of Lagos Fashion & Design Week (LFDW) and has been shortlisted for huge design platforms like the LVMH Prize 2014 for Young Fashion Designers, where he was picked alongside 29 of the hugest emerging designers from all over the world out of 1221. Adebayo Oke-Lawal was invited to come to Paris to present his work to the jury made up of eminent people from the fashion industry, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs, Riccardo Tisci, and Delphine Arnault.
Being one of the first Nigerian brands to begin collaboration within the industry, Orange Culture has inspired many to follow. The label collaborated with numerous brands such as Huawei, Dennis Osadebe, Rokus London, Maxivive and many more. Adebayo Oke-Lawal’s most notable partnership is with globally recognized Nigerian artist Davido, where he designed a limited edition collection sold exclusively at major store Selfridges.
In 2019, Orange Culture debuted a successful spring summer 2020 collection during New York Fashion Week. The brand is currently stocked in Lagos, Paris, London, New York, Atlanta, Hollywood and Kenya and has plans to stock in many more stores.
Adebayo Oke-Lawal is very concerned with the youth and launched a CSR project called “Painting your Dreams”, where he inspires young people through the art to believe in themselves and this led to him being listed in Forbes 30 under 30 for the creative industry in Africa. He also teaches and most recently held a skill acquisition class for budding fashion designers supported by Fets Wallet.
SELLY RABY KANE, FOUNDER / ART DIRECTOR SELLY RABY KANE Selly Raby Kane is a Senegalese fashion designer whose eponymous clothing line was created in 2008. She has a degree in management and business administration and a masters in product management for textile and clothing from L’Institut Supérieur Spécialisé de la Mode in Paris.
SRK designs embody a mix of urban, Afro and pop. While offering contemporary clothing to the international fashion forward person, Selly Raby Kane’s signature is a mixture of modern and trendy, while partnering traditional and contemporary fabrics.
The brand expresses the spirit of a new generation: assertive, rebellious, free spirited and sophisticated. The designs embody the ultimate blend of a strong urban color pallet with worldly details. It is a mix of influences and trends for a unique and uninhibited style with attention to detail and a passion for accessories.
Selly Raby Kane, alongside 9 other African designers in fashion, sculpture, architecture and furniture design created a collection of homeware products inspired by cross African rituals for IKEA called ÖVERALLT in 2019.
She was selected as a Time magazine 2019 Next Generational Leader. Her SS20 collection debuted at the Lagos Fashion Week 2019. The brand is currently stocked in Senegal, Europe, US and Nigeria.
Who is this event for?
Fashion and creative entrepreneurs who are interested in getting tips on running a local brand that is globally recognised.
Emerging fashion designers looking to translate their unique perspective into fashion products.
What to Expect
Gist and ideas that can transform your business.
Platform: INSTAGRAM LIVE
Date: Friday 15th of May, 2020
Time: 6pm (GMT) | 7pm (WAT)