Social Media Week Lagos

Founded in 2011 by Rukky Ladoja and Obida Obioha, Grey’s thematic collections revolve around the concept of simultaneously globalising and localising African culture using contemporary fashion as a medium.  Taking ideas or stories rooted in the traditions of Ladoja’s culture and making them globally relatable.
 
Our priority is to explore ways to make culturally inspired fashion approachable while providing feminine style options for women who are looking to incorporate beautiful fragments of African society directly into their cosmopolitan wardrobe. Previous seasons have seen collections based on basket weaving and traditional royal accessories local to western African cultures and identities; breaking the norms and ideas behind these traditions into bold woven and screen prints while keeping the shapes contemporary and functional.
 
Over the years, as well as presenting at the prestigious Lagos fashion and design week annually, Grey has had successful presentations at the international fashion showcase at London fashion week. It has also focused its marketing and sales strategies towards trade shows such as the WWD Women’s Magic trade show in Las Vegas. Rukky Ladoja has won local awards for her contemporary designs and for being a pioneer in the Nigerian ready to wear fashion industry including the British council Young creative entrepreneuraward in 2013.
 
In this panel session we explore how design helps to construct and inform our identity and perception, including the following:

• Using clothing as communication:communicating gender, social identity and consumer culture.
• Are you what you wear? Dissecting the identity of the fashion label vis a vis the identity of the label’s target customer.
• The evolution of a brand’s aesthetic,including the impact of appealing to an international market on your brand’s aesthetic and design.
• How creative elements in the visual identities of brands affects consumer perception (luxury v high street /affordable)