KENYAN BRAND KIKOROMEO DEBUTS LATEST ILLE COLLECTION AT LAGOS FASHION WEEK

Kenyan brand KikoRomeo debuted its latest ILLE collection at Heineken Lagos Fashion Week on October 28, 2022 to a star studded audience in Victoria Island, Nigeria. The cream of Nigerian models walked the runway as all eyes looked to Lagos for the latest in outstanding African design.

Now led by Iona McCreath, the heritage brand showed outstanding innovation in its textiles and silhouettes as the 26 year old Iona, married traditional dyeing and weaving techniques with new textures, patterns and silhouettes. 

The collection for men and women featured easy to wear fluid pieces with space for movement around the body. Sharp “V” necklines, were contrasted by asymmetric hems, parallel pants and deep pleats. Flowing jumpsuits and dresses in regenerated orange peel and rose petal textiles contrasted with boxy cuts of handwoven cotton.

Patterns were rich with linear stripes of brightly-colored beads, blurry stripes of hand dyes and soft geometric diamonds in blues, oranges and browns. These were combined with undyed natural yarn and napa leather. As always the brand paid close attention to detail with finely crafted coconut shell buttons and laser-cut cowhorn buttons, both upcycled by-products of the food industry.

Speaking about the collection, Head designer and Creative Director Iona McCreath said “With inspiration stemming from the Rendille and Samburu and the processes of hybridisation and evolution that they have faced in relation to each other. The body as a form of adornment is another theme that this collection explores.

Primarily from the perspective of Nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who move around constantly. Thus, through processes of permanence (through scarring, piercings etc) and impermanence, (through body painting and jewelry) the body becomes a way to convey cultural processes and tell stories. Within this collection, these themes are explored through the individual textiles and their pairings.”

The ILLE textile was created to encapsulate the wealth of Kenyan beadwork and embody it within a textile. The glass beads are combined with rainfed cotton, and then woven into the textile, reflecting the semi-permanence of bodily adornment.