Adebayo Oke-Lawal
Chief Executive & Creative Director, Orange Culture
The Nigerian designer behind Orange Culture is at the vanguard of a movement challenging gendered fashion and blending traditional aesthetics with universal streetwear silhouettes.
Adebayo Oke-Lawal is the founder, creative director and chief executive of Orange Culture, a brand that challenges traditional notions of gendered fashion. By blending Nigerian and other African references with universal streetwear silhouettes in unexpected fabric choices, he produces menswear and womenswear collections which blur the boundaries across both culture and gender. In particular, Oke-Lawal’s work interrogates the cues that masculine dress broadcasts to society. He was first catapulted onto the international stage in 2014 when the brand was selected as a semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize. After attracting the attention of leading fashion editors and stylists, he secured prominent stockists including Browns, Farfetch, Temple Muse, The Folklore and Merchants on Long. The label collaborated has with numerous brands such as Budweiser, Nosakhari London, Dennis Osadebe, Rokus London and Nigerian artist Davido, where he designed a limited-edition collection sold exclusively at major store Selfridges.
Oke-Lawal has established grants, mentorship programmes and education initiatives including The Orange Mentorship as a means to provide other aspiring fashion entrepreneurs with the information and access he wished he had at the start of his career. Oke-Lawal has a Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of Lagos and a Master of Science in international business from Northumbria University.
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The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.
