Berlin winter can (and does) feel grayer than gray and so the rush of color that the Nigerian designer Adebayo Okelawal delivered on Saturday night with his Orange Culture show felt like a very welcome temporary immersion in sunshine and joy.
Both this and Okelawal’s previous collection—which was rendered in all-white, atypically for the brand—paid tribute to his mother, who he lost to cancer in 2024. “Last season it was me grieving through a collection, while this season was more of a joyful take, reflecting on our relationship,” he said after the show, the second one he put on in Berlin.
Naming the collection “Backyards of Memory,” he transported himself back to where many of his warmest and most vivid childhood memories are located: the space behind his family house. “In Nigeria, the backyard carries its own language. It is where you learn freedom before you understand responsibility. Where siblings bond, neighbors drift in and out, and joy exists even in simplicity,” Okelawal explained. His memories of drying laundry in the sun, of flowers, of a certain softness and shades of yellow, orange, red, and green were translated into bright tonal combinations; delicate shirts, dresses; and skirts in fluid silhouettes; and strong sculptural and tailoring elements, another nod to his mother, who worked as a judge. There was a silk top with a childlike painting of Okelawal and his mother’s faces; elsewhere he used sequins, fringes, and tassels for decoration.
At the heart, the collection was a celebration of collaboration. All of Orange Culture’s pieces are made in Nigeria from locally sourced fabrics and for this season, Okelawal worked with a roster of local artisans. Prints were developed together with the Nigerian multidisciplinary artist Paolo Sisiano; the handbags were inspired by the West African percussion instrument Shekere and created in collaboration with Kisara; men’s footwear was made with Moni Morgan and women’s sandals with Kkerele; and belts were a joint project with King Daviid, all of them Lagos-based brands. “I want to use my platform to uplift others,” Okelawal said. He surely did, both his collaborators and audience.
