COLORSxSTUDIOS

This motivation took Ogisi across the African continent as she set about the audacious task of documenting different methods of making, engaging with traditional craftsmen and refashioning what she learnt for contemporary realities. For Ogisi, there was much at stake: as well as contributing to the futureproofing of ancient craft practices, she was also searching for a more sustainable and kinder means of production in one of the world’s most polluting industries. “The  materials I encountered during my journey across Africa are super organic, but nobody wants to use them because they are not ‘on trend’ or modern enough for people with a colonized mindset.”

This environmental concern was a motivating factor behind Ogisi’s SS/2020 collection ‘Supreme Higher Entity’, which featured pieces made from bark cloth. While developing the collection, Ogisi’s internal design brief was informed by a series of open-ended questions. “I wanted to ask: What were we dressing in before? What materials were we using?” she says. “As I traveled more across Africa I started to understand more. Some materials were created out of literally nothing with just a heat or water technique, like bark cloth which you can find in Uganda but also in Cote D’Ivoire.”

Initially it came as a surprise to Ogisi that similar methods and materials could be found in opposing ends of the continent. Now, having researched extensively, she theorizes that this is due to African nations existing without hard borders. Commerce that predated the European colonial project—such as the trans-Saharan trade route—also allowed for different knowledge systems to be shared. Ogisi’s research on weaving techniques also supports this theory. “You can find female weavers in East Africa doing two meters wide of fabric and men in West Africa still sticking with their 7 inches or at least 10-inch-wide looms,” she explains.

While her collections have brought a disruptive energy to notions of African aesthetics, Ogisi’s approach is born out of an expansive approach rather than a desire to produce sell-out collections. “I have always felt like more than just a fashion designer,” she says. “From the beginning, my dream was to be an artist. My mode of expression just happens to be my body and the things that I wear.” Ogisi’s work directly intersected with the art world in her recent exhibition ‘Here there and Everywhere’ at Leeds Tetley Gallery.

During her AW/18 collection, ‘Who, what, where’, Ogisi considered: “what if what I am creating right now is sort of a cult or a religion? Am I designing pieces for my congregation?” she says laughing. While Ogisi doesn’t actively seek devotees per se, her brand has birthed a community and an interdisciplinary movement closely aligned to it. Her studio has become “a safe space for creatives,” the aforementioned tri-coloured area beyond it “a clandestine space called Hidden Bar. You wouldn’t know about it if you weren’t part of the IAMSIGO family.” The studio often plays host to impromptu nights where underground artists, designers, musicians come together alongside global superstars at Ogisi’s invitation. “We’ve had so many people come through our doors. We’ve had Gabriel from Berlin, DJ Fui from Ghana, and Bamba from Amsterdam,” she says. “We’ve also welcomed musicians including MI, Falana, and Asa, so the space has really fulfilled its purpose.”

Like many pioneers, Ogisi does not view her work as a legacy building exercise, but rather as an enabler for those seeking to champion variance. She winces when I suggest she is the quintessential cool girl, emphasizing that she’s much more interested in liberating people from colonized sensibilities than establishing her own image. “From the start I always told people there’s the brand, there’s the work, and there’s the world that exists between all of this. My work is to free up people’s minds.” As an African creative and cultural interlocutor, Ogisi is in a class of her own. Whether one chooses to wear her pieces or collect them as artworks, their value is destined to rise.