Crushing On
Building Bridges with Buki Akomolafe
DADDY’s Janice Faith visits Berlin-based fashion designer Buki Akomolafe to talk about starting a clothing label, creating sustainable fashion, and blending cultures in the process
Written by Janice Faith
Photos by Leonor von Salisch
It’s another rainy, monochrome day in Berlin as I make my way to the BUKI AKOMOLAFE studio. When Buki opens the door with a bright smile, I leave behind the clouds and greys, and enter a world of blues, yellows and oranges. My gaze wanders over the beautiful garments on display, the sewing machine below a pinboard full of photographs and fabric samples, and a large table full of quilted fabric scraps from previous collections. Buki is currently creating unique tote bags for a collaboration with the platform Future Female Africa, which invites female leaders from all fields to join and grow a collaborative circle across African countries and the diaspora.
Influenced by her German and Nigerian heritage, Buki started her journey by studying fashion design at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin (HTW Berlin). After two years of research and several projects as a high school teacher, she founded her eponymous label BUKI AKOMOLAFE in 2016.
BUKI AKOMOLAFE’s mission is to build bridges between two worlds - Nigeria and Germany - to facilitate a fair exchange between contrasting microcosms, while bridging cultural contrasts through her designs. The designer believes in a sustainable future of fashion with fair and ethical production, and in creating clothes that empower women around the world.
We continue to the next room, which holds Buki’s sewing patterns, sketches and fabrics, and I can feel the care, creativity and passion seeping through every little object. The studio is filled with large, lush plants and I feel right at home when Buki brews us a cup of tea before we sit down and start talking…
It’s another rainy, monochrome day in Berlin as I make my way to the BUKI AKOMOLAFE studio. When Buki opens the door with a bright smile, I leave behind the clouds and greys, and enter a world of blues, yellows and oranges. My gaze wanders over the beautiful garments on display, the sewing machine below a pinboard full of photographs and fabric samples, and a large table full of quilted fabric scraps from previous collections. Buki is currently creating unique tote bags for a collaboration with the platform Future Female Africa, which invites female leaders from all fields to join and grow a collaborative circle across African countries and the diaspora.
Influenced by her German and Nigerian heritage, Buki started her journey by studying fashion design at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin (HTW Berlin). After two years of research and several projects as a high school teacher, she founded her eponymous label BUKI AKOMOLAFE in 2016.
BUKI AKOMOLAFE’s mission is to build bridges between two worlds - Nigeria and Germany - to facilitate a fair exchange between contrasting microcosms, while bridging cultural contrasts through her designs. The designer believes in a sustainable future of fashion with fair and ethical production, and in creating clothes that empower women around the world.
We continue to the next room, which holds Buki’s sewing patterns, sketches and fabrics, and I can feel the care, creativity and passion seeping through every little object. The studio is filled with large, lush plants and I feel right at home when Buki brews us a cup of tea before we sit down and start talking…
You founded your label back in 2016. When did you first have the idea to create your own clothing label and what was it like to enter the fashion industry at that time?
Buki: I had the idea after completing my Fashion Design degree at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. My final collection was about building bridges between two contrasting worlds and I wanted to continue doing that. Creating fashion is how I express myself; it’s my tool to “talk” about my cross-cultural heritage and create an understanding for the two cultures I grew up with. It was actually quite difficult to enter the fashion industry at that time because neither consumers nor agencies were ready for sustainable clothing, let alone for African designers. That has totally changed within the last few years.
What is your personal relationship to fashion and how has it changed since you started BUKI AKOMOLAFE?
Buki: My personal relationship to fashion is controversial. I love to dress up for different occasions and I love to create clothes, but I don’t like the actual fashion system, which is unsustainable and also based on racism and unfair treatments, which BIPOCs are most affected by. Things are slowly changing and there are more and more small brands that are part of this change by raising awareness and doing things differently – but there’s still a long way to go.
How has growing up between Nigeria and Germany inspired your brand and influenced your design process? Are there any Nigerian or German designers you could imagine collaborating with?
Buki: Growing up in two different countries definitely influenced and inspired my brand. It influences the way I use colours, the shapes, my attitude and how I deal with certain obstacles etc. I can imagine collaborating with designers and artists like Dye Lab, IAMISIGO and Kids of the Diaspora. Jil Sander inspired me since I studied fashion design and I love the work of Diana Ejaita.
"Creating fashion is how I express myself; it’s my tool to “talk” about my cross-cultural heritage and create an understanding for the two cultures I grew up with."
Whenever possible, you only use high quality, organic materials and produce your small-scale collections fully in Berlin. Do you believe there is a growing awareness for how and where our clothes are produced? What does the future of slow and fair fashion look like?
Buki: There is a growing awareness for how and under what circumstances clothes are made. I totally believe that more brands will be responsible in their supply chain and that we need a mindset of acting local but thinking global. Brands need to pay the people who make our clothes a living wage. The way we consume clothes also needs to change. We don’t need that many clothes as there are so many sustainable options of consuming clothes nowadays, such as renting. If you want to buy a garment, ask yourself if you love it, if you really need it and if you’d wear it more than 30 times. Where would you wear it? Is it comfortable? Choose quality items over quantity.
Can you tell us more about the different stages behind releasing a collection? What are your favourite parts of the process? How does it feel to see people wearing your clothes?
Buki: I love all stages of the process… it starts with the fabric and some sketches of shapes. Then I choose the patterns and try out some quilting techniques and when I have my fabrics, I start with pattern-making and then come the first samples. It’s so much fun to finally see the vision becoming reality. I always feel honoured and it makes me smile when I see people wearing my clothes.
What is your vision for BUKI AKOMOLAFE? What message do you want your clothes to leave with people?
Buki: I want a fair cultural exchange between the Global North and the Global South. For BUKI AKOMOLAFE I'm looking forward to creating more fabrics that are made in Nigeria or other parts of West Africa. I want people to feel comfortable wearing my clothes, supporting their identity, and wearing timeless clothes that they will enjoy at different occasions for a long time.
How does your queerness influence your work?
I'd like to quote bell hooks here:
(...) queer not as being about who you are having sex with,
that can be a dimension of it,
but queer as being about the self
that is at odds with everything around it
and has to invent and create
and find a place to speak
and to thrive and to live.
This definitely plays a role in my work. My work is very representation oriented, and I believe it's important to tell everyone's story. The industry doesn't do a good job with that, and the lack of representation gives the impression that some stories don’t matter. This isn't ok. I want to create enough space for people to tell their stories, a space where they can thrive.
You've done a project on queer love for the Artist Development Fund. Why was that important to you?
I started the project in 2018 – having documented Black couples before, I found that I wanted to capture more people from my community because, at the time, queer love was rarely documented. It's important to tell queer stories and queer Black stories because I find that we don't learn anything about queer Black history at all. It would be beautiful if future generations got to see these pictures. I love capturing the intimacy between partners, and the ways they interact with each other.
What or who inspires you in your life and work? How and who do you want to inspire with your work?
I find it very inspiring to see Black and Brown people thriving. Especially since so many industries are very hard to get into. I'm also inspired by challenging moments, like when you overcome a tough situation but still have the strength to pick yourself up and carry on.
Personally, I would like to inspire people to be their best selves. We're always told what to do; learning to let go of that and align more with yourself is a significant step. With my work, I want to document what's beautiful, what makes us feel alive and what excites us.
"If you want to buy a garment, ask yourself if you love it, if you really need it and if you’d wear it more than 30 times."
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