Meet the 15 Designers Showing at the Folklore Connect x RAISEfashion NYFW Showroom

The first event from The Folklore Connect’s partnership with RAISEfashion, the much anticipated New York Fashion Week Showroom opens tomorrow February 9 at the Shopify space in SoHo, New York.

Featuring the fall/winter 2023 collections from 15 Black-owned apparel and accessories brands from New York, London, Nigeria, and Ghana, the showroom provides a unique opportunity for retail buyers, stylists and editors to meet the designers and explore their latest creations. 

Retailers will have the opportunity to book private appointments to meet with brands on February 9 and 10, or register for walk-in showings on February 11 and 12. 

The brands featured in the showroom is a combination of the designers already available to shop wholesale on The Folklore Connect and designers from RAISEfashion’s roster, some of whom will be joining Connect later this year. Get to know them all below.

April & Alex
Womenswear

London-based April & Alex is a womenswear brand founded by British-Nigerian award-winning journalist and creative director Didi Akinyelure. The brand champions slow fashion and is passionate about creating fashion-forward garments that women feel empowered in. Sustainability is at the core of the April & Alex business model, using premium reclaimed fabrics in all collections. These high-quality fabrics are sourced in Italy, from overproduction and dead-stock, providing a second chance to premium fabrics which would otherwise have been destroyed.

ASHYA
Accessories

Co-founded in New York by creative directors Ashley Cimone and Moya Annece, accessories brand ASHYA emerged as an ode to exploration of simple style, inspired by Black, Brown and indigenous communities. The accessories label is rooted in travel, cultural awareness and the act of unifying style and utility, which is expressed in its collection of cross-body bags, passport cases and keyrings.

BLOKE
Apparel

Created with a distinct notion of luxury through an artistic design aesthetic in mind, Lagos-based brand BLOKE is an artisanal label that blends contemporary design with a handcrafted sensibility. Founded by Faith Oluwajimi in 2015 to create pieces that are striking for both their performative, wearable functions and artful characteristics. BLOKE explores the possibilities for the creation of ethically made garments with impeccable attention to textile fabrication, color and craftsmanship.

Bôhten
Eyewear

Eyewear label Bôhten is a Toronto-based brand that draws upon its designers’ love of nature and their African heritage. Telling a story that reflects both the founders’ values and sense of style, Bôhten’s mission is powered by a passion for quality eyewear, the environment, as well as African craftsmanship.

BruceGlen
Apparel and accessories

BruceGlen is the brainchild of identical twin brothers Bruce and Glen Proctor, who honed their skills at brands such as House of Dereon before launching their own in 2019. With a focus on accessories, the design duo has since expanded BruceGlen’s collection, now including a range of apparel each season. The signature aesthetic is bold and electric with the use of bright color, metal hardware and mixed patterns.

Christie Brown
Womenswear

Christie Brown is a Ghanaian-based luxury fashion brand founded in 2008 by creative director Aisha Ayensu. Christie Brown is inspired by the countless artisans and visionaries that have come up before it. From women selling colorfully printed and intricately woven fabrics in crowded market stalls, to seamstresses expertly cutting out patterns by freehand. Their ingenuity, pioneering spirit, and shared vision for clothing the African woman in prints and patterns that were native to her and kept her connected to herself are at the core of what continues to inspire the brand today.

Dur Doux
Womenswear

Womenswear label Dur Doux, (pronounced “dur do”), translates to hard/soft in French. Founded by mother and daughter duo Cynthia and Najla Burt, the label was built on the concept of wearability with an avant-garde sensibility. Dur Doux’s signature style comprises of unexpected shapes, details and fabrications, with a strong sensual and feminine sensibility and an edgy sophistication.

Nalebe
Footwear

On a mission to consistently deliver the best value products, Nalebe’s shoes are defined by the brand’s creative designs of innovative styles meant to instil confidence and empower women. Founded by Amina Means, Nalebe aims to improve the quality of life for each wearer by prioritizing innovation, artisanal craftsmanship and sustainable practices. At the core of its versatile footwear designs are luxury, comfort and social responsibility.

Onalaja
Womenswear

Since 2014, Lagos-based womenswear brand Onalaja has sought to bring traditional African design aesthetics into the contemporary world of fashion. Founded by Istituto Marangoni graduate Kanyinsola Onalaja, the brand is known for its highly crafted pieces that explore texture clashes, proportions, color, and textile manipulation, which have come to define the brand’s aesthetic. Fusing her Nigerian heritage with Italian and British design elements, the designer constructs narratives around themes of culture and femininity, resulting in shimmering evening gowns, sequinned dresses and textured separates that display a combination of hand weaving, embroidery, and print work.

Oríré
Womenswear

In just a little over a year since it was founded in June 2021, Oríré has established itself as a contemporary brand that is committed to artisanal craftsmanship and conscious production. From cocktail dresses to coordinating separates that express artistic flair and femininity, Oríré’s designs are produced in small runs at its Lagos-based studio. It also offers a made-to-order service, providing flexibility and custom fits for clients and reducing excess waste at the same. The brand’s ethos is built on creativity, quality, innovation and social responsibility. 

Shekudo
Footwear and accessories

Based in Lagos, accessories brand Shekudo aims to shed light on local artisanal craft rendered in locally sourced raw materials including soft leather, cotton, wood, and traditional aso oke cloth. Helmed by creative director Akudo Iheakanwa, the label was first launched in Sydney, Australia in 2013 before refocusing its offering on statement accessories and footwear in 2017. Today, Shekudo has come to be known for its signature use of bold and eclectic colors and patterns that appear in its collections of woven mules, flat sandals and leather handbags that showcase the local craftsmanship scene in Nigeria.

Tiannia Barnes
Footwear

Described as “Italian-made footwear for women who are sophisticated, who have somewhere to go,” by founder and designer Tiannia Barnes, the eponymous  brand offers finely crafted shoes that draw on Barnes’ love of fashion and travel. Each pair is made from fine Italian leather and suede to inspire fearlessness, timelessness and boldness.

TJWHO
Menswear

Established in 2018, TJWHO is a minimalist menswear brand that offers refreshed interpretations of native and urban basics by exploring cross-cultural nuances and aligning them into sustainable and timeless fashion. With the use of refined tailoring and garment construction, the brand is able to marry simplicity and functionality in easy-to-wear pieces.

V.BELLAN
Jewelry

New York-based V.BELLAN is a gender-neutral jewelry brand that represents a balance between classic and cool. Designed in Brooklyn and handcrafted with love, V.BELLAN offers seasonal contemporary collections made from brass and sterling silver, as well as custom made-to-order fine jewelry pieces that are designed to become daily essentials.

Vavvoune
Accessories

Launched in 2015, Vavvoune is a leather bag and accessories brand founded by self-taught designer, Valerie Blaise. Individuality, emotion and nostalgia inform her design process, resulting in stylish, functional pieces. Each piece is thoughtfully and skilfully made in New York City using high-quality Italian leathers left over by ultra-luxury brands.

Discover and register for The Folklore Connect x RAISEfashion NYFW showroom here