An antiquette fashion story with MOMO.Lagos

When talking about fashion in Nigeria, our dialogue is so often thrown into western cultures. We start to talk about brands like Dior and glorify silhouettes crafted for non-African bodies. Ignoring the massively growing industry we foster at home, where brands are perfecting local silhouettes and using age-old techniques to change the face of fashion.

For Morinsola Hassan-Odukale — more adorably known as Momo — creating a platform to spotlight Africa’s fashion history and designers was a no brainer. Merging her degree in fashion communication from the renowned design school, Central Saint Martins (CSM) and her flame for fashion, art and history, Momo.Lagos was born.

With her full-service creative agency, the fashion entrepreneur offers 3 unique services across styling, creative direction and consultancy that turns our style focus back on Africa. We spoke to Momo about African fashion techniques, our stylistic history and her recent work on the Native covers.

Your services are unique, what inspired them?

Honestly, the cliche answers are sometimes the realest ones. Fashion is simply what I’ve always loved since childhood. I always knew it was the direction I was going to go in. I went to CSM for my undergrad and also had quite a few jobs in industry before moving back to Lagos. This is a combination of things that I love — there is so much to do, and so much to learn.

It doesn’t really make sense to know more about the West than I do about my own culture and history. There is so much happening here and there are so many GREAT designers across the continent that I want to work with, but mostly that I want to get to know about. It’s my small way of contributing to the changing infrastructure of the industry.

How would you describe the current landscape of fashion in Nigeria?

There is nothing homogenous about the designers here. Everyone is really just doing their own thing. One thing I would say is that most of them practice ethical and sustainable fashion which is amazing. Subcultures here mostly stem from the music scene. Generally, I do not look to trends, if I like something I like it.

You recently styled the Native covers, can you tell us what your inspiration for that was and break down any references?

With styling, I personally like to do a lot of research beforehand. Getting to know the person I’m working with and learning about their personal style, so they are comfortable in whatever I put them in. But also getting to know about the other people on set like the photographers, etc.

My main goal is to work with the designers around me in Lagos, there are so many of them and as a stylist, I feel like I’m definitely responsible for showcasing their amazing work. A lot of stylists here actually design their own clothes for shoots because sometimes it’s hard to find exactly what you’re looking for or may take longer to pull from the designers.

Both shoots were quite last minute. With Tems, the Native crew had a specific mood board, with references for colours, silhouettes and themes. I used designers I thought would suit the shoot most. For Naira Marley, I worked mostly with I.N. Official and wafflesncream which are both brands that I love and hence, wanted to showcase their work.

What role has fashion traditionally played in Nigeria’s culture?

Fashion in Nigeria has always been a diverse and unique reflection of its many ethnicities, religions and cultures. As a place that is so deeply rooted in culture, clothing has always been one of the greatest mediums for expression, both globally and within Nigeria.

From the very beginning, clothing was used as an item for trade in Nigeria. So, even though it may not have been credited as one, it’s always been an industry that has been a source of economic growth and value for the country.

However, I would say it wasn’t really considered “fashion” in the past. Sometimes, people view fashion as a more western concept but it’s really not. It’s very much tied to people’s identities and beliefs, and what you wear speaks volumes about who you are to Nigerians.

How has that evolved over the years?

More than anything, over the years fashion in Nigeria has now become recognised as a global platform. Years ago, to make clothing and dress was not necessarily seen as a creative process — even though it had always been — it was recognised more as a necessity to literally clothe one’s body.

Now, we have a full-fledged industry that showcases the craft of designers and actually recognises their work as an art form. As the industry has grown, there are way more participants, exposure and structure that has ultimately led to a global presence.

People creating different [sub]sectors and growing them has made the industry what it is today. For example, there are fashion photographers, make-up artists, stylists and fashion journalists that all contribute to Fashion Week, which is probably one of the most important factors and grows in attendance yearly.

The global fashion industry has been very slow in recognising Nigeria’s industry. Yet, in all African countries, clothes have historically been fashionable and significant with a lot of meaning behind it.

What are the most long-standing fashion subcultures in Nigeria?

There are actually no long-standing subcultures, they come more from a tribal place. Subcultures are normally formed as a result of not fitting into a society [and wider culture]. But here, people dress how they do according to their tribes. That being Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, and so on.

There would have been a few subcultures, especially in the music industry. In the times of Fela, his fans would have copied his style but I can’t think of any longstanding. In general, dress cultures can differ from one place to another based on social statuses like your occupation, social class or any socio-political associations.

What are some stylistic cultural differences between the tribes?

Every tribe definitely holds dress styles in very high esteem, as I said earlier it’s deeply rooted in our culture. For example, over the centuries the Igbo tribe has used clothing as a powerful medium of communication. They’ve had their own distinct textile history since before colonial times. The textiles of the Akwete women, in particular, the fabrics narrate the stories of an Igbo worldview through the women’s perception of life and the influence of the society on the Igbo culture as a whole.

There are also situations where dress is very ceremonial and that is also very different between tribes. In Onitsha, during ceremonies, they have different specific outfits that they have to change into.

One way to distinguish these differences is through the colours and accessories they wear. In Igbo outfits, you will see a lot of white and a burnt orange/red colour. You will also see a lot of beads that symbolises royalty and freedom to them. In Yoruba’s outfits, a distinct handwoven fabric called Aso Oke is used.

Hairstyles and hair accessories are also very important — Gele is traditionally Yoruba. Hausa women wear Zani wrappers that are made out of a colourful cloth with a matching blouse, head tie and shawl.

Can you please detail some local fashion techniques used?

There is Adire Eleko, which means “resist dyeing” with paste. I actually just did an Instagram post about it recently. It’s traditionally undertaken by groups of Yoruba women. It was developed by them and it morphed into a highly influential industry which has played a really significant role in Nigeria’s economic history.

Creating Adire Eleko is a highly highly labour intensive process. The women use chicken feathers or palm leaves to create really intricate patterns with hand paint before dyeing it in indigo. The result is a beautiful light pattern on an indigo base. As they’re hand made, no two prints are exactly the same.

There is also the Akwete cloth, which is a handwoven fabric from Akwete in Abia state — a city renowned for its unique weaving. This weaving technique is considered to be as old as the Igbo tribe itself. After processing the cotton into the desired thread form, the weaver fixes a set of threads onto the loom to form the warp and then weaves the thread.

It is basically a network of threads working together as they’re passed over and under the wrapped thread. The weft thread can be passed over more than one wrapped thread at a time to produce variations of thread colours and patterns in the woven cloth. It’s another very intricate method, but designers like Kenneth Ize use this traditional weaving technique.

Indigo dyeing is also done in the North, more specifically in Kano. The Kofar Mata Dye pits use a mixture of indigo, ash, potassium and lots of water. They also deal with a lot of leatherwork in the North which has become a specialised craft. The products are widely circulated within the country and traded abroad to make bags, pouffes, equestrian gear and so on.

How does purity culture influence the Nigerian fashion industry?

Purity culture definitely continues to influence the fashion industry in Nigeria. I think it is something that influences every single industry. Personally, I think it has been miscommunicated greatly, just like a lot of other things in this country.

Purity culture promotes rape culture because they ask the woman why she was dressed in a certain way, which of course should never be the point. This definitely influences the designer’s decisions to make clothes that are a lot more “modest” and less “revealing”. It may not be what they want, but it makes the community support them. The deeply misogynistic culture is only influenced for the worse by the idea of purity culture.

In our generation, people are now redefining terms like ‘purity culture’ and adapting it to fit their own ways of life. Especially Christian women who want to feel “pure”, but also feel in control of their bodies. I think Nigerians have made the idea behind purity culture extremely superficial and this has, therefore, made the gap in gender roles wider. Ultimately my view is that purity culture comes with a lot of bad connotations and that does not have to be the case. It is something that should take on a personal meaning for each individual, allowing everyone to decide for themselves.