Nicole models a piece from the 'Control' collection by Obsidian. “Obsidian is an independent fashion line for the discerning lady with a flair for the bold and unusual but with her own individual style. Fun and spunky, an Obsidian girl sets herself apart and is the epitome of all that is chic… when you wear Obsidian you STAND OUT.” SHF gets the story right from the source; CEO Isoken Ogiemwonyi lets us in on her vision... 

Never one to accept the status quo as far as African fashion goes in the Diaspora, Adiat Disu started making a difference right from her university days by setting up the Bentley Fashion Consultants. Barely a year after she set up the Adireé Fashion Agency, she’s taken on New York by mounting the first ever African Fashion Week. SHF gets the full scoop on all the behind-the-scenes legwork and what keeps this young woman going… Tell us... 

Bukola Are is one woman who refuses to be boxed and join the fashion bandwagon. For her, innovation is about being creative and 100% committed to the design process from start to finish. There’s nothing like too much inspiration or ideas because all that can be channelled  into one whole versatile collection that gives the everyday woman many options. So whether she’s working with sequins or ankara, expect top quality and exceptional... 

Andrew Dosunmu’s career started in the fashion industry. He went from being a couture design assistant at Yves Saint Laurent in Paris to the visual world of photography, filmmaking and directing. He has been a contributing photographer to magazines like Clam, Fader, Vibe, I-D, Interview Magazine, Arise, Ebony, Paper Magazine, Vogue Homme – France and L’Homme Vogue – Italy. Andrew’s love for creating images beyond photography... 

Tell us about your vision for Mahogany International? Since inception, the vision of Mahogany has always been to promote everything for people of colour and attempting to fill the gaps within our community or to enable us to compete with or be on par with mainstream fashion. For example, we have been doing the Mahogany Bridal Show for over 14 years which has been the only African Caribbean bridal show for most of that time, it was set up because... 

Whether it’s Brazillian, Peruvian or Indian; human hair is still the hottest beauty product on the market! Chances are that you or someone you know is sporting a human hair weave. SHF catches up with Ayo Adenuga of Savvie Hair Boutique, one of Nigeria’s luxurious human hair stockists for a chat on all things human hair. How did you get involved in the retail industry? I can’t say it was serendipity or fortuity. As a teenager, I managed... 

Easily one of the hardest working woman on the Nigerian fashion scene, Mrs. Ugoma Adegoke is a favourite on SHF; hardly a month goes by that we don’t hear from Zebra. Whether it is a SALE or a Capoeira class or sometimes even promoting another designer’s work like she did with Zainabu Ashadu and D’Lune’s bag line. It is hard to believe that only four years ago, she was her own model, driver, advertiser, PR consultant, messenger,... 

For Abimbola Smith, it’s all about being creative with leather, whether it is belts or bags, you can be guaranteed that your SoSmith piece is exclusive and really one-of-a-kind. SHF chats with the CEO herself about the brand, retail opportunities and what to expect in the near future. Tell us about the inspiration behind the latest collection from SoSmith? I did a line of patchwork bags that have always proved very popular. I decided to imbibe... 

‘Local fashion made global,‘ it does exactly as said on the label and more… SHF catches up with Dolapo Shobanjo, the brains behind myasho.com Africa’s answer to Net-a-Porter. Tell us a little bit about myasho.com. Getting access to African designers has always been a challenge – for both Africans and non-Africans. There was never one shop where you could go to find pieces from your favourite African designers. As an African... 

  This month SHF is focusing on the retail industry in Nigeria and the lack thereof.  There are a lot of components that make up a retail market and one of them is the work and trade brought on by High Street stores.  It is a well known fact that Lagos does not have a High Street and to shed some light on this issue SHF managed to catch up with none other than Arieta Mujay, the press manager of River Island retailers Ltd.  River Island is a power...