Nigerian menswear is only coming into it’s own after several decades of being dwarfed by the far more expansive and way more profitable women’s wear industry. But as Nigerian men expand what masculinity means to them and gradually embrace fashion, a vanguard remains that honours and preserves time old traditional menswear styles to commemorate special events.
Vanguard Allure, the fashion pull out of Vanguard’s Saturday paper dedicated their latestcover to expositing the new wave of guardians of traditional menswear. These gentlemen are in the business of updating them while preserving their essence.
Yomi Makun of Yomi Casual, Okpa McCoy and Kola Kuddus (who has become a staple at the South Africa Menswear week on the merit of his ingenious design aesthetic) sit with stylist, Nelly Mesik and discuss what traditional menswear means to them, how they got into the industry and the strides they are taking to preserve their traditional aesthetic while dressing a new age man.
To read their interviews, check last weekend’s Vanguard Allure.
Credits
Creative Director: Nelly Mesik | @nellymesik
Photography: Aham Ibeleme | @ahamibeleme
Location: Yomi Casual Studio, Lekki