If you had to choose one word to describe Titi Belo, that word would would be chic. The winner of last year’s Lagos Fashion and Design Week’s Fashion focus scholarship to the Instituto Maragoni for her debut collection returned, diploma in hand with a sharper focus for the direction she wants to take her brand.
For her new collection, Belo sheds the severe leather look of her last collection for softer silhouettes. The new collection is just as small as her debut, a tightly curated catalogue done in grey, pink and white.
Volume is a strong theme in the catalogue. The opening look is an off shoulder, spaghetti strap wrap blouse with exaggerated sleeves, all design quirks that are interesting enough on their own, and should overwhelm when used all at the same time but actually does not. Instead, it comes off simple, the kind of piece that is versatile and appropriate for many scenarios. She continues to explore volume with bell flares on long sleeved blouse and otherwise structured pants. There is also a mustard yellow drawstring jacket that is so versatile, it would be a shame to not see it everywhere in the coming year.
But Titi Belo does not shy from the edginess that turned heads in her first collection. Instead she takes the base idea and refines it, exploring see through panelling and cut-outs on skin tight pencil skirt and peekaboo blouses. But the effect is never severe, as these daring cuts are softened by curved hems and oversized buttons and cuffed pant hems. There are of course some flirty looks, a strappy romper with a sweet heart neckline and asymmetric hems done in blush pink and bralet/skirt combination that reminds you of the social media savvy celebrity.
However, the trousers at Titi Belo are tetchy, from the wrap style jumpsuit that doesn’t sit quite right on the model and the cuffed pants that mess with the model’s proportions, the pants in the showcase do a small disservice to the great tailoring that characterizes the rest of the collection.
With just two collections to her name, Titi Belo’s brand aesthetic is strong and assured and appeals to the younger savvy woman willing to invest into pieces that suggest ease and versatility.