Nigerian design label Needle Point has worked as an outlier label, catering to a specific kind of woman, the woman who loves afro-centric clothing excellently tailored with enough innovation to make it contemporary in the 21st century. Now Needle Point is one of those labels which has never shied away from African inspired print wax or any of the other overused ‘african’ elements and has found ways to update tired fashion tropes.Their new collection ‘Bibs and Bows’ builds on this tradition of taking the familiar and reworking it into something new and original.
Literally the new collection ‘Bibs and Bows’ draws it’s influences from the late 60’s the era where these two singular design quirks defined the dress sense of a generation. Following the popularity of bands like the Beatles and super models like Twiggy and Cheryl Tiegs, a lot of Victorian fashion was reclaimed by British labels and became the status quo in a society that was fighting to keep it’s civility in a time of free-love and expression. Needle Point manages to capture this sentiment in it’s very pristine collection, featuring baby doll dresses with exaggerated bibs, bow detailing and layered peplums and skirts.
The label contrasts the vibrant green and purple ankara print on which the collection is built with neutral white accents and inserts. There are more adventurous looks like a elastic hemmed jumpsuit and a dungaree style playsuit as well as season heavy trends like off-shoulder blouses and lace hems ala Ejiro Amos Tafiri.
The styling also helps sell that retro feel the label is going for. Its in all pretty damn awesome.
