Online fashion boutique brings African design to the world

Design by Eki Orleans

With a wide selection of eye-catching prints and colorful garments, UK based online boutique Agnes & Lola has set its sights on becoming the website of choice for African fashion.

Launched by Lola Remi in August, the UK-based fashion store aims to make African clothes more accessible to the rest of the world, as well as promoting ethical fashion.

Like many major fashion brands, the clothing store traces its origins to one of world's most iconic fashion capitals -- Paris.

"In Paris I noticed many African young people wore African print and they didn't just wear it in a traditional sense," Remi told CNN.

"They wore it with jeans and they wore it just as dresses, I was really impressed by this and kept thinking about it.

"And then once I came over here [London], a friend of mine, Xaverie [Bakheme], who is also one of the designers, actually went to Cameroon and had one of the dresses as well. And that's when I was captivated by the print and that's how I really got into African fashion," she added.

Agnes & Lola (named after Remi and her grandmother, Agnes) carries the work of young designers from all around Africa, all of whom have one thing in common -- their strong ties to the continent.

For Nigerian designer Nkwo Onwuka, inspiration for her clothes comes not just from her country but from the entire continent. "There are so many different cultures and colors and so many inspiring things," she told CNN.

"When you walk through the markets, there are beads, there are all sorts of fabrics, so I find my inspiration from the whole of Africa."

Source: cnn.com | Read the full article