Designer, Mowalola Ogunlesi, Challenges Wider Social & Cultural Boundaries in Fashion
Mowalola Ogunlesi, the Nigerian born and London based designer, studied at Central Saint Martins before dropping out to gain more creative freedom. First gaining attention in 2017 working as Design Director on YZY Gap, she is considered a widely respected designer and artistic visionary, her collections define her as a designer who challenges wider social and cultural boundaries in fashion, using her work to make statements that are often a source of industry discourse.
Her SS24 collection, titled “Crash,” was inspired by the film Crash, David Cronenberg’s 1995 erotic thriller. According to HypeBeast, it led her to imagine “a whole universe that resides on the street,” a result of her interest in the fetishization of pain in the film. The clothes were deliberately made to look dirty and models’ makeup resembled bruises and scars. HypeBeast further notes that “Obscene graphics inform the collection and the designer’s willingness to push boundaries.” Her AW23 collection was, as Dazed puts it, essentially a rip off of MoMa Marlboro, The Yankees and the NBA, ‘challenging those institutions to “Sue Me,” as one t-shirt read. The collection drew directly from New York culture, spanning from baggy jeans “beloved of the city’s hip-hop scene” as well as a “United States of Amnesia” t-shirt. The designs were playful and arguably sarcastic, acting as a saturated, almost dystopian depiction of New York culture.
The designer has fun with her work. Her play on off-beat themes, and experimentation with PVC, leather and irregular silhouettes define her as both an artist and cultural critic. Her shows are invariably atmospheric and provocative. Native Mag says that “Mowalola has always been a disruptor in the industry.” Her work is erotic and audacious, and her intentions have consistently been a point of discussion. Naomi Cambell, who wore a dress from Mowalola’s “Coming For Blood” collection that featured a bullet wound to a Fashion For Relief Gala, unfortunately faced the brunt of the subsequent controversy. The designer had to clarify that the dress in actuality signified the ‘horrific feeling of falling in love’, according to Paper Mag. They further refer to her as “part of the new wave of young British ethnic minorities changing and challenging societal boundaries in fashion.”
Article by Alana Courtney-Gleeson, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Alexa Dyer, Graphic Designer, PhotoBook Magazine
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