Lagos Space Programme Debuts "Cloth as a Queer Archive" Collection

Lagos Space Programme is dismantling myths surrounding African fashion as the Nigerian brand explores Yoruba textile culture and the roots of minimalism in its latest collection "Cloth as a Queer Archive."

In addition to navigating the "stark views that Nigerian culture" has on queerness, the mélange of garments also uncover fashion history. While minimalism has widely been considered a chiefly European aesthetic, often pointing towards Nordic countries, designer Adeju Thompson asserts that the aesthetic began within Yoruba culture. "The collection is a study of minimalism from an African point of view. In the popular imagination, the African aesthetic is colorful, robust and sometimes dynamic, in contrast to a 'cleaner,' pared-down European style," Thompson shares in an exclusive press release.

Incorporating traditional techniques, such as Adire, a resist-dye method utilized by Yoruba women in southwestern Nigeria to create indigo-dyed cloth, designing is revered as a vehicle for story-telling, making space for new narratives to be told. Bodily adornment also plays a huge role within the collection, celebrating the complexity, nuances and richness of Black experiences across the globe.

Take a look in the gallery above.

Click here to view full gallery at Hypebae