For a runway debut, not many designers can boast Naomi Campbell on the catwalk. British-Nigerian-Brazilian designer Torishéju Dumi did just that, with the supermodel opening her show at the Shangri-La on the last day of Paris Fashion Week.
With Gabriella Karefa-Johnson in charge of the styling and sculptural hair by Charlie Le Mindu, this was to be no ordinary fashion entrée.
London-born Dumi graduated in 2021 from the MA menswear program at Central Saint Martins, where she was an Alexander McQueen-Sarabande Foundation scholar. Aside from her graduation collection, she presented a capsule of cross-seasonal pieces in February, and it was her first fashion show.
“I want to bring a new voice as a Black woman to fashion,” she explained while putting the finishing touches to her outfits backstage before the show. Her design approach, she said, is “an obsessive study of pattern, shape and form.”
On the runway, this was immediately clear. She played with suiting tropes, turning armholes into adornments on the front of her designs like a ritualistic rhythm on repeat. Their structure punctuated the silhouette, satin lining peeping out in contrast with the dominant wool fabric, padding accentuating their form and showcasing her skill with construction. Clearly identifiable for what they were, they became a new signifier, underlining the poetry of her approach.
Elsewhere, circular forms were wrapped and rewrapped with fabric, emphasizing draped silhouettes for evening, with wrap skirts and dresses referencing traditional “lappa” garments from Nigeria.
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Source: WWD