REBELLION Spring/Summer ’14
by Nkwo
**Photo Credits: Kola Oshalusi (Insigna).
As seen at GTB Lagos Fashion & Design Week 2013
REBELLION by Nkwo is inspired by the great Kingdom of Benin, which was founded with a rebellion and fell with a rebellion…
The kingdom was well known for its artisans, particularly the bronze casters of Igun Street, who produced some of the finest bronze work in the world.
Unfortunately, most of the bronzes were ‘plundered’ by the British after the fall of the empire in 1897. The argument for the reparation of this great body of work goes on…
The Bronze Casters Guild of Benin City can still be found on Igun Street today and is now a World Heritage Site.
By taking the most iconic of the Benin bronzes, the Mask and fusing it with the most rebellious of the fashion tribes, the Punk, we created a look that is entirely new and fresh and we call it ‘B-Punk’.
Our signature draped jersey was hand dyed in the colours that are representative of the culture, history and architecture of the Benin empire – the coral beads, the blood that was shed during the rebellion and the slate that was used for the roofing of the houses in the incredibly well formed streets. We then gave it a punk make over with our safety pin and hard metal embellishments on our dresses, belts and up-cycled denim.
The entire collection was made in Benin City. We wanted to work directly with the artisans, the bronze casters and the leather makers, but we also wanted to put the traditional hand crafting methods to the test.
A big thank you to Omoyemi Akerele and the LFDW team, to our stylist Crystal Deroche Styling, to Lola Maja-Okojevoh for our great make-up and to all the models, especially Kelvin, who was man enough to wear a dress!!!
Out of Africa 
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