"Where Africa Comes to Stay Informed."
US Edition
"Where Africa Comes to Stay Informed."
Michael Aladenusi Badejo — the award-winning Nigerian designer who works under the name Omotailor — is stepping into fresh territory with ASIKO, a collection put together to mirror where his vision, technical skill and commitment to African fashion now stand.
Badejo has spent years shaping the Omotailor identity, and in that time he has become a figure of real weight in contemporary African design. Tailoring sits at the center of his work, alongside a habit of experimenting, a pull toward cultural expression and a clear intent to make clothes that tie African heritage to a modern wardrobe.
ASIKO translates from Yoruba as time, and the choice is deliberate. It points to growth, to change, and to the idea that any creative life moves through distinct seasons. Read that way, the collection is a marker: a record of where the designer stands right now and a signal of the direction he means to take.
The release is not simply the next collection on a schedule. It widens the Omotailor creative world and sets the designer off on a different tack, one that reaches into new ideas, new silhouettes, new fabrics and new ways of telling a story through clothing.
What ASIKO sets out to do is put African identity at the front while still speaking the language of contemporary design. Expect the detail work Badejo is known for, the tailoring discipline underneath it, and his knack for turning cultural reference points into garments people actually wear.
The trade runs through Badejo’s family. The brand traces back to 1967, when his father, Johnson Badejo, a bespoke tailor trained in Britain, opened Badejo Tailoring Service in Surulere, Lagos. Business boomed once the 1978 ban on imported ready-made clothing sent buyers looking for well-made local garments. Michael picked up his father’s exacting standards along with the business, and carried it forward into the premium label now recognized well beyond Nigeria.
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