Every year, Women’s Wear Daily chose six designers they feel are going to make a big splash in the fashion world.
Among their list this year was 26 year old rising star Amaka Osakwe who designs under the label Maki Oh.
Maki Oh designs
The Lagos based Maki Oh label was launched in Fall 2011 and designer Amaka is a graduate of Arts University College of Bournemouth, England.
Maki Oh fans include Solange Knowles and actress Leelee Sobieski. Prices start at £150 / $200 for a silk vest.
Leelee Sobieski
According to WWD the ‘latest collection was inspired by Jacques Tati’s 1967 film “Play Time,” but there’s always Nigerian influences, such as a fish motif that relates to a Nigerian proverb that means to reap what you sow. Oh describes her collection as “strict, luxurious and powerful, with an element of the blithe.’
Solange Knowles
Africa is in vogue for very positive reasons at the moment – Burberry, Louboutin and Michael Kors are just some of the names who have been inspired by the continent this season. Franca Sozzani, Editor of Vogue Italia, has been very vocal about her initiative to ‘rebrand Africa’ – contrary to popular belief, not everyone there is living in a mud hut and starving to death.
Designers like Maki Oh and Duro Olowu are just a few of the names that have made it into the public fashion arena for their outstanding design ethos.
Read an interview with Maki Oh here.
Are you familiar with Maki Oh? What do you think of her designs?
