In early 2022, Adeju Thomson, the designer behind Lagos Space Programme, met master dyer Iya Alaro during a research trip across South-West Nigeria. Describing Alaro, who is in her early 90s, as a “sadly forgotten, albeit very important national treasure,” Thompson says the two of them got to discussing the tragic erosion of cultural values and the loss of African artifacts and crafts—the art of creating adire, specifically.
The ancient West African traditional dye cloth has seen a resurgence as artists and designers like Thompson seek to tap into ancient crafts to preserve that which has been lost at a time when Western fashions have become De rigueur. “For me, when you’re trying to move a technical language forward, if you want to think about something futuristic, it has to be rooted in the past. It has to be a conversation between the past and the present,” Thompson says.
As such, Thompson is taking the knowledge gained from this trip specifically into a collaboration with Nigerian-American artist Chioma Ebinama, whose own work draws from the language and imagery of mythology.
Portrait of Adeju Thompson. Photo: supplied by Lagos Space Programme.
A craftswoman dyeing textiles for Lagos Space Programme. Photo: supplied by Lagos Space Programme.
Clothing hung to dry after being dyed. Photo: supplied by Lagos Space Programme.
Bronze accessories, masks, and shoes. Photo: supplied by Lagos Space Programme.
Models wearing Lagos Space Programme for a photograph featured in the Fashioning the Afropolis book. Photo: supplied by Lagos Space Programme.
Lagos Space Programme editorial. Photo: supplied by Lagos Space Programme.
Models wearing Lagos Space Programme for a photograph featured in the Fashioning the Afropolis book. Photo: supplied by Lagos Space Programme.
Lagos Space Programme Project 7/Post-Adire editorial. Photo: supplied by Lagos Space Programme.
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