SlickFit shows off the Beauty of Culture with its Iri Ji Inspired Collection.

By Dimeji Alara

With their 2022 Iri Ji collection, Fashion brand SlickFit invokes the spirit of celebration. In a tense socio-political climate, the brand looks on the bright side with a collection that is vibrant and energetic. Godwin A. Ideho, the Creative Director is known for creating atypical and timeless pieces while integrating traditional aesthetics and minimalism.

The brand which started out with menswear and has now incorporated women’s designs into its collections as well. Titled Iri Ji, Godwin looks to the New Yam Festival for inspiration, drawing on its spirit of celebration, strength, loyalty, and community as the beating heart of the collection.

In Nigeria, the New Yam Festival is held every year at the end of August. It is a means of strength, reaffirmation and conveys loyalty within the community. The festival marks the end of the farming season and the start of a new one, preceded by celebrations. Always larger than life, the celebration is filled with masquerades, dancing, and communal flair.

Godwin managed to capture the soul of the festival in this collection. Using Akwete, a unique traditional handwoven fabric, symbols that represented the New Yam festival were handwoven into each of the textiles. The result? fashion pieces that become wearable art, where each stitch carries with it a fragment of history and communal pride. What’s more, the way each piece so effortlessly translates this narrative is one of the highlights of this collection.

Focusing on menswear while also making pieces for women based on the silhouettes of the men’s clothing, Godwin managed to show how gender fluid his collection can be. The silhouette and tailoring take on a strong, almost architectural presence, offering a post-modern take on the traditional blazer, complete with reconstructed sleeves, and tailored shorts. Godwin completes the collection by exploring the mild fragility of lace, a nod towards the traditional lace worn by chiefs. For the ladies, Godwin offers silhouettes that blend clean fitted lines with sculptural volume, creating a striking balance of elegance and artistry. This interaction between strength and delicacy exemplifies Godwin’s postmodern approach to design.

Perhaps the brand’s most colourful offering yet, the collection has a touch of red flowing through each piece, symbolizing the unity that is a hallmark of the New yam festival. Shades of green and orange also dominate the palette reflecting the vibrancy of a typical festival costume. Also, the overall visual presentation doesn’t fail to communicate the designer’s intent, which is commendable considering how easily it can be for visual presentation to get lost in translation.

In the end, one can comfortably conclude that the Iri Ji collection by SlickFit is one that is energetic, joyful and unapologetically bold.