ARCHIVE

ARCHIVE, a museum of Nigerian fashion from 1960 to now

Naija’s been cooking since 1960.

Pull up to 1960

A museum of Nigerian fashion, from Independence to now.

1 October 1960The first morning of an independent Nigeria

Nigeria

Lagos

Joseph Street

1 October 1960. Nigeria’s free.

That night, Lagos dressed up. This museum starts there.

ARCHIVENigerian fashionLagos1960 to now

FIVE LOOKS. SIXTY YEARS. ONE NAIJA.

Five times Nigeria changed what it wore, and the world noticed.

Meet the five looks
  1. 1960Ìró and bùbá
  2. 1977Wax print
  3. 2016Alté
  4. 2018The shirt
  5. 2020Aso oke

WORN IN LAGOS.

Five looks, each from a year Nigeria changed how it dressed.

The zipDown the side of the ìró
A woman in a wine-red aso-oke ìró and bùbá with a tall pre-tied gèlè
Lagos IslandThe same look, outside

1960Ìró and bùbá

She put a zip on the wrapper.Shade Thomas-Fahm, Nigeria’s first fashion designer, came home from London in 1960 and made the ìró quick to put on.

  • Ìró and bùbá, wine-red aso-oke
  • Gèlè, tied before the party
  • After Shade Thomas-Fahm
The beadsCoral and white, on bare skin
A man in an orange and black wax-print two-piece and coral beads, dancing with a saxophone
IkejaThe same look, outside

1977Wax print

Fela laughed at the tie.He mocked men sweating in jacket and tie under the Lagos sun, and wore loud print, coral beads and an open shirt instead.

  • Wax-print shirt and flares
  • Coral and white beads
  • After Fela, in Ikeja
The shadesSmall, oval, tinted
A model in a vintage leather jacket, cropped knit, cargo trousers and tinted shades
BalogunThe same look, outside

2016Alté

Lagos kids broke every dress code.Alté was a way of life first: thrift leather, tiny tinted shades, dyed hair and no gender rules.

  • Vintage leather jacket
  • Cargo trousers, cropped knit
  • After the alté kids of Lagos
The sleeveFeathers, black and white
A woman jumping in the green and white Nigeria football shirt with feather sleeves
On the danfoThe same look, outside

2018The shirt

Three million preorders.Nike’s 2018 Nigeria shirt sold out online in three minutes. Its feathers are for the Super Eagles, and the V&A keeps one.

  • The Nigeria shirt, 2018
  • Black trousers, loafers
  • After the 2018 Super Eagles shirt
The lapelHandwoven aso-oke
A man walking in a double-breasted suit of striped handwoven aso-oke
IganmuThe same look, outside

2020Aso oke

Aso oke closed Paris.Kenneth Ize, born in Lagos, took handwoven aso oke to Paris Fashion Week in 2020. Naomi Campbell closed his show.

  • Double-breasted aso-oke suit
  • White shirt, brown shoes
  • After Kenneth Ize, Paris

MADEIN LAGOS.

Before any partythere is a tailor

A young Nigerian tailor at an old treadle sewing machine, feeding wine-red aso oke under the needle, a tape measure round his neck

Every look on this page starts on a machine like this one. In Lagos you buy the cloth, you take it to your tailor, and then you pray it’s ready before the party.

  1. Scissors cutting printed ankara on a tailor's table

    The clothBought by the yard at Balogun.

  2. A tailor's hands feeding aso oke under the needle

    The tailorMeasured, cut, sewn, late.

  3. Four friends in the same burnt-orange aso ebi lace, gèlè and agbada, laughing and spraying money

    The partyAso ebi: the whole family in the same cloth.

The railEvery look, and three garments in 3D

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Off the rail.

Look 1, 1960

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