Self-taught designer Adebayo Oke-Lawal founded Orange Culture in Lagos, Nigeria in 2011. Established as a menswear label, Oke-Lawal created Orange Culture as a space to discuss and challenge toxic ideas of masculinity, creating designs which explore male vulnerability and emotionality through use of perceived ‘feminine’ colours, styles and fabrics. Since its foundation the brand has become increasingly genderfluid, which Oke-Lawal attributes to him becoming more comfortable with his vision for Orange Culture, and less concerned about societal expectations. Central to his design philosophy is the belief that ‘clothing should be fluid and have the ability to be worn by any- and every- one.’

This ensemble comes from the Autumn/Winter 2016 S.E.N.S.E.S collection. In this collection Oke-Lawal explored the role of the senses in communication and looked at how clothing can provide an additional way to communicate one’s identity. The Yoruba words oju, eti and enu (eyes, ears and mouth) were used throughout the collection. The ensemble acquired for the V&A comprises a pale blue sweatshirt with the words ‘Hear Me’ printed on the front, and a crocheted wrap skirt, made from a single length of material secured with a button, with enu appliqued on top. Skirts are a staple of Oke-Lawal’s designs and part of his gender-fluid ethos, as well as a nod to the prominence of iro (wrappers) in Nigerian fashion historically.