KENZO:

Each season, the brand asks distinctive creative voices to offer their views on  KENZO collections. For its current season KENZO commissioned curator and filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. to conceive a project around its men's, women's and accessories collections and the notion of "ceremony". In teaming up with photographer Ruth Ossai and stylist Ibrahim Kamara, they captured Nigeria's Nsukka population in a beautiful and captivating way, with the works forming the first of KENZO's quarterly print publications, Folio #1.

The tone of the work mirror KENZO's own vision of beauty. 'Gidi gidi bu ugwu eze', an Igbo proverb meaning 'Unity is Strength', encapsulates the energy we witness within the images and videos.

Artists Akinola Davies Jr. and Ruth Ossai are both UK-based Nigerians. Their images showcase KENZO's collection amid various ceremonies, rites, and rituals within the indigenous Igbo communities of southern Nigeria. 

Davies Jr. comments..." It's about celebrating young black Nigerian bodies and capturing them celebrating Igbo culture and traditions, showing that beauty is always present when there is a commitment to the celebration of culture. This is what an inclusive pageant created by a community devoted to its own growth looks like. The concept celebrates the culture, traditions and beauty of three main festivals celebrated by the people of Nsukka: Onwa Eto, Onwa Ise and Onwa Esa."

"It's about Nigerians telling their own stories. It's about the nuances of beautyin relation to their own community. Capturing our Nigerian community showing a commitment to redefining and celebrating culture, showing the textures of a community in celebration of itself."

Folio #1 will be available from KENZO.com, in KENZO's European stores and at Antenne Book partner stores.