Hi BellaStylistas! It’s Isoken and every month, I’ll be sharing a short letter spotlighting our monthly theme from my personal perspective and giving you an idea of some of the amazing content we have planned. For December, our theme is #BestDressed.
Editor-At-Large Isoken Ogiemwonyi introduces BellaNaija Style’s #BestDressed theme for December.
Welcome to December!
Let’s face it, 2019 has been a pretty tumultuous year. From questionable decisions in the political sphere; to an escalation in pressing social issues and several shocking revelations; sometimes it felt like we careened from one disaster to another.
However, we’ve had a pretty positive year in fashion – arguably one of our biggest years yet from Thebe Magugu being the first African to win the LVMH prize, to the 10 year anniversary of Lagos Fashion Week, Beyoncé in Tongoro , the first ever African collaboration with H&M, Diarra Blu at Bloomingdale’s, the 5th year anniversary of GTB Fashion Weekend, Kenneth Ize being mentioned as one of the designers Anna Wintour is excited about it has definitely been a rollercoaster year for fashion, not to mention the end of a defining decade.
To celebrate our December issue, which includes the all-important Best-Dressed List, we’ve christened this issue the #BestDressedIssue – a giant celebration and an attempt to capture the zeitgeist of the entire year in fashion. We started our list almost 3 years ago, principally because we reached a stage where we think people who drive a positive perception of African fashion; as well as actual consumption of the clothing that drives the industry deserved their own spotlight (and who doesn’t enjoy validation tbh).
With the pervasive nature of Instagram and social media in the past decade, there’s a lot more fun and experimentation in the worlds of fashion and entertainment, and this is reflected in the individuals who made it on to our list. The BellaStylistas in question really stood out to us because they are less about trends and more about personal expression. If anything it’s more of an attitude, one very much linked to the pure joy of fashion, BellaStylistas who are liberated enough to express themselves; a diverse, rising generation of talent that’s pushing the envelope in culture and fashion.
And even though the debates can get quite heated, it’s fun to put together a list like this and really highlight the men and women who truly wowed us this year. PS: Did we mention, for the first time the list will also include interactive voter categories – so our readers can weigh in on specific categories as well, via our website and social-media feeds.
In the run up to unveiling our arbiters of sartorial correctness – we’ll also present you with loads of interactive lists from our annual gift guides to our new celebrity focused feature #YearInFashion.
At BN Style, we use our platform to bring to centre stage a fresh generation of industry cognoscenti, creatives and the people we truly believe are the current tastemakers and the future of African fashion. And as with all things, our vision for the brand continues to evolve.
We hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed creating it!
And finally, don’t forget to explore our regular features like Best Dressed of the Week, Ankara Styles We Love, Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week, Workwear Looks our Editors Love, fan favourite BellaStylista, Style Your Curves and Friday Fab Finds.
Have a great month!
Love,
