Alanis Neka Nwadire is following the footsteps of her mother and older sister, Nancy Nwadire and Destiny Nwadire, the beauty and brains who are behind the fashion houses; Iconic Invanity and DNA by Iconic Invanity respectively.
She says her new brand is way beyond just fashion. “It’s about community, family, culture, and heritage. Time and effort have been put into each and every one of my pieces. Every design is especially drawn and created into my very own masterpiece with the Neka Youth girl in mind. I want the clothes I create to inspire and motivate young girls my age to believe that if you have a passion and know that you want to pursue it, then you should.”
The 13-year-old creator first debuted her youthful brand at Lagos Fashion Week 2018. The collection featured a contrast of muted shades, yellow and deep blue creating a balance between fun and playfulness which is synonymous to Alanis’ bubbly character.
Alanis’ choice of fabric is Adire, a Yoruba tie, and dye fabric, hand made locally by artisans in Abeokuta, a place well known in Nigeria for the craft. For her, this is an opportunity to support the community and tell their stories in the clothing she creates.
According to the young designer Alanis:
My choice to use Adire for my first work was partly influenced by my primary school uniform at St. Saviours school Ikoyi; a blue Adire skirt. For my choice of colours, I wanted to work with interesting brighter colours and have the freedom to have my fabric hand made locally in Nigeria in order to support our local artisan.
I grew up around fashion design and was mostly inspired to design through some of my friends at school who liked outfits that my mum made for me. I often came back home with an order from one of my friend, which I thought was cool. So, when I was about 9 years old, I told my mum that I wanted to have my own fashion line when I turn 12, so here I am.
My fashion reflects my style and things I love, which I know my friend like also. We have lots of fun and playful pieces in this collection which I enjoyed making. I hope you like it as much as I do.
See the full collection below
Credits
Brand: @neka_youth
Photography: @asiko_artist