Continuing our inspirational alumnae series, this week we are focusing on Dame Alice Harpur School alumna, Abiola Onabulé (2012). 

Following school, Abiola studied Fashion Design at the University of Westminster (First Class Degree) followed by a Masters in Fashion from Central Saint Martins. Working as a fashion designer, Abiola has worked for a number of London and European based designers before being selected as one of the four Designers in Residence at the Design Museum this year, 2020-2021.

A highly sought programme, the Designers in Residence programme is a core part of the Design Museum’s activity, supporting emerging designers since 2007, from any discipline, with resources to develop their practice. The museum tasks their Designers with a different theme that forms the basis of their work; this year being ‘Care’. Abiola's work draws inspiration from her Nigerian cultural heritage and through the stories and lives of women. She has been researching the craft of adire, the indigo-dyed cloth typically made in southwestern Nigeria by Yoruba women, using a variety of resist-dyeing techniques. Her new collection uses adire techniques to investigate how local West African textile designs can be redefined to resonate with contemporary fashion, and uncovers the social, ethical and economic value of local production. Abiola is interested in the process of making as an 'act of care; ; she has collaborated on a new film, Iyá Àlàro (‘mother of indigo’ / ‘head dyer’), that presents this craft as nurturing and sustainable and the antithesis of the careless and wateful processes found within western textile production today.

Members of the Design Museum can listen to Abiola delivering a workshop exploring the process and cultural history of adire on Saturday 22nd May.

We are looking forward to welcoming Abiola back in to school later in the year to share her experiences and inspire the next generation of BGS fashion and textile designers. To view Abiola’s work further, including her BA and MA collections click HERE.