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NIGERIA'S FIRST FASHION DESIGNER: SHADE THOMAS-FAHM


PRODUCED AS PART OF AFRICA FASHION

Closes Sunday, 16 April 2023
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"The concept of designing is an art. You can learn how to sketch, but you must
have the feeling." – Shade Thomas-Fahm, 2022

Originally moving to England in 1953 to train as a nurse, Shade Thomas-Fahm
changed path and studied fashion at St Martin's School of Art (now Central Saint
Martins) in London. She returned home to Lagos in 1960, the year of Nigeria's
independence, and quickly established her own boutique – Maison Shade.

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The independence years gave rise to a strategic professionalisation of fashion
industries. New nation-states recognised fashion's power to solidify and project
strong, independent, and crucially modern identities to the world, and certain
governments – recognising the economic potential of the fashion and textile
industries – introduced policies to encourage them to flourish. Fashion became
fundamental to the decolonisation of minds – many turned to clothes to express
their newfound freedoms, wearing local fabrics, a tailored three-piece suit, or
something in between.

Championing Nigerian fabrics and silhouettes, Thomas-Fahm designed for the
cosmopolitan, working woman. Her boutique swiftly became the go-to place for
stylish people in Lagos and she counted diplomats and royalty among her regular
customers. Often using aṣọ-òkè, àdìrẹ, akwete and okene in her designs, she
often re-imagined traditional Nigerian styles for the modern woman, creating a
pre-tied gèlè (headwrap) to make getting dressed easier, and added a zipper to
the ìró (wrapper). Originally a wrapped garment, the new style of ìró allowed
cosmopolitan women to move around with ease.

Max Factor Cosmetics Shoot, 1957, London, England. © Shade Thomas-Fahm

The cultural renaissance and economic investment of the independence years
created a buzz. In some areas the fashion industry blossomed, with clients based
across countries, the continent and world. Similar changes were happening in
Europe, and designers in Africa, Europe and beyond embraced international
exchange, seeking inspiration and learning new skills through travel and
migration.


> “I was always putting one style up against the other style. For instance, I
> would look at the European skirt and then I would put it up against, in my
> mind, the Yoruba ìró... Both clothe a woman's lower half, and in similar ways,
> but with distinct differences. Both styles had something to learn from the
> other.”

Shade Thomas-Fahm, 2021

Alongside her bespoke, made-to-measure pieces, Shade Thomas-Fahm had several
popular ready-to­-wear lines stocked at her boutiques and by other retailers,
including Kingsway Stores in Lagos. She regularly travelled abroad to attract
international buyers, including in December 1972, when she went to New York and
held a series of promotional Christmas events.

Shade's Boutique advertising, illustratred by Kemmer, 1971, Lagos, Nigeria. ©
Shade Thomas-Fahm

Find out more about Shade Thomas-Fahm in the V&A collections.

Explore African cloth types in our collections.

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Africa Fashion

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