South London fashionistas come out to play for London Fashion week

By Sarah Tetteh

Famously the month when fashionistas come out to play, London has come alive for fashion week. 

The only difference this year is that many of the front-runners in the fashion stakes –  are hailing from South London.  

Meet Patric Okumi, who along with his cousin Sean Ayeltigah, founded ADINKRA London, an independent designer of elegant and refined African designed accessories.

The designers are proud to present their pop-up shop for the second year running at the prestigious Somerset House in central London, which has been a hub for all things fashion this month. 

Inspired by the ethos of Ghana’s Adinkra symbols, ADINKRA London champions inclusivity, inviting all to discover and celebrate the culture of Africa’s 54 countries through luxury fashion. 

Patric shares his inspiring story with South London Press Showbiz, in the hope it will inspire like-minded fashionistas and entrepreneurs to follow their dreams. 

The married dad-of-one, whose been manning the exclusive pop-up at Somerset House this month, said: “I grew up in South London, I was in school in Croydon, so I know the 202 and 75 bus routes,” he smiled.

Patric, 38, added: “I was born in Ghana and moved to the UK when I was 5. This is partly why we do what we do, we all have such different backgrounds, which absolutely shapes who you are.  

“It’s the second year we’ve done Somerset House, it’s amazing.

“How I got into fashion was interesting. Background wise I had nothing to do with fashion, I went to Durham Uni and did Business/Finance there, and went into banking and trading. My background is very business, but I’ve always been Entrepreneural and creative. 

“So I went into business with my cousin, and we wanted to do something that was meaningful. I was talking to my wife and she wanted to treat me to a new tie, and we thought, if you are someone who is looking for a premium tie they will talk about brands like Hermes, or very European brands, but you’ll never hear, ‘Oh here’s an interesting tie from a designer from Equador, or Japan.’

“I saw also saw that if someone wanted an African tie, they might go to Etsy for something quirky, throwaway, and not taken seriously, but there were no real premium quality ties and accessories.

“So that annoyed me, we have access to a continent that is so rich in history, diversity, patterns and colours, but it’s poorly represented on the global scene. So I said to my cousin, why don’t we just take the Adinkra symbols from Ghana, and create a tie that incorporates some of the patterns.”  

So from there, the iconic ADINKRA London brand was born. Since the launch, ADINKRA London has attracted people from all walks of life looking to spruce up their wardrobe with a one-of-a-kind piece. They’ve dressed footballers, models, actors, but there is one celebrity who is on their wish list to wear one of their timeless pieces. 

Patric said: “It has to be Idris Elba. He’d be perfect, the ‘next James Bond’, very 007, can you imagine. We do socks, to ties, to swim shorts, so it’s a fusion of traditional and contemporary. Idis has Ghanaian heritage too, and he does a lot for philanthropy, so that’s the kind of person we’d like to have as a brand ambassador. Stormzy would be brilliant too, especially being from South London.”

Speaking about his motivation for the brand he said: “You want to leave a legacy. Your parents always hope that you can work hard and build a better life for yourself. So now we are representing centuries of culture with our products and packaging. We have been fortunate, and hope others will follow their dreams in this way too.” 

(Picture: ADINKRA London)