The cloth

Aso oke

Yoruba strip cloth, hand-woven on a narrow loom in Iseyin and Lagos, sewn edge to edge. Stiff enough to hold a gele; soft enough, in sanyan silk, to drape.

Kente

Asante and Ewe strip weave from Bonwire. Each pattern carries a proverb, so the house never cuts across a strip.

Adire

Yoruba indigo resist-dye from Abeokuta — eleko (starch-painted), oniko (tied) and alabere (stitched).

Bogolan

Malian mud cloth from Ségou, hand-painted with fermented river mud and plant dyes.

Bazin riche

Damask cotton, dyed and then beaten with wooden mallets until it shines like metal. The ground of the grand boubou.

Shweshwe

Indigo-printed cotton of Southern Africa, the cloth of makoti dresses and umembeso.

Shema

Fine hand-woven Ethiopian cotton, bordered with tilf embroidery for the habesha kemis.

George

Heavy embroidered or beaded fabric worn for Igbo ceremonies, especially igba nkwu.

Silk velvet, organza, mikado

The couture grounds the house works alongside heritage cloth: velvet for goldwork, organza for volume, mikado for structure.

The making

Toile

A calico rehearsal of the garment, fitted on you before the real cloth is cut. Every house commission has one.

Boning & corsetry

Spiral and flat steel inside a coutil foundation. What lets a gown stand up for twelve hours.

Hand beading

Glass, coral and cowrie set one at a time — Maasai, Zulu, Bamiléké and Yoruba traditions worked into couture bodices.

Goldwork

Bullion, purl and passing thread laid onto silk and velvet. Adinkra, Nsibidi, Amazigh and Ethiopian cross motifs.

Sfifa and aakad

Moroccan braid and hand-tied buttons, made in the medina, edging caftans and takchita.

Hand-plaiting

Silk cords braided and stitched to contour a bodice or extend a train.

Hand-rolled hems

Chiffon and organza edges rolled and stitched by hand, invisible from outside.

Fittings

Two or three, in person or guided remotely, between the toile and the finished piece.