By Yemisi Suleiman

It’s fashion O’clock!
Like we always do, in this article, we are going to shine our limelight on a fashion brand who have managed to catch our attention with their efflux of incredibly detailed designs that are making waves in the industry.

That brand is called Lukabi.
Lukabi is a ready-to-wear brand that has been in existence since 2019. Their attires are created for women of all body types, giving room for inclusivity in all its pieces. Each of their garment features bright colours and cleanly cut lines that enhance the figure of the wearers.

Lukabi is dedicated to empowering women and bringing the best out of their looks or appearance. For this reason, the clothing productions of the brand are directed towards women who love fashion and enjoy expressing themselves through unique styles. To fulfil its mission, Lukabi also caters to modern women who desire well-crafted attire that embodies elegance and class.

This compelling brand was launched out of the pure passion of a Nigerian fashion designer named Lukman Abioye Ayorinde. After graduating in 2017 from professional training at a renowned fashion house, Lukman grew an even bigger appetite for manufacturing not just clothes, but clothes that align with the needs of the modern woman. Within six years of its launch, the brand has made various achievements.

These include gaining recognition on online platforms and in print publications. Above all, the outstanding fact about Lukabi is its passion to keep celebrating and preserving the rich medley of African culture while blending luxury in creating its ready-made garments.

Additionally, each year, the brand shows exceptional dedication to its mission by creating unique collections.

However, in this article, we will only be dwelling on one of them, the 2022 Lukabi collection.

In the Lukabi collection, we will be critiquing three distinctive dresses. The dresses in the collection are a representation of simple and elegant.

Here is their breakdown.

Lukman Abioye Ayorinde outdid himself with this first maxi dress. The dress is a one-piece garment.

However, it can be easily mistaken for a two-piece because of the way it was crafted. That is one feature that caught our attention when the dress came into view.

The top area design was adapted from wrap blouses and made with royal blue crepe fabric. It began with a slim collar that gave way to the V-neckline that followed, unlike the typical V-neckline cut in a normal blouse. This dress used the exact criss-cross technique used for wrap shirts. This outstanding feature was backed by two slightly puffed sleeves and a wrap belt or rope that does a 360 on the dress to give it firmness and closure.

Right before the bottom part of the dress was introduced or conjoined, between the lower burst line and the mid-waist, is an attached belt made from the same royal blue fabric. It was used as a technique to close off the hem of the wrapped top and bring in the lower part of the bottom.

The bottom of the dress is a flared A-line skirt. It is made from shimmering turquoise blue satin fabric with a parallel line pattern. Aside from its shade and pattern, the skirt is very similar to normal flared A-line skirts. To complete the design of the dress, a complementary shade of zipper was added to the back.

The dress is a perfect combination of fashionable features and design. Still, there are a lot of things the Lukeman needs to pay attention to make this piece a standout attire. The very first point is the sleeve. The Margot puffed sleeve chosen for this piece was a wrong pick. It doesn’t give the dress that aesthetic look it should have, especially when placed side by side with the wrap blouse idea at the top. Instead, a plain long sleeve would do or even a short sleeve.

Secondly, the choice of infusing a makeshift belt to close off the hem of the wrap top wouldn’t have been a very good fit if it had a crisp look. If these two things can be rectified, this dress stands to be one of Lukabi’s best works yet.

Next in line is a coat or a ‘coat dress,’
This stylish set was designed to fit into formal and classy settings. The attire opened with a V-neckline. However, the interesting aspect of the neckline is that it was introduced as a result of the inclusion of a cape. The presence of the curved cape at the front makes it easy to claim that the dress shares some similarities with the Carrick coat, especially because of its layers. The dress’s cape has two layers made from two different fabrics, the burgundy brown and China white crepe. However, this cape takes on a different shape when viewed from the back.

From behind the dress, the cape is still layered, but the more squared shape it carries makes it look distinctive from the front.
Following that, an interesting addition is a simple long-sleeve design with additional space to provide room for comfort and ease. In the middle of the dress is a partition, shut close by shiny, silvery metallic shank buttons. Lastly, on both sides of the dress are flap pockets that share the same button as the partition, giving the outfit a trendier feel.
Although the dress looks very pretty and sophisticated, one thing that looked a bit off on the attire was the distinctive addition of the caped neckline.

While we understand that in fashion there is room for distinction in design styles, it is also important to have it run smoothly. In this case, the dress tried to do so, but the cape is so flamboyant that it seems like a distraction to the whole piece. So, our suggestion is not to completely take it out, but to find a way to tone it down in width.

This last dress shares so many similarities with the second dress. It also has short capes with partitions that shut with buttons. Yet, it holds its own differences.

The dress is a two-piece set comprising a skirt and a blouse. The blouse began with a round neckline that gradually gave room for the cape addition. However, unlike the second dress, the cape here flaps down in a round curve. From the front view, the cape is given a partition in the middle, which extends down the length of the front side of the top. This opening was brought close by sturdy plastic red buttons, which complement the red crepe fabric used in creating that attire. At the bottom of the dress is a pencil/straight skirt with minimal stitching and designs. The skirt only features a back zipper and a slit that enables easy movement and locomotion.

No doubt, this last attire is a facile beauty. The colour and style feel very vivid and soft, fit enough to encourage femininity. But the downside of the piece is that the back looks unflattering. Balance is absent in the cape. One side looks bent, and the bottom part of the blouse from the back looks unattractive. The designer can rectify this if they are open to revising the attire, making adjustments to the cape, and the overall hind view of the dress.

Overall, Lukman Abioye Ayorinde’s designs not only capture the real essence of confidence and simplicity in fashion but also its depth. His ability to infuse bright colours with sinuous prints and patterns, and celebrate fashion richness in his creations, is something worth admiration. In its entirety, this Lukabi 2022 collection deserves its flowers. Commendation goes out to Lukman Abioye Ayorinde for bringing such beautiful designs to life in fashion.

Now to you, folks. What do you think about the Lukabi 2022 collection?