In an industry where sustainable fashion can easily become more slogan than substance, Boyedoe offers a sharper proposition: West African heritage reconstructed through the language of global streetwear.
This perspective defines Summer Spring 2023: The Upcycled Luxury, The brand approaches African design as a living record of memory, resilience and identity, expressed through reconstructed silhouettes, visible textile histories and considered craftsmanship.
What distinguishes the collection is its treatment of discarded denim and second hand materials as fabrics with unfinished stories rather than waste requiring disguise. By preserving traces of their former lives while reshaping them into contemporary garments, Boyedoe challenges the idea that luxury must appear untouched or conventionally refined. Here, luxury is located in creative recovery, cultural meaning and the skill required to give an existing material a renewed purpose.
In particular, This collection has amazingly changed what we all know as sustainable style by turning second hand textile waste into premium, runway ready outfits.
From long coat style to short dress style to two piece set (top and skirt), incredible would have been an understatement because these collections carry history in every single stitch.
It is interesting to know that Summer Spring 2023 was inspired by the ancient Japanese art form of Kintsugi. A form of art that involves mending broken objects with gold fillings, giving them ‘golden scars,’ the collection is a visual statement on the acceptance and appreciation of the impermanent, imperfect, and incomplete nature of everything.
I have asked exactly what makes this brand so unique in sustainable fashion. Lets find out as we explore a few pieces from the SS23 Collection.
The first unique appearance is a full set with a long sleeve collar shirt and pants, a contemporary fashion look from the SS23 collection. This is a deep shaded indigo long sleeve button down collar shirt featuring a distinct pink and green rose pattern all over the shirt. Matching this shirt are the dark indigo denim trousers with unique stitching along the pockets and waistband, where a belt space has been crafted.
The silhouette is well structured and relaxed. This collection is inspired by upcycled denim craftsmanship mixed with botanical florals. If current fashion trends are closely followed, this outfit matches perfectly with the ideas behind some reigning brands like Wales Bonner, Daily Paper, and the unique Ahluwalia.
I believe this outfit has made a powerful statement and impact, moving from contemporary African fashion toward proving that truly sustainable, upcycled materials are not merely waste but can be transformed into a sophisticated luxury. It has also proven that streetwear can be innovative enough to find a place in fashion shows.
This piece is a perfect choice for casual corporate wear and beach outings.
While the entire outfit hit, there were still some marks it missed, like the pairing of the oversized, lightweight draped shirt with heavy trousers; the trousers swallowed up the entire silhouette, and I could not accentuate the wearer’s complete silhouette.
This can be adjusted by the addition of a drawstring waistband, which will make the trousers adjustable around the waist; by pulling and tying the end, the trousers are tightened enough to fit and bring out the wearer’s frame.
The second appearance in this collection is an outfit I consider to be contemporary high fashion. It expresses the African heritage in a significant manner a classic femininity. It comprises an upper garment and a lower garment, simply a two-piece outfit.
A glance at the outfit shows the loose fitting, structured white shirt with a pronounced collar, sharp and pointed. I call this a squeaky-clean outfit. Among all the features, the upcycled strips across the right chest of the shirt appeared to be the most fascinating aspect. It formed a wavy, beautiful motif that stretched down to the waist region.
Whereas the lower garment, another catchy aspect of the design, is a high waisted wrap mini skirt made from discarded jeans. The skirt, with its firm waistband, did a great job of accentuating the silhouette of its wearer.
But here is the contrast: the differences in the fabrics used, which is the strongest part of the look for me. The lightweight shirt is greatly prevented from being distorted by the heavily textured denim. Each fabric had its own place in the design.
Taking inspiration from the renowned Ghanaian philosophy of Sankofa, which in Akan means To go back and fetch it.’ The way this design was crafted proved that this design was modern luxury made from discarded material.
It makes absolute sense to say that this idea feels relevant in today’s fashion when placed alongside the popular circular fashion and prominent designers like NKWO and MarguesAlmaida, who are reshaping textile waste.
However, I believe that while others favour dynamic designs, this look transforms denim into a rigid, sculptural statement. Overall, this piece stands out first as a model for sustainable luxury, then as a distinct visual language of sustainability.
Here is another stunning look on the runway with a loud Afro minimalist vibe, a signature of Boyedoe.
What makes this outfit interesting is the sudden transformation from traditional fashion to a corporate button-down shirt, classic if you ask me. It is a loud visual statement representing modern African luxury.
It is a long, white maxi length shirt dress with a button up front and long sleeves; what stood out for me is the bright lime green fringe trim running down the centre and along the outer sleeves.
Perhaps I would say it got its contemporary touch from the slouchy tote bag made from the patchwork denim in various shades of blue.
On the international stage, this positions the Summer Spring 2023 with the likes of Simone Rache and Balenciaga, all famous for their structural distortion and romantic volume.
However, again, here lies the outstanding difference: while they are all Western centric, the distinction lies with the colours; others use moody, neutral, or monochromatic colours. Boyedoe used a loud shade, which implies boyedoe, had chosen from African culture; although the designer kept the design simple, bold colours were added, which confirmed that simple clothes can be celebratory and bright.
After all, I noticed that the key flaw lies in the instant transition from the short front curve to the back hemline. I would suggest a softer hemline for future designs. However, this remains a masterclass in modernising heritage volume.
Here goes another two piece designed from a layered shade of revamped indigo denim. The top, a structured patchwork denim jacket with a collar showing shredded edges, is matched with solid deconstructive denim trousers highlighting heavy layering, visible seams, pockets as common to this style, and a stacked baggy fit at the bottom.
I see this and think of structured Textural saturation because of the impressive balance between the traditional, well-tailored menswear and the chaotic textile fragments.
This is inspired by the concept of Textile Reincarnation’; instead of using new fabric, the designer used an old scrap of denim from start to finish, which is deeply rooted in West Africa; in fact, it is the exact weaving method used in the Kente cloth.
I love the fact that this design ranks perfectly with Junya Watanabe and Diesel by Glenn Martens; the distinction, however, is that while the other brand uses treated recycled denim and transform them into luxury denim, in this collection, Boyedoe maintains the integrity of the recycled denim.
The concern here is that the outerwear is extremely heavy and bulky; layering heavy patchwork on the entire outfit caused the distortion of the silhouette.
To solve this, I would suggest the use of lighter fabrics for the inner lining, and the shortening of the jacket too.
Once more, the designer has established with this piece that sustainability is the new fashion and it can compete at the highest tier of the luxury market, positioning the collection as a leader in Africa’s circular design, showing the world how to turn environmental waste into luxury art.
Looking at Boyedoes SS23 upcycled luxury collection, I can tell that the brand and this collection strongly tell a story of waste transformed into luxury.
Boyedoe plays with not just inspiration, but also colours as well, which makes each outfit stand out. The designer makes colour blocking a styling technique, and not many brands do that, which makes the collection authentic. The suggestions werent made to point out flaws, but to enhance the styling to a more perfect look.
Is safe to say that this years collection has set a definitive triumph for SS23 collection. It did so by transforming secondhand textile waste into a luxury, editorial uniform.
The brand has successfully demonstrated that eco-conscious fashion can be aggressively stylish, masculine, and top notch. Boyedoe, does more than create stunning designs; here is proof that sustainable circularity belongs at the very top tier of international style, carving a brilliant new lane for African design on the world stage.
By Dimeji Alara