By Josephine Agbonkhese

Every now and then, a designer releases a collection that captures a feeling rather than a moment.

Badiyana London’s Afroglish Collection, released on the 10th of September 2024, feels like that kind of work, a seamless fusion of cultural depth and contemporary ease.

In it, creative director and fashion designer Rashida Badiwe Abdulai explores how identity can be worn, how heritage can find new form, and how elegance can emerge from contrast. The collection tells its story quietly, through tailoring that moves with purpose, prints that speak with confidence, and colours that carry memory.

The first piece to draw attention is the Nkosi Reagent Shirt, a masterclass in restraint and detail. Its deep purple base is crossed by soft white and indigo accents, creating a sense of rhythm that feels both deliberate and organic. It speaks to Rashida’s understanding of proportion, giving a clean silhouette that flatters without stiffness.

The shirt feels adaptable, as suited for an evening dinner as it is for an afternoon spent exploring the city, embodying the idea that true style exists wherever comfort and character meet.

The Tribal Bridges Shirt carries that same philosophy but with sharper contrasts. The black and white palette is bold, yet the flowing swirls and geometric pockets bring softness to its structure.

It is thoughtful design made visible, contemporary, artistic, and full of quiet intent. Rashida’s approach to menswear here is neither loud nor conservative; it is simply assured.

The Savanna and Savile Long-sleeved Shirt expands the colour story, introducing a base of deep red plaid layered with soft palm motifs. The pattern feels alive without losing sophistication, reminding the eye of tropical warmth while maintaining the poise of a well-tailored garment.

It is a balance of precision and play, culture and calm. This interplay continues in the Ashanti-Oxford Shirt, one of the most memorable pieces in the collection. Here, green tartan meets radiant red and yellow motifs that flow like energy across the fabric. The contrast feels celebratory, a reflection of confidence, heritage, and joy in self-expression.

The Kente Collab Club Shirt and Shorts bring an immediate shift in energy. The patchwork of vivid colours — yellow, green, red, and blue — bursts with optimism. It is a look that radiates personality, capturing the spirit of creativity and cultural pride. There is something infectious about its design, as though it were made for movement, for moments when one’s individuality cannot be contained. Yet, despite its vibrancy, the craftsmanship remains sharp, the fit precise, and the lines intentional.

Rashida proves that even the most expressive designs can retain elegance when shaped with discipline.
In contrast, the Ebony Windsor Shirt and Shorts explore quiet luxury. Here, muted tones of brown, grey, and cream are layered with delicate circular and plaid detailing. The composition feels measured, its beauty resting in the subtle interplay between texture and tone. It is designed for the man who appreciates refinement in simplicity, someone who understands that true confidence rarely needs to announce itself.

The Stoosh Shorts complete the collection with ease. Their black and white patchwork arrangement creates movement with every step, offering an effortless balance between urban sensibility and cultural grounding. When styled with a clean white tee, they become the embodiment of understated confidence. It is in pieces like this that Rashida’s philosophy comes to life: fashion should feel natural, not forced; it should express, not overpower.

What defines the Afroglish Collection is the depth of intention behind every detail. Rashida Abdulai has created more than a set of garments, she has created a visual language that speaks of belonging, of modern identity shaped by heritage. Every shirt and every stitch tells a story of unity, not contrast, where African tradition and English refinement coexist as equals.

The name itself, Afroglish, captures the designer’s purpose: to find harmony in difference, to design from the space between cultures, and to present that duality as strength. Rashida’s work invites us to see fashion not as performance but as truth, a quiet declaration of who we are and where we come from.

With this release, she continues to expand what modern African design can represent, proving that style is most powerful when it carries both history and vision.