Have you ever wondered about time? About how things came to be, how things are now, and how things continue to unfold. Life as its culmination of past, present, and future…
As a teenager, I was always inquisitive about the origins of origins. Who was the first native doctor, and how did they discover that certain herbs could heal certain illnesses? How was the first egusi soup recipe formulated? Who tried a random round object that grows from the ground (watermelon), discovered it could be eaten, and its seeds could be dried, peeled, and ground into what would become a traditional delicacy? I was in love with the past, not just as a holder of wisdom, but as a realm of curiosity, exploration, testing, and discovery. The beauty of ancestry is its curiosity of thought, and the discoveries of its exploration.
History is a seeker constantly finding new ways of being, through trial and error. The knowledge we inherit as truth - schools of thought, research, myths, beliefs - are all realisations of someone’s curiosity about something that was once unknown. They stem from the humble phrase - ‘I do not know.’ and journey into uncovering and understanding.
However, I feel, in our modern society, we struggle a lot with the concept of not knowing. Rather than viewing ourselves as students of life, we are surrounded by a wealth of knowledge (others’ knowings) - research, studies, inventions, and experts who have explored before us. Thus, we feel like we need to skip the phase of ‘not knowing’, believing we should simply take up others’ discoveries as a means to ease the discomfort of our own uncertainty.
It almost feels like life has come to a point where nothing is unknown, and as a result we’ve shifted from ‘I do not know.’ to ‘I should know.’ Ironically, this shift hides a deeper truth… ‘Should’ creates a facade of certainty in hopes of masking the shame and distress that not knowing, in a world filled with knowledge, perpetuates. This avoidance prevents us from accessing the very gem that brought every knowing thus far into being - the curiosity about the unknown paired with a willingness and openness to explore, experiment, and discover.
As my dad would say, ‘ To believe (‘should’) and to know something for yourself are two different things.’ To ‘know’ is to experience something for yourself, thus providing you with indisputable evidence of its truth. Meanwhile, to believe is to trust in something’s ability to be true.
History gives us permission to be learners, explorers, inventors, scientists, and philosophers. Curious adventurers able to experience life like a novice - questioning because this is our first life. As an artist and designer, this spaciousness has been the foundation of my creativity, fostering a deep love for pre-colonial art forms and making techniques.
Fashion is one of the portals through which I explore this. In that space of unknowing, my debut collection inspired an experimentation with both past and present, personal and collective curiosities to birth the ‘ABUNDANCE’ capsule collection. I found myself co-writing my personal story in textile through the pre-colonial process of adire. My favorite colours - orange, pink, and purple - bring to life the traditional symbols that were held within my contemporary shapes. Creativity dancing in time…
What is adire?
Adire is an indigo-dyed fabric, made with a variety of resist-dyeing techniques, from raffia tying to block printing, to create patterns and symbols that tell stories through textiles. Although the name refers to the textile practice of women in the Yoruba Kingdom in Nigeria, the resist-dyeing technique has been practiced widely across West Africa. More recently, there has been an evolution of this traditional process utilising wax-resist techniques and a wider range of colours.
After silently launching on the 31st of January 2026, I sat in the darkness of my mind, questioning what I had created. If it was beautiful enough. If it was authentic enough. If it was honest in the curiosity of its exploration of the past, present, personal, and collective. Was it all a sham?
Traditionally, an agbada is a glamorous robe, usually carrying intricate embroidery, that was worn by chiefs, which ‘originated in the Sokoto Caliphate of 19th-century northern Nigeria’ and spread to western Nigeria and beyond, into other West African countries like Cameroon. With the most adorned designs, it is usually worn by chiefs and ogbas; it became a symbol of regality, power, and prestige.
I was reminded of this when I came across a post by Guzangs magazine featuring historical images of people in agbadas. Slowly, after avoiding my own pieces for months, the collection came back to me… Cosmic dance, an ‘awosoke’—the outer robe. Cascadence shirt, ‘awotele’ - the undervest, and finally the suit trousers and Jones jeans, the ‘sokoto’. All three aspects that summate into a traditional agbada ensemble.Definitely not historically accurate, instead a liminal creation, birthed from an exploration of life as a cumulation of past, present and future, both deeply personal and collective.
As such, I leave you with this… What adventure can embracing the curious exploration of ‘I do not know’ unlock for you right now?
About Collection
Our debut collection, ‘ABUNDANCE’, is a love letter to life. An 11-piece capsule collection told through age-old adire and batik techniques - creating textiles that embody the magic in the unfolding cycles of life.
This capsule collection contains two distinct textile expressions. Speckled and vibrant – a yellow, pink, and white colour palette captures the sunlit glimmer of the day, while an inky and artisanal purple, blue, and pink palette alludes to the quiet reflection of the night. Interlaced within the collection is the tailored structure of masculine fashion with the sensual drapery of the feminine - reimagining native Nigerian attire through a whimsical contemporary lens.
Each piece serves as a portal through which wearers can channel the wealth of their lineage and celebrate the beauty of their unfolding life journey.
About Brand
Adanma’s Fashion is a contemporary gender-fluid brand, merging the tailored structure of masculine fashion with the sensual sculpture of the feminine. Grounded in a deep love for pre-colonial Nigerian art forms, we utilise traditional textile-making techniques to reimagine modern Nigerian fashion. We are a liminal brand, creating pieces that serve as portals through which wearers can embody the wealth of their lineage.
About Designer
Adanma Nwankwo (b. 2001) is an interdisciplinary Nigerian artist and founder of Adanma’s Fashion, a contemporary gender-fluid fashion brand. Founded in 2025, the brand is grounded in her deep love for pre-colonial Nigerian art, bending the boundaries between masculine and feminine fashion.
Adanma’s Fashion draws on traditional making techniques to reimagine modern Nigerian fashion. Sitting between art, culture, and fashion, the brand creates pieces that act as portals for wearers to connect with the wealth of their lineage.
If you are interested in becoming a GUAP contributor and telling stories that matter to the culture we want to hear from you. We commission emerging writers, journalists and video creators every month to cover the people, communities and moments our audience needs to discover. Your subject. Your voice. No brief.
For more information/submit a story - click here.
Consider becoming a paid subscriber and gain access to:
The full GUAP Daily: five deep-dive articles/video essays written by and for the culture, a week straight to your inbox, Monday to Friday.
The Sunday opportunities newsletter - jobs, freelance roles, commissions, casting calls and industry openings every week
Monthly online events - masterclasses, workshops, live interviews and community gatherings ran by OURPPLS.
Discounts/Perks from our community partners including Tunecore,
For only £6 a month (price of a coffee) you get access to the opportunities, the knowledge and the community that keeps you close to the culture. Whether you are building something or you just care about what is happening - this is where you want to be. And every membership puts money directly into the hands of the writers and creators telling the stories that actually matter.