On Wednesday, The Folklore, a retailer that carries and promotes fashion brands from Africa and the African diaspora, announced a partnership with retail giant Farfetch. According to the former’s founder, Amira Rasool, the partnership “will give The Folklore’s brands greater access to global luxury customers.” The capsule collection, which is now available to shop on Farfetch.com, added 10 new brands to the global retailer's roster, including Nigeria-based brands Andrea Iyamah, Orange Culture, Clan, Fruché, Lisa Folawiyo, Onalaja, and Tokyo James, as well as three New York-based brands William Okpo, EDAS, and Third Crown.
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“For so long, these brands — either because they were overlooked by international retailers or didn’t have the capacity to run a D2C [direct-to-consumer] e-commerce businesses — have not had the opportunity to cultivate a massive global audience,” Rasool told Refinery29. “Farfetch understands that globalizing these brands is our primary mission and the team there has been super helpful with providing resources and time to make this partnership as successful as possible.” The partnership arrives as part of Farfetch’s “ongoing effort to engage with more Black-owned brands and boutiques,” according to the press release. It will also help to bring about Rasool’s dream for The Folklore, which, as she told Refinery29 in August, is to make the company the “LVMH of Africa.”
Accompanying the release is a campaign shot in Lagos, Nigeria, which includes key pieces from the Farfetch drop. The editorial, which was produced by The Folklore’s digital producer Raven Irabor and shot by Nigerian photographer Stephen Tayo was designed to showcase Nigeria as a fashion capital. The campaign also includes a short fashion film.
The standouts from the capsule collection — which, for now, includes 24 womenswear items and nine menswear items — include a gold, belted trench coat by Orange Culture, vegan leather trousers by Clan, and a cutout, sequin LBD by Onalaja, all of which are available to shop now. Head to Farfetch.com to see the new collection for yourself now.
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