Meet the game changing fashion icon behind Orange Culture<\/em><\/p>\n The conversation surrounding men\u2019s fashion in Nigeria would be obsolete were it not to include the name Adebayo Oke-Lawal<\/strong>. A trailblazer in every sense of the word, Oke-Lawal<\/strong> has lit his path to icon status with many outfits that have disrupted everything we thought we knew about men\u2019s fashion. The Creative Director of high fashion label Orange<\/strong> Culture<\/strong>, a line that constantly challenges heteronormative ideals of menswear, Bayo always puts his money (and clothes) where his mouth is.<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking at Design Indaba 2019<\/strong>, a Cape Town festival dedicated to all things design Bayo shared his story with the crowd saying, \u201cI went to an all-boys school and experienced a lot of aggravation because of how I represented myself. People told me I was too soft; I needed to be harder to be a man.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n His experiences at school made him think more profoundly about masculinity as a construct and how the concept was often at odds with his own personal sense of identity that didn\u2019t fit into one box. \u201cWhatever society wanted me to be wasn\u2019t what I had to be,\u201d<\/em> he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From his teenage years, Bayo got his start in fashion, interning whilst maintaining a corporate job. However, his passion prevailed and at the tender age of 20, Bayo launched Orange Culture<\/strong>. \u201cMy first collection got the worst reviews ever,\u201d he says. \u201cSomeone said I should kill myself for showing a man wearing a red suit! But I also got a DM from a person who said my brand really inspired them.\u201d<\/em> Luckily, Bayo prevailed and Orange Culture<\/strong> has risen to become one of the most important fashion brands in Africa, sparking a much-needed conversation about male identity and how fashion and gender collide.<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking to Vogue<\/strong> magazine about his career trajectory and standing his truth has often put a target on his back, Bayo says, \u201cWe had, and still have, some problems. The way society is in Lagos\u2026we\u2019re used to very specific ways of seeing things. Gender is an exact way of thinking back home and has been for a very long time. Things have been written in the press that say Orange Culture is \u2018feminizing our men\u2019 and that we\u2019re going to hell because of it. Now it\u2019s just, like, I don\u2019t care, you can write it. I\u2019ve been doing this for years, and it is working, and it is still growing. If you have a problem with a man wearing jewelry or an oversize blouse or painting his nails, that\u2019s your problem. It\u2019s not Orange Culture\u2019s!\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Bayo himself has reached icon status. Having amassed quite the following on social media, warmth and authenticity oozes through the screen as Bayo teaches us all what it means to live unapologetically in one\u2019s truth. His charisma is palpable and for a man that has spent the better part of a decade, single handedly challenging entrenched ideas surround gender and identity, and his humility is refreshing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The self-confessed \u2018nerd\u2019 has grown into a visionary.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Image Credits<\/strong><\/p>\n Photography by\u00a0@mikeyoshai<\/a> Orange Culture Images<\/strong><\/p>\n Styling and Creative Direction @olaoluebiti<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/smartmoneyafrica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/orange-culture-adebayo-oke-lawal-smart-moeny-africa-119124513_2820912111344376_7463537237326751599_n.jpg\")
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Outfit\u00a0@orangecultureng<\/a>
Grooming\u00a0@a.j.i.d.e<\/a><\/p>\n
Photography\u00a0@mikeyoshai<\/a>
Make Up\u00a0@a.j.i.d.e<\/a>
Set Design\u00a0@eventsbyclaud<\/a>\u00a0@captainclaud<\/a>
Location\u00a0@beediesiel<\/a>
Model\u00a0@anasam_abel<\/a>\u00a0@bethmodelafrica<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n