Tolu Coker, the Name and Brand Dominating Everyone's Feed at SS25 London Fashion Week.
I remember watching the brand’s Instagram stories, thinking, “This must’ve been such a moment!” A moment reminiscent of the first collection I ever discovered from them – REPLICA. I was barely 20, lying in bed, scrolling through Twitter (now X), when I came across this mesh ensemble with lace petal trimmings in a soft baby blue and azure colour palette – Image 1. I was instantly captivated. I illustrated that look countless times, mesmerised by the delicate yet powerful composition. This was back when I only dreamed of being a fashion designer. Tolu Coker immediately became my design blueprint for a time.
REPLICA, like all her subsequent collections, tells a simple yet compelling story about identity – both lived and borrowed. Initially, I assumed the 2017 collection was an ode to Caribbean culture because of its hats, deconstructed prints, wide-holed mesh tank tops, and boomboxes. But on closer inspection, it was simply her deliberate take on identity. She explored deconstruction, both literally and figuratively, and expressed her views on identity, race, and gender, while drawing from the shared Black experience of immigrants living in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 70s.
Tolu Coker’s identity and heritage have always formed the backdrop of her creative expression, beginning with her first BA collection. It’s safe to say these themes are pillars of the brand. It is not unusual for Ms Coker to use memorabilia and her documentation of personal or shared experiences as a catalyst for her collections. This explains the shared emotion and impact her recent LFW SS25 collection, Ọlápéjú, has had on both individuals and the media at large. Drawing on her late father’s photographic archives and the deep-rooted inspirations of the matriarch, notably her mother, Ọlápéjú – whom Ms Coker describes as ‘the nucleus’ among other women – this collection opens yet another dimension in her exploration of personal (and inevitably, brand) identity.
This stunning runway show would be incomplete without acknowledging the soundscapes, carefully composed by Gaetan Judd, which, in my humble opinion, truly brought the collection to life. Music has a way of doing that, doesn’t it?
Tolu Coker’s meticulous attention to detail, in consistently telling Black stories – particularly her own – is beyond admirable. It’s a critical, and often excluded, element in the broader landscape of Black-owned fashion brands. Her work avoids the pitfalls of appropriation or exploitation, which too often surface in the fashion industry. This consistency, present since her debut in 2017, underscores the essence of the brand she is building, cementing the enduring value that Tolu Coker continues to offer
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