Adesuwa Aighewi
Nigeria, China, Thailand
If models were traditionally seen and not heard, Aighewi upends that notion entirely. At Dior’s resort show in Marrakech last April, she used her moment backstage with creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri to raise questions about the authenticity of the collection, prompting a larger dialogue about safeguarding African traditions. “These conversations weren’t being had before, but social media has changed everything,” says the model, who posted a video of their exchange to Instagram. Aighewi, who spent the better part of her childhood in Nigeria, where her father is from (her mother is Thai-born Chinese), and now lives in New York, is hoping to bring African artisanship to the fore once again with Legacy Project, an online marketplace for independent designers and craftspeople set to launch in the near future. “Fashion is deeply political,” she says. “People want clothes with meaning.”
