Shade Thomas-Fahm

Shade Thomas-Fahm
Born
Victoria Omọ́rọ́níkẹ Àdùkẹ́ Fọlashadé Thomas

(1933-09-22) 22 September 1933
OccupationFashion designer
Notable workShade's Boutique

Shade Thomas-Fahm (born Victoria Omọ́rọ́níkẹ Àdùkẹ́ Fọlashadé Thomas; 22 September 1933) is a Nigerian fashion designer, who is regarded as the first Nigerian modern fashion designer.[1][2] Best known for pioneering African fashion in Nigeria,[3] she was celebrated at London's Victoria and Albert Museum in 2022.[4][5]

Biography

Thomas-Fahm was born on 22 September 1933 to parents of Yoruba descent. Her father was Bankole Ayorinde Thomas and her mother, Elizabeth Olaniwun Thomas. She attended St. Peter's School in Faaji and also Baptist Girls' School, Araromi and New Era Girls' Senior Secondary School, Surulere, Lagos.[1] In the summer of 1953, she left Nigeria for England to become a nurse. Taking instead to fashion in London,[2] she enrolled into Saint Martin's School of Art, where she studied fashion designing and was the first Nigerian woman to do so. She worked briefly as a fashion buyer at Simpson's of Piccadilly before returning to Nigeria.[6]

According to Thomas-Fahm, she returned to Nigeria "to provide jobs for people and tackle unemployment".[7] She encountered problem convincing the natives to buy local fabrics and use traditional designs because the British cultural influence in Nigeria was not countered then.[8]

Thomas-Fahm popularised the use of hand-dyed adire and aso oke in ready-to-wear styles.[9] In the 1960s, she founded the Shades Boutique.[2] It started with the Maison Shadé, which she opened in 1960 in Yaba, Lagos.[10] Thomas-Fahm influenced her contemporaries from the 1970s, including Abah Folawiyo, Betti O, Folorunsho Alakija, and Nike Davies-Okundaye.[3]

Legacy

Thomas-Fahm specialized in the use of locally woven and dyed textiles to make modern contemporary styles that became known in Nigeria and around the world.[11] She transformed iro and buba into a wrapper skirt;[12] and the creation of the 'ajuba now popularly known as the 'boubou' form men's agbada.[13]

She served as president of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), using her platform to mentor upcoming designers and advocate for culturally rooted, sustainable fashion.[14] She was the president of the Rotary Club of Victoria Island from 2009 to 2010.[15]

Thomas-Fahm was the first fashion designer to open a fashion boutique in Nigeria.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "Fashioning the Nation: A blouse created by a Nigerian fashion innovator". Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. 16 June 2020. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Noor Haq, Sana. "Nigerian fashion pioneer Folashade 'Shade' Thomas-Fahm will be celebrated at 'Africa Fashion' exhibition". CNN. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. 1 2 Forbes Staff. "Why Fashion Breaks My Heart". Forbes Africa. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Elan, Priya (7 July 2021). "V&A exhibition will use 250 objects to highlight creativity of African fashion". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Theodosi, Natalie (20 January 2021). "Victoria & Albert Museum Plans a Major African Fashion Exhibition for 2022". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "Shade Thomas-Fahm transformed Nigerian fashion". Economist.com. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  7. ↑ Agbonkhese, Josephine (3 October 2015). "Nigeria was much more favourable 55 years ago — Sade Thomas-Fahm". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Ekunkunbor, Jemi (2 October 2010). "50 years of recycled fashion". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Nation, The (2018-06-02). "Folashade Thomas-Fahm: Allow your imagination run wild". The Nation. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  10. ↑ Awosika, Tomisin (23 September 2021). "Who Is Shade Thomas-Fahm?". The Republic.
  11. ↑ "Nigerian Fashion Pioneer Folashade 'Shade' Thomas-Fahm Will Be Celebrated at 'Africa Fashion' Exhibition". Africa.com. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "R6042 Blouse; Buba". Fashioning Africa. Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  13. ↑ Akutu, Geraldine (28 July 2019). "Awaiting gains of Nigeria's Multi-billion Naira Fashion Industry". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  14. ↑ ADEKUNLE, MUSA (2024-10-26). "Shade Thomas-Fahm: Nigeria's ageless fashion matriarch". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  15. ↑ Igbinovia, Josephine (29 December 2012). "Rotary is about continuity of service - Thomas-Fahm". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  16. ↑ Agbonkhese, Josephine (31 August 2017). "Recovered looted funds should be channeled into reviving textile sector — Shade Thomas-Fahm". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
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