Tolu Coker

Tolu Coker is a British-Nigerian fashion designer, textile designer and multidisciplinary artist based in London. Her work draws on British and Nigerian cultural histories, particularly the experiences of African diaspora communities, and frequently incorporates reused textiles and traditional craft techniques. She began developing her eponymous label in 2018 and formally launched it in 2021.[1][2]

Coker was selected for the British Fashion Council's NewGen programme in 2023 and was one of eight finalists for the 2025 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers.[1][3]

Early life and education

Coker was born in London to Nigerian parents and grew up in North Kensington in west London. Her father was a photographer and community organiser whose photographs of family life, protests and the changing neighbourhood later became reference material for her collections. Her mother made clothes for the family, including garments worn to church. Coker has also cited the exchange of clothing and household goods at Portobello Road Market and local car-boot sales as an early influence on her understanding of reuse.[2]

She studied fashion design and textile print at Central Saint Martins, graduating with first-class honours in 2017.[4] While studying, she undertook placements at Maison Margiela, J.W. Anderson and Celine. After graduating, she worked for a fast-fashion retailer in Spain before deciding to establish an independent practice.[2]

Career

Coker began presenting work under her own name in 2018. That year, she received the Diesel Award and the ITS Time for Coffee Award at the International Talent Support competition, as well as a special mention from Vogue Talents.[5] Her first designer collection, Juvenile Consciousness, was presented during the Autumn/Winter 2019 season after she received the Fashion Scout Merit Award.[6]

Although Coker had produced collections and multidisciplinary projects from 2018, later profiles describe 2021 as the formal launch of the Tolu Coker label.[2][7] In 2022, she joined an experimental design programme established by artist Theaster Gates in Chicago, where participating designers received studio resources and mentoring.[2]

In 2023, Coker was selected for NewGen, the British Fashion Council's support programme for emerging designers. Her first NewGen runway show at London Fashion Week presented the collection Irapada, a Yoruba word meaning "redemption". The collection combined Western forms of "Sunday best" clothing with references to Yoruba spirituality and Nigeria's Aladura churches, including tailored garments, printed hats and denim jacquards.[1] The Guardian described it as her runway debut and noted its use of structured tailoring, corseted shirt dresses and printed separates.[8]

Her Autumn/Winter 2024 collection, Broken English, drew partly on informal traders Coker had encountered in Ghana and on the circulation of discarded Western clothing through African markets.[9] Its London presentation turned the runway into a market-like streetscape and included tailored leather jackets, pleated skirts, corseted shirt dresses and sculptural headwear.[10]

For Spring/Summer 2025, Coker created a collection based on the experiences and personal style of her mother, who had emigrated from Lagos to London. The show was staged in a set resembling a family living room, while prints and other visual details were derived from domestic photographs taken by Coker's father.[11]

Coker continued to examine migration and ceremonial dress in her Autumn/Winter 2025 collection. It combined references to Black spiritual traditions in Nigeria, Louisiana, Haiti, Brazil and Cuba with British materials and garments, including tartan and white poplin shirts.[12] In April 2025, she was announced as one of the eight finalists for that year's LVMH Prize.[3]

Instead of presenting her Spring/Summer 2026 collection as a conventional runway show, Coker and her brother Ade Coker co-directed the short film Unfinished Business. The film featured Naomi Campbell and a group of younger Black models in a domestic setting, with garments presented as objects passed between generations.[2]

Design

Coker's collections often combine British tailoring with references to Nigerian and wider African diaspora dress. Recurring elements include sculptural hats, flared suits, pleated skirts, West African-influenced waistcoats and British checks.[2] Family photographs, domestic interiors, religious dress and the experiences of African immigrants in Britain have served as source material for several of her collections.[1][2]

Her practice also makes use of deadstock and upcycled fabrics. Coker has described reuse as connected both to environmental concerns and to the resourcefulness she observed in West African markets.[9] Her designs have addressed the representation of Black communities in luxury fashion. In a 2025 interview with The Guardian, she described participation in London Fashion Week as a means of giving greater visibility to stories that had historically received less attention.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Benissan, Ezreen (18 September 2023). "Meet London designer Tolu Coker. NewGen's new star?". Vogue Business. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bala, Divya (19 February 2026). "Meet Tolu Coker, the London Fashion Week Designer Reimagining Traditional British Style". W. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 Criales-Unzueta, José; Cariani, Alessandro (2 April 2025). "Prix LVMH 2025 : qui sont les finalistes ?". Vogue France (in French). Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Tolu Coker". University of the Arts London. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "ITS Contest 2018". International Talent Support. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Tolu Coker". London Fashion Week. British Fashion Council. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Cochrane, Lauren (15 May 2025). "Superfine: Black designers worthy of a place in the Met". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "London fashion week spring/summer 2024: key shows – in pictures". The Guardian. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 Cochrane, Lauren (16 February 2024). "Kate Moss, chaos and community: London fashion week designers to watch". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Mower, Sarah (16 February 2024). "Tolu Coker Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Deaman, Sam (20 September 2024). "Ones to watch: 10 emerging London fashion week designers to bookmark". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Abbey Road, aliens and Withnail: London fashion week autumn/winter 2025 – in pictures". The Guardian. 26 February 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  13. ↑ Cochrane, Lauren (24 February 2025). "'It was shocking to me': Black female designers still underrepresented at London fashion week". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
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