British designer Duro Olowu is a lawyer turned designer, born in Lagos Nigeria, to a Nigerian father and a Jamaican Mother, and was raised between Nigeria and England. What better environment to develop his love for designing than England, a place that embraces international culture, art, and music?

When Duro was younger, he developed an enthusiasm for fashion, and became inspired by the mixture of colors, rich texture of clothing worn by the women around him. Following in his father’s footsteps, he became a lawyer but later gave it up to follow his dream of becoming a fashion designer.

In October 2004, he launched his first self-titled women’s wear label with a collection for Spring/Summer 2005. The collection was inspired by a theme of ‘love and joy’, and included his signature ‘Duro dress’, which was such a hit that when I googled it, I almost crashed my computer with the many hits of “Duro-Inspired” versions. I am not a hater of creativity, so if you can’t afford $$$ for the real thing, but you possess the creative gene of make your own, then by all means you should, as long as you use the proper terminology to describe your own “inspired by” creation.

Everyone tried to put their own ‘spin’ on it but you can instantly recognize it as a kimono-styled dress with long flowing sleeves, and an empire-waist, created in vibrant mixture of silk prints. It is accentuated at the waist, sleeves and hem with a wide contrasting band strategically placed to make the dress the unique branded creation that it is. In 2005, the ‘Duro dress’ was named dress of the year by both American and British Vogue.

Olowu was named New Designer of the Year during the 2005 British Fashion Week in London, only one year after the launching of his label! The unique thing about this African designer which has helped in pushing his designs into the main stream so quickly, in my opinion, is that his designs are not ethnic, though we can see the bold prints and color and pattern as evidence of his African heritage, his designs have an exotic look, while having an eclectic appeal. Duro says that the main inspirations behind his creations are women. He loves women and knows that ‘we’ have a need to feel good in what we wear.

Olowu looks to legendary singer Billie Holiday for the “genuine romance of that era” to speak to the needs of women. He is well known for his eye-catching fluid dresses that literally move with you. He creates these from vintage fabrics that he finds all over the world, and is also designing new prints of his own. He describes his designs as simply “effortless, international chic”. To see his more from his collections, visit his website