One to Watch: Lisa Folawiyo

While I would love to have blogged about this Fly Female Entrepreneur during Fashion Week, my increasingly insane schedule just. would. not. permit.  As the saying goes, it’s better late than never so allow me to introduce you to the amazingly talented Nigerian designer Lisa Folawiyo, founder of Jewel by Lisa (JBL). In less than four years, Lisa has perfected the art of wearing Ankara and is the first to embellish the fabric with sequins, Swarovski crystals and beads. As you can imagine, the designer’s attention to detail catapulted Jewel by Lisa into coveted luxury label status.

A far cry from the cookie-cutter looks many designers produce, each JBL piece is hand-crafted and guaranteed to make you stand out in a crowd. With each embellishment hand-sewn carefully onto the fabric, a fully designed JBL garment takes an average of 120 hours to design. I’m a fan of African textiles and can appreciate the fact that many contemporary designers (including our very own Fly Female Entrepreneur, Maya A. Lake of Boxing Kitten), are using the patterns to create their looks.

Lisa Folawiyo took the Mercedes-Benz Spring/Summer 2010 Fashion Week by storm as a featured designer in the highly anticipated “Arise: Promise of Africa Collective” show. For those of you not aware, Arise is a style, fashion, and cultural magazine that celebrates African achievements across all industries. The four designers who participated in this year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week were hand picked winners of the Arise Fashion Awards where over 50 designers from 20 countries vied for the opportunity to share their gift with the world.

Following are a few of my JBL favs. Let the love affair begin!

For additional information on Lisa Folawiyo and Jewel by Lisa click here.

Make it an amazing day!