For four months now, ALÁRA the award-winning, Lagos-based luxury concept store, has been wowing and drawing fashion lovers and enthusiasts to Brooklyn – New York, for a unique Retail Experience, which sadly, is coming to an end this month. But if in the Big Apple, you still have a chance to see it until 22nd October. It is unmissable.
ALÁRA at the Brooklyn Museum has allowed visitors to shop and explore nearly one hundred brands from more than twenty countries across Africa, as well as a myriad of New York– and U.S.-based designers within the African diaspora. The unique exhibition shop also includes works by many designers who are featured at the Africa Fashion exhibition taking place in tandem at the museum, including Ghana’s Christie Brown Senegal’s Tongoro Studio, and the Ivorian Queen of Cowries, Lafalaise Dion.
This exclusive event, as well as rotating trunk shows and programming, have truly enriched revelers’ retail experience throughout the exhibition’s run, which began on 23 June.
The Africa Fashion exhibition is the largest-ever presentation of the subject: more than 180 works, including standout pieces from the Museum’s collections. Organized thematically, this multi-sensory experience features immersive displays of haute couture and ready-to-wear apparel, as well as photographs, literature, sketches, music, film and catwalk footage, textiles, and jewelry.
Founded in 2015 by Reni Folawiyo, ALÁRA blends fashion, design, and culture, and since its launch, the store has received international acclaim for celebrating local and emerging talent and establishing a creative hub in Lagos. After meeting the Brooklyn Museum’s Entrepreneur in Residence, Rachel Shechtman, during Lagos Fashion Week, Folawiyo worked with Shechtman and Kate Foley, the Museum’s Retail Director, to bring this concept to American audiences for the first time. And what a treat it has proven to be.
“When I founded ALÁRA nearly a decade ago, our vision was to create a space to celebrate, elevate, and educate the world about African design; to showcase and support creative excellence across the African continent; and to serve as an authentic cultural platform,” says Reni. “We’re excited for audiences in the United States to interact with the work of accomplished creatives in Africa and across the diaspora, and for this incredible community to build pathways for collaboration, exploration, and a celebration of style with New Yorkers.”
