Reinventing Adire – An Adekunle Gold Style Story!

Adekunle Gold has fast become a household name in music. The Afrocentric artist, whose first foray into fame came on the heels of Sade, a song that heavily relied on One Direction’s 2013 Story Of My Life single. From then on, he has constantly proven his musical mettle and convinced his fans and Nigerians, home and abroad, that he’s not just a lucky star but a talented one!

Adekunle’s music is not the only thing about him that stands out – his style counts as one. In a time when Ankara was the main fabric that transcended the shores of Nigerian/African style, Adekunle boldly makes a case for Adire.

Adire is the indigo-dyed cloth made in southwestern Nigeria by Yoruba women, using a variety of resist-dyeing techniques.

As the translation of the name suggests, the earliest pieces of this type were simple tied designs on cotton cloth handspun and woven locally, but in the early decades of the 20th century new access to large quantities of imported shirting material via the spread of European textile merchants in Abeokuta and other Yoruba towns caused a boom in these women’s entrepreneurial and artistic efforts, making Adire a major local craft in Abeokuta and Ibadan, attracting buyers from all over West Africa.

While flying the Nigerian flag, Adekunle shows off Adire, infusing modern and western elements in creating his signature Afrocentric looks. Whether dressed in a formal suit, or adorned in the traditional Adire Kabba outfit, the Gold man, always looks dapper.

Following his split from the YBNL group, Adekunle Giold made sure to incorporate the Adire aesthetics into his 79th Element Squad.

Think we don’t know what we are saying, scroll through this select pictures of him.