Meet Reni Folawiyo,the owner of Alara, a four-storey building housing a mix of African fashion, design and art and a selection of work by Western designers, complete with a gourmet restaurant.
The store is the first major work on African soil by David Adjaye, a British architect of Ghanaian origin, who is also behind Washington’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, among others.
“We like colour, we’re dramatic; adornment is our way of expression,” says Folawiyo.
She also said Alara is geared towards “the flamboyance of the Africans”, from the retro, multi-coloured dresses by Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean, futuristic glasses by Kenya’s Cyrus Kabiru to the python bags made by Nigeria’s Zashadu.
The store also has a personal shopping service on offer to cater for customers’ varying needs.