Tia Adeola’s Fall 2022 Collection Celebrates the Beauty of Using Your Voice
Since launching her label six years ago when she was just 18 years old, designer Tia Adeola’s creations have been worn by Sza, Gigi Hadid, Dua Lipa and more. Her label has come to symbolize a unique sort of glamour. When guests walked into her fall 2022 show at the gilded Prince George Ballroom in Chelsea, they were greeted by a live harpist. It was exactly the romantic, over-the-top sentiment that Adeola has always stood for, with her ruffled face masks, sheer feathered gowns, and graphic dresses.
“These shows are my opportunity to bring my audience and bring my community and everyone that supports me into my mind, even if it's just for a split second,” Adeola told BAZAAR backstage, moments before her first show since the onset of the pandemic. “Picking the venue, the hair, the makeup, having a harp playing as guests are walking out... I just wanted to sort of embody that Black Renaissance experience.”
Adeola was born in Nigeria, raised in London and studied in New York, and while the designer takes a global approach, it’s clear that she also takes massive inspiration from her roots, too. Beginning in 2020, Adeola started using her voice to spread awareness around the End SARS movement, which was led by young Nigerian women seeking to put an end to police corruption and abuse of power in the African country. The designer felt she was being silenced, and as a result, put her voice, feelings and opinions in this new collection. “We see a lot of graphics for the first time–little jabs at the Nigerian government and the police system there,” she says. “The foundation of my brand has always been the Renaissance era. So that notion stays the same.”
The diverse cast of models as well as the variety in aesthetics showed different sides of the brand. A mix of ages, sizes and genders displayed glam details like arched skinny brows, blue eyeshadow and sculptural hair by T. Cooper. The white ruffled gowns, glitzy crop tops and boas, printed satin skirts and dresses, sheer bodycon dresses, and also a straight-forward offering of menswear, showed that Adeola certainly doesn’t lack variety when it comes to her talents.
One of the most important motifs in the collection? “The image of Black Jesus,” says Adeola. “This is an image that I've had since when I first debuted at New York Fashion Week in 2019.” The former Parsons student originally started crafting her tulle pieces in her dorm room under the name Slashed by Tia. “Art history has always been like one of my biggest passions. I always go back to my art history textbooks and my art history folders to find inspiration.”
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