OIZA, CEREMONY DEBUT COLLECTION AW24

February 2024 - OIZA’s debut presentation showcases Ceremony for Autumn Winter 2024, a collection that explores the juxtaposition and similarities between a wedding and funeral in both African and British cultures.

Conceived in 2022 by designer Olivia Ozi-Oiza Chance, OIZA is a womenswear brand with an appeal to a genderless audience. It specialises in constructing hand-stitched lace cloth, which becomes garments that engage the evolving discourse around African fashion and its place within contemporary luxury. Woven between the brand’s foundations are intricate details of pearls, cowrie shells and floral motifs, all of which symbolise wealth, status, customs and rituals in both African and British cultures.

Born to a Nigerian mother and English father, Chance vividly remembers growing up in a multicultural household, which posed a lot of internal questions about identity and the sense of belonging. This curiosity led her to develop OIZA as a visual celebration of her dual heritage, with a strong focus on Nigerian culture and ceremonial practices. The brand provides an opportunity to challenge the narrative of how the Black community is perceived within luxury fashion through her distinct lens of storytelling.

“Across the duration of four months, last year my family experienced both loss and union,” says OZIA founder Olivia Ozi-Oiza Chance. “Having attended a funeral and wedding back-to-back, it was hard to ignore the juxtaposition and similarities across both ceremonies. After poring over family photos and conducting research into shared African and British customs, I started to create the collection ‘Ceremony’.”

Ceremony consists of hand-stitched lace cloth meticulously curated to make up graphic and intricate textural dresses, one of OIZA’s signature designs. Silhouettes of high necklines and maxi cut lengths pull references from photographs of British Victorian widows in mourning, whilst the dropped low waist is a go- to fit OIZA adopted from earlier drops. The brand also introduces new necklines and lengths to diversify its offering and align with its contemporary feel. Genderless pieces include a black hand-stitched lace vest adorned with pearls, black guipure lace flared trousers with denim trims, an oversized floral cricket vest and wool tailored flares.

The adornment of cowrie shells and ostrich feathers throughout the collection draw inspiration from the opulence of African practices and imagery of royal weddings and burials. Mixed with baroque pearls (a gemstone known to be worn by brides on their wedding day) it also represents the 19th Century tradition of pearls being worn by royals as ‘mourning jewellery’.

The colour palette signifies the contrasting dress code of white and black worn at weddings and funerals respectively, but also in the same breath, blurs the lines between the two. OIZA’s research includes white robes being worn during Nigeria’s Yoruba festival Eyo Masquerade — a ceremony that can occur for a burial of an important chief or king. One stand out piece includes a blue dress, taking inspiration from a particular line from the 19th century English rhyme that describes what a bride should wear on her wedding day: ‘something blue’.

The collection nods to Christianity — a religion prominent in both English and Nigerian cultures — through the accessories of crucifix pearl chokers and pearl prayer beads and the showcasing of the collection in a church. Set against the backdrop of a British church, the visual contrast of the African-influenced clothes is striking and, combined with music composed by London DJ trio Hale Zero, provides an immersive experience of OIZA’s world.