On contemporary African designers.

Who is making the most interesting clothing on the continent right now — and what they have in common.

A few years ago, the conversation about African design was still mostly about heritage. About preserving techniques. About making sure aso oke and bògòlanfini didn't disappear into the museums.

That conversation hasn't ended — and shouldn't. But running alongside it now is a different one.

The most interesting designers we encounter today are not trying to preserve anything. They are trying to make clothes their friends will want to wear next Saturday. They learned weaving in Iseyin or Bonwire and pattern-cutting in Antwerp or Saint Martins. They use the language they grew up with and the language they trained in interchangeably, often within the same piece.

The result is a design culture that has stopped asking permission. Houses producing twelve looks a season for an international press list. Pop-ups in Brixton, Peckham, the Marais, Brooklyn. Collaborations with stylists in Vogue. A small but growing number of pieces that get attention not because they're "African" — that word doing too much heavy lifting — but because they're good.

We started Asofe because we wanted to be part of bringing those pieces somewhere they can be bought.