At home and on the cover of couriermedia talking fashion, business, horticulture and community. Wrote an article for The Guardian. Have a read. Jump to. Sections of this page. Accessibility Help. Email or Phone Password Forgot account? See more of Tolu Coker on Facebook. Log In. Forgot account?
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Well intended as those social media epiphanies may have been, it struck me that they evaded the most pressing causes of institutionalised racism within fashion: access and equity. Undoubtedly, it is not inclusivity, but exclusivity that drives fashion, from the VIP culture of the front row to the nepotism and lack of transparency surrounding recruitment for the most elusive roles and opportunities. Endorsement by the British Fashion Council is commodified through the extortionate fees charged to designers for listing on the official London fashion week schedule. Such expense excludes many from the vital opportunity to be seen by essential press, buyers and industry professionals. But data-driven reports such as Panic! As a fashion designer, business owner, former Central Saint Martins graduate and current university lecturer, I have witnessed processes rigged with racial and social inequities, across educational and professional sectors. As an academic, it is my access to data. It is data that unquestionably shows that black people are underrepresented in the very industries which claim to want to make space for them.
How I live: London-based designer Tolu Coker
But for Tolu, the vision is less about selling products and more about connecting communities. The diaspora community, too. I love those narratives. It always boils down to the wealth of difference in people. I was actually born across the street and then I moved here. We consider it our mini garden and an extension for home. We're growing lemons, squash, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers. I did a session on tomatoes and aubergines and how people can grow them inside.
More than just a fashion label, it serves as a creative outlet for the youthful expression of political reform, changing social and economic climates and new emerging identities. Family photos. Photos ranging generations back.
