19 year old Taofeek Abijako identifies two fathers for his design line, HEAD OF STATE+: Nigerian human rights activist Fela Kuti, from whom he borrows the name "Head of State"; and his own father, also a fashion designer. From Kuti comes an mature deliberation on human equality, injected with Abijako's youthful vigor. From Abijako's father comes a refined minimalism accenting smart streetwear adaptations and firmly establishing Abijako as the youngest designer to show at New York Fashion Week: Mens.
For his third collection, called "Brotherhood," Abijako riffs on his cultural heritage in Nigeria through to his current life in New York through a ceremonial reflection on human fraternity. Boldly printed statements add pops of thought to updated menswear classics like a PVC trucker jacket or an oversized pocket-front pullover. Religious overtones, a signature tune for HEAD OF STATE+, are evident in graphic tees referencing Paradise, the fall of Lucifer, and the title track of the collection, universal Brotherhood.
With his unique blend of cultures, Abijako creates a soulful tune with its heart in the homeland and its head in the clouds of that sweet American Dream. A restrained deliberation harmonizes the powerful messaging with an endlessly energetic beat for a chorus of sartorial splendor.
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