Designers / Nigeria · Slow and sustainable
NKWO
Nkwo Onwuka
NKWO is a slow and sustainable label based in Abuja, Nigeria, started in 2012. Behind the label: Nkwo Onwuka. It is known for Dakala cloth, a fabric pieced from denim and cutting-table waste to look like strip-woven cloth. Latest milestone on record (1 November 2025): Shows at Lagos Fashion Week.
Quick facts
NKWO at a glance
- Behind the label
- Nkwo Onwuka
- Based
- Abuja, Nigeria
- Since
- 2012
- Focus
- Slow and sustainable
- Makes
- Womenswear and accessories, made with artisans in limited runs
- Official site
- nkwo.design ↗
- @nkwo_official ↗
The person and the label
Who is behind NKWO?
Nkwo Onwuka first launched her label, named after herself, in 2007, The Stylemate reported; the brand dates its relaunch to 2012, after which it put more weight on traditional craft and on cutting textile waste. Its signature is Dakala cloth, developed in the studio from strips of discarded denim and cutting-table offcuts sewn together in a way inspired by strip weaving; the V&A notes that it was nominated in the fashion category of Beazley Designs of the Year 2020. The museum holds a Dakala ensemble from WHO KNEW (Spring/Summer 2019), shown at Lagos Fashion Week in November 2018 and made in Abuja, with a gele cut from a checked Ghana-must-go bag. NKWO won the Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers at the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards in Milan in September 2022, and showed at Lagos Fashion Week on 1 November 2025.
Timeline
NKWO, dated
- 2012Nkwo Onwuka relaunches her label. Source ↗
- November 2018Shows WHO KNEW, for SS19, at Lagos Fashion Week. Source ↗
- 25 September 2022Wins the Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers at the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards, at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Source ↗
- 1 November 2025Shows at Lagos Fashion Week. Source ↗
More from Nigeria
Other Nigeria labels to know
- Lisa Folawiyo Ready-to-wear · since 2005
- Orange Culture Menswear · since 2011
- Kenneth Ize Textile heritage · since 2013
- Lagos Space Programme Textile heritage · since 2018
- Tokyo James Menswear · since 2015
- IAMISIGO Textile heritage · since 2009
- Emmy Kasbit Menswear · since 2014
- Fruché Ready-to-wear · since 2014
- Bloke Streetwear and contemporary · since 2015
- Andrea Iyamah Ready-to-wear · since 2011
- Ejiro Amos Tafiri Ready-to-wear · since 2010
Read the full Nigeria guide, with the method behind it and where to see the work in person.
Sources
Sources
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Quick answers
NKWO, answered
Who is behind NKWO?
- Nkwo Onwuka. NKWO is a slow and sustainable label based in Abuja.
When was NKWO founded?
- 2012, according to the sources listed on this page.
What does NKWO make?
- Womenswear and accessories, made with artisans in limited runs. It is known for Dakala cloth, a fabric pieced from denim and cutting-table waste to look like strip-woven cloth.