Lagos · Nigeria
Cloth can carry architecture
Observe how Nigerian designers let volume, woven structure and placement embroidery establish silhouette before decoration begins.
The dressmaker's journal
Persephone — sewing pattern drafting studio
An illustration-led studio that turns a garment idea into connected, manufacturable fabric pieces shaped for any body — and keeps a cabinet of remarkable clothes close at hand for inspiration.
Persephone's observation: begin with silhouette, then ask what the cloth must do to hold that shape.
What do you have?
One creation unitNotes from the wider world
Designer observations
Nigerian fashion leads this notebook: not as a motif library, but as a lesson in confidence, proportion, craft and cloth-led design.
Across the continent
Tradition is a living material
The most arresting work does not freeze heritage. It studies a textile language, then cuts, scales and combines it for the present wearer.
The cutting table
Look beyond the surface
When colour catches your eye, follow the seams: ask where fullness begins, how an edge is supported and which piece gives the garment its stance.
The inspiration cabinet
Garments with a past life
Editorial studies for observation and inspiration. They teach proportion, cloth behaviour and construction thinking; they are never traced into pattern geometry.
Nigeria · Plate 01
Agbada: volume with intention
The generous outer robe is shaped less by body-hugging seams than by controlled breadth, shoulder balance and the visual axis of its embroidery. Study where cloth is allowed to fall freely and where ornament gives the eye structure.
Scotland · Plate 02
The fitted walking jacket
Victorian tailoring carved a close waist through curved panels, shaped sleeves and disciplined internal support. The contrast facing reminds us that a garment may tell a second story only when it opens or moves.
Japan · Plate 03
Boro: repair becomes composition
Layered indigo cloth and sashiko stitching preserve wear rather than disguise it. Every patch records use, while repeated hand stitches distribute strain and turn maintenance into a visible design language.
The Andes · Plate 04
Pollera: rhythm through layers
Gathered tiers build movement through circumference, weight and repetition. Woven borders sharpen each horizontal register, demonstrating how surface pattern and structural proportion can work as one.
From my album
My personal collection
Private to you and kept in this browser. Add the story behind each piece; these photos inspire you and are never used as pattern shapes.