Nigerian Archival Fashion Rises as Chimamaka Ali Sparks a Movement
- Jessica Onyemauche
- Mar 21
- 8 min read
In recent years, archival culture has witnessed a global boom becoming a staple look for celebrities on the red carpet. During the 2024 Variety Power of Women in New York City, Ayra Star pulled up in Roberto Cavalli's Spring-Summer season six dress. Bella Hadid broke the internet when she arrived at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in a vintage white Gucci gown. Even the renowned stylist Law Roach, who is the image architect for Zendaya has constantly put her in archival pieces. This has contributed to historical pieces becoming the language of most Millennials and Gen Zs. Archival fashion can be said to be any sartorial piece that holds some significance to the brand and industry at large, however, is no longer in production. What started as a mere hobby for most collectors has grown to mean so much more—a saturated industry, a way to promote sustainability, the route that soothes the aching for personal style, a refinement of luxury, and a preservation of culture.
However, when it comes to Nigeria, this is a budding segment in our fashion industry. Yes, thrift shopping colloquially known as Okrika has been around for decades. Its roots penetrated the Nigerian market because of the nation’s earliest encounter with Europeans. This embrace of Western clothing became more pronounced in the late nineteenth century symbolizing social status and an integration into the changing times. This era also beheld the beginning of mass production of clothing, standardization of sizing, and a boom in the ready-to-wear industry, which encouraged the export of new and used clothing from Europe, North America, and Asia. Second-hand clothing inculcated a pollution-conscious lifestyle and provided benefits for middle-class and lower-class Nigerians who could not afford to buy new Western clothes and employment opportunities.
However, the massive use of foreign second-hand clothes by many Nigerians has also been detrimental. It has eroded the rich cultural heritage of traditional dress culture which hitherto existed among many cultures and societies in the country. It has made the country a dumping ground, with a large portion of the Okrika trade operating in informal markets with limited quality control. This permits the importation of damaged and worn-out clothes or even garments that may contain harmful chemicals and germs, which in turn poses potential health risk.
This is why Chimamaka Immaculate Ali, the founder of My Nigeria Closet, an archival repository that sells exclusively pre-loved Nigerian luxury pieces, is making sure that the average African woman is adorned in good quality Nigerian clothing. With My Nigerian Closet, Chimamaka is redefining thrift culture in Nigeria, making it possible to maintain a safe sustainable lifestyle that supports local production, lauds the culture, and most importantly, pays attention to craftsmanship. She sees herself as the last piece of the puzzle that completes the Nigerian fashion ecosystem.
Before founding My Nigerian Closet, Chimamaka garnered a professional background in fashion. She went from being a visual merchandiser in Champs Elysées Galeries Lafayette in Paris, France to Sales Lead at Obida Designs Associate to later a Business Development associate in the same company. She also ran a preloved store called “Immaehhle” and the only thing that sets it apart from her new brand is the prioritization and focus on Nigerian brands alone. Her broad resume demonstrates her dedication to broadening her understanding of the fashion industry.
In an interview with Clearly Invincible, Chimamaka delightfully announces, “Fashion starts with the designers, then the manufacturers, the personal shoppers, then consumers, before it gets passed down to archival stores. I see myself as the last piece of the puzzle, and now with ‘My Nigerian Closet’, we are complete!”
This is not just about selling archival pieces, but bringing value to the Nigerian fashion market. She emphasizes the importance of sustainability while highlighting the value of Nigerian craftsmanship. “Sustainability is not just about saving the earth, there is also the economic aspect. When you purchase a Hermès bag there is always going to be good resale value, I want this for our [Nigerian] fashion industry…”
Thrifting might have hit the Western world in the late 2010s, but archival culture began in the late 1900s where Historians and Collectors would preserve a cloth for cultural impact or reference or even as a mere hobby. And sometimes, celebrities who weren't lucky enough to find a new designer piece to wear for an event would often purchase from them. It didn't mean anything to wear an archival piece. However, with climate change alarms beeping loudly and celebrities now adorning themselves with archival pulls on the red carpet, there has been a cultural shift.
Transformed from mere sentimental artifacts, archival fashion has become its own luxury status symbol and My Nigerian Closet vehemently dedicates its archival pulls to fashion lovers, the value of Nigerian craftsmanship, rare finds, and mindful consumption. Their Instagram feed reveals how dedicated they are to staying true to their vision, from the vibrant Éki Kéré mini tie-dye dress with natural raffias at the hem to Lisa Folawiyo’s iconic cut-out Ankara two-piece, a scramble is bound to take the stage at any pop-up.
Chimamaka’s sheer precision in sourcing these pre-loved pieces is indeed admirable, especially considering the fact that the items she is hoping to buy aren’t purchased by women who take social media engagement with any seriousness. She finds these women after a tedious process, shops their closets, and brings them to the average fashion lover. Also, a large contributor to the sourcing of these pre-loved items is the community she had nurtured. They either refer people to donate their designer pieces to her or tell her the right source to approach to obtain certain old-fashioned apparel that has been seen on the Nigerian fashion runway.
‘Detty December’ is a festive period in African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa. It begins in mid-December and concludes in the first week of January. This time frame sees the influx of African diasporas and tourists in the metropolitan cities of each country, so it is no surprise that My Nigerian Closet held its first fashion pop-up from the 22nd to the 24th of December 2024. This was a strategic move that ensures that these archival pieces are not only embraced by Nigerians living in Nigeria. Tourists and diasporans get to participate in Nigerian luxury fashion brands as African-made clothing rises to the top of conversations.
Additionally, buying these gently used pieces certainly saves money for the consumer – about 50% to 70% of the retail price. This price point saves both money and our planet making the recycling of Nigerian fashion possible. Environmentalists can echo sustainability all they want, however, if it is not truly affordable, nothing can be done about it. Once a good number of the populace cannot purchase a sustainable piece, these people will most definitely turn to fast fashion. My Nigerian Closet is an applaudable move to bridge the gap between affordability, sustainability, and stylish aesthetics.
This brings the Nigerian fashion market to a point where luxury is not at all about the price point but, most importantly, the quality of what is being delivered. Chimamaka stated that she is fastidious when it comes to the quality of clothes. “It takes about 3-6 months to source our clothes and even restore them to good condition. When these clothes are worn out and I see I can’t restore them to good condition, I don’t even bother to take them because quality is beyond crucial to My Nigerian Closet.”
Chinazam Ikechi-Uzo, a fashion journalist who got to attend My Nigerian Closet’s very first fashion pop up describes it in one sentence “I wish I went with more money”. She simultaneously makes an interesting observation about the use of vintage in the Nigerian thrifting industry. In a failed attempt to keep up with global trends, a lot of thrift stores have attached the name vintage to their brand. However, when asked regarding the year the dress was produced they cannot provide a viable answer. Chinazam in an essay titled “Your favorite thrift store is lying to you and here is why” highlights Chimamaka’s brands as one of those, if not the only one, sticking to the rules of archival fashion. Getting to know when these dresses were worn on the runway and their nonavailability with the brand manufacturers is important, because if a brand is still selling a dress then archival is not a word used to describe it.
Another display of meticulousness that sets this brand apart and ahead of the noisy echelon can be found in the naming of the brand. “I wanted to call it vintage, but I know that not a lot of Nigerian brands were more than 20 years old. Maybe Tiffany Amber and Deola Sagoe. But a lot of them are still new, and for something to be considered vintage it has to be more than 20 years, but less than 100, and we don’t really have that [yet]”, Chimamaka said. It is also good to note that inventory has been a major challenge for My Nigerian Closet. The brands she gets to source from are not a lot and she hopes the Nigerian fashion industry, while thriving, witnesses more growth.
In several interviews, Chimamaka has discussed what sparked her passion to start an archival store catering to just the Nigerian fashion market. However, Clearly Invincible sought answers that were beyond the light bulb moment. Nobody builds Rome in one day, the idea of building Rome also takes time to be cultivated. Chimamaka opens up about the foundations of her brand. “Let me go back to the beginning. My background in archival started with my mum. When we are looking for a white skirt or a shirt, my mum’s first suggestion is for us to buy from Okrika, which is also known as second-hand clothing. It was only during Christmas that my mum would buy a Turkey (new) wear for us”.
Chimamaka also references her inherent love for fashion as a large contributor, “As a young girl living in a small town at Abakaliki, I knew who Michael Kors was, Karl Lagerfeld, and so many other designers. And I knew this from just watching E[Entertainment]-News from the comfort of our living room”. Her love for fashion drove her to the fashion runway. She contested for Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) and Miss Universe of Nigeria. She also modeled for a lot of brands. However, she was unsatisfied, she didn’t just want to wear fashion, she desired to know fashion, and the underground work and become a key decision-maker in this industry.
The need to tell our stories is the core vision of My Nigerian Closet. Just before Chimamaka moved to Paris, the desire to preserve her Nigerian heritage kicked in and she decided to purchase Nigerian designs. She got her hands on Lisa Folawiyo and Ejiro Amos and this unraveled her love for exclusively Nigerian designs. While studying business in the city of lights and love, she observed that fashion had sentiment and history in need of preservation. When she visited the museums in Paris she would see old designs like the first piece by Yves Saint Laurent, and this made her aspire to see a replication in the Nigerian fashion industry. She hopes to walk into a museum and see the first piece Tiffany Amber ever made or even a dress made by her that altered the way Nigerians dressed during a certain era.
Chimamaka concludes her interview by leaving a piece of advice for fashion enthusiasts who are interested in contributing to the Nigerian fashion archival industry. She encourages them to prioritize background work. “You need to know your brand and the year”. In addition, she nudges them to buy what they love and focus more on quality than brand popularity.
Written by Jessica Onyemauche
Edited by Victoria Audu
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