LBW 015: Meet Hazel Aggrey-Orleans, Creative Director and Founder of Eki Orleans

Hazel Eki Aggrey-Orleans is the creative force behind the high-end London-based fashion-label Eki Orleans. Born in Germany, raised in Nigeria and educated in London, her design aesthetic has been strongly influenced by this diverse mix of cultures. She draws inspiration from all of her cultural experiences, most notably, however, from her West African heritage. Growing up in the buzzing, chaotic and culturally diverse city of Lagos, Hazel first developed a love for the vivid and earthy colours of Africa.

While still pursuing a career in finance, she decided to follow her vocation and natural aptitude for textile and fashion design. Combining both artistic skills she launched her first fashion collection with her own fabric designs in 2009.

It is her outstanding and unusual talent for perfectly co-ordinated pattern and colour combinations that ultimately determines the styling of her day and evening dresses and co-ordinates. Where other fashion designers find fabrics to suit their visions of a dress, Hazel decides on the dress to suit her vision of a fabric design.

For inspiration and choice of subject the designer inevitably resorts back to her African roots. Her patterns tell stories reminiscent of childhood memories or are an interpretation of nature through her eyes.

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Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.