Cutting edge Luton fashion designer to host free training and pop-up session

The ‘One Seam Can Change Luton’ event, is being held at The Hat Factory in Bute Street, to showcase fashion brand 5KWOMEN by Koyinsola.

The company was created in Nigeria by the brand’s founder and creative director Gbenga-Kareem Koyinsola, who will host the event on October 4.

“The event is about more than shopping,” said Koyinsola. “I’ll be offering a free fashion training session from 1.30pm to 2.30pm, covering practical skills including taking body measurements, understanding seam allowance, cutting fabric and an introduction to the business side of fashion.

“The wider pop-up will run alongside the main event from 1.30pm to 5.30pm, bringing fashion, creativity and community together and giving visitors the opportunity to discover and shop the 5KWOMEN collection.

“The event is particularly important to me because I want to use my experience in fashion to make practical knowledge more accessible to people who may be interested in learning, creating or building something of their own.”

Koyinsola grew up around fashion. Her grandmother was a tailor who made beautiful Adire prints and created garments for the wives and women in the family household. She spent her formative years watching and learning, and those experiences sparked an interest in fashion design.

Alongside her formal studies, Kpoyinsola later ran her own physical fashion business, called Tailorire, building up the business through physical interactions and word of mouth.

And in 2019, she launched 5KWomen - selling African prints to school friends and quickly gained visibility on Instagram for making African wear more accessible and relatable.

“I noticed that many of the styles our grandmothers wore were not necessarily seen as desirable by younger women,” she added. “They were often considered old-fashioned or ‘old school’. I wanted to change that perception. I took those familiar fabrics and silhouettes and presented them in ways that allowed the modern woman to see herself in them.

“That became a major part of what 5KWomen represents - making African fashion visible, desirable and relevant to today’s woman.

“I have lived in Luton for about three years, and one thing I noticed when I arrived was that fashion did not seem to have the same visibility or presence here as it does in London.

“I believe that creating awareness and interest around fashion in Luton is a great place to start something that could have a lasting impact on the community.”

For Koyinsola, the 5KWomen pop-up is more than simply bringing clothes to Luton. It is about creating awareness, introducing people to African fashion and showing what can be possible when creativity is given a platform.

“My designs are driven by community, women, culture and my roots.

“I love African fashion. The colours, the patterns, the fabrics and even the sketches I grew up seeing have become deeply rooted in my imagination. They continue to influence the way I create, while I also think about the modern woman and how these cultural elements can exist within her world.

“I believe 5KWomen can do much more than simply sell clothes in Luton. I believe fashion can become a hub for the community.”