Africa’s Leading Luxury Concept Store Is Coming to the Brooklyn Museum

The Big Apple will soon be home to one of Africa’s most well-known shopping destinations.

The Brooklyn Museum will become home to Alára, a concept store with over 100 brands from Lagos, from June 23 through October 22. In collaboration with the museum, the upscale shop will debut as a component of the Africa Fashion at the Museum exhibition as a way to introduce New Yorkers to the fashion perspectives of Africa and the diaspora.
The exhibition, which was the biggest display of fashion and style from the continent when it first debuted to the public at the Victoria & Albert Museum in England, will also include some of the Alára brands.

Reni Folawiyo, an entrepreneur and tastemaker, established Alára in 2015.
The word “alára” means “wonderful performer, one who thrills endlessly” in Folawiyo’s native Yoruba language. Since opening, the store has provided the neighborhood with a wide range of initiatives, goods, and events. Today, it is regarded as a cornerstone of Lagos’s vibrant cultural scene, akin to Colette in Paris.
The Earthy Nigerian headquarters of the store, which includes several high-end luxury labels including Marni, Saint Laurent, Linda Farrow, and Comme des Garcons, was created by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye.
The shop also offers a variety of fashionable products from brands with strong ties to the African diaspora, like Kenneth Ize, Post Imperial, and Thebe Magugu.

Alára frequently organizes performances by Falana and Asa in addition to art shows including the works of artists like Hassan Hajjaj and Peju Layiwola. Even the iconic supermodel Naomi Campbell signed copies of The Art of Beauty there in 2018.

The Brooklyn Museum and Alára have not revealed what kinds of music, fashion, and design will be on display at the upscale retailer’s exhibition shop in New York City. But given its illustrious past and specially conceived Lagos shop floor, it might surpass your expectations.

This David Adjaye-designed lifestyle shop by businessman Reni Folawiyo is exceptional, just like its city of Lagos.
Adjaye states, “I wanted the space to function as something that would function as a new kind of cultural hub and destination for West Africa.” The venue would serve as a celebration of design skills.
With its geometric stamps, bi-chrome palette, and remarkable gravity, the building might appear at home anywhere along the artistic arc from Daikanyama in Tokyo to the Design District in Miami.
These objectives were realized in a spectacular façade and a worldly position.
However, Adjaye took care to ensure that every aspect of Alára’s graphic punch is infused with and supported by distinctively Lagosian characteristics.

The translucent screens gridding the entryway refer to the brises soleils of African modernist buildings, while the geometry of their patterns draws from Yoruban Adire fabrics. It unites the indigenous and contemporary architectural lineages of the city.

Along with local designers like Lanre da Silva Ajayi (wham-bam-glam eveningwear), Maki Oh (cool Brooklyn separates), and Lisa Folawiyo (sportswear), Folawiyo has filled Alára’s interior with international labels like Valentino, Alexander McQueen, and the Italian furniture line Moroso. She has also added a rooftop art gallery.
Adjaye comments on the shopping experience:

“Display platforms divide the area…
Visitors are encouraged to maneuver their way around the stock because of the cavernous interior and the triple-height ceiling volume.
Similar to Lagos, Alára’s main attraction might be precisely that: the thrill of exploration in a stunningly modern shrine to design and forerunner of Africa’s future.

Content courtesy Robb Report & NFH