Founder/CEO of Alara, Reni Folawiyo has been included in the #BoF500 for a 4th consecutive year.
The BoF 500 is the definitive professional index of the people shaping the $2.4 trillion fashion industry, hand-selected by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on hundreds of nominations received from current BoF 500 members, extensive data analysis and research.
Nigerian businesswoman, Reni Folawiyo is the founder of Alara, a concept store in the heart of Victoria Island, Lagos that seeks to redefine luxury fashion for Nigerians. Meaning “wondrous performer” in Yoruba, Alara is a fashion destination for Nigerians and westerners alike. It offers a mix of fashion, art and design in a similar style to famous concept stores like Paris’ Colette, London’s Dover Street Market and Milan’s 10 Corso Como. Alongside this, Folawiyo looks to champion Nigerian design, stocking the work of Maki Oh, Lanre de Silva Ajayi and Tiffany Amber. Alara has the potential to be a beacon for other fashion retailers and a centre for gravity for global luxury brands already beginning to cluster around a nascent fashion district in Lagos.
The store was designed and built by the internationally renowned Ghanian-British architect David Adjaye, whose design for the National Museum of African American History broke ground in 2012.