Rob Nowill – Content Lead
To celebrate the launch of his second collection with John Lewis, Foday Dumbuya, designer and founder of LABRUM, talks collaboration and creativity with broadcaster and British Vogue contributing editor, Zezi Ifore
ZEZI IFORE: So, we first met at Tate Modern. I don’t think I’d ever seen you before.
FODAY DUMBUYA: I’d seen you on TV.
ZI: And you thought I was iconic?
FD: Of course. And then a good friend of mine said she thought we’d get along, and the rest was history. And then you fell in love with one of my jackets. [Laughs].
ZI: It was a real Damascene moment. I mean, it was in a church. I was at a concert and I saw the back of someone’s jacket, and I could just see the LABRUM label and these beautiful piped seams and this amazing lining. And I remembered it was your brand.
FD: So you came to see me at my studio…
ZI: And I came away with a tracksuit [laughs]. That’s not why we’re friends. But I became a believer. Let me tell you what I love about the work you do. It’s about a more expansive view of our cultures, and resisting reductiveness. It’s such a fine line to tread.
FD: It’s where we’re going as a brand. I am African, but the general perspective of what African textiles are… there’s a preconception.
ZI: There are certain tropes.
FD: Yes. But what I see, and how I know it, is completely different.
ZI: It’s not always fifteen different colours and seven clashing prints. Look, we love colour, but that’s not all we are. It’s about craftsmanship as much as anything. Exquisite tailoring and precision, that’s also inherently African too. That’s quite you, though. You’re quite restrained.
FD: I am.
ZI: And I’m always shouting at you. Is it hard to put so much care into detail, in an industry that wants you to just churn stuff out?
FD: It’s the most difficult thing. Every season is challenging. But we’re always just trying to stay true to ourselves. You know I wear every single thing we make. If I can’t wear it, I wouldn’t put it out.
ZI: That’s the filter?
FD: Yeah. If I’m going to go out there and talk about the pieces I have to believe it. With the first John Lewis collection, I told them I wanted every piece of the collection we made. Because I’ll wear it.
ZI: What was it like working together?
FD: I’ve always associated John Lewis with quality. So when I was approached, that was the association. And it felt like the right platform. You know, we tell stories about West Africa, and we tell stories about British tailoring. So the collection needed to represent both of those things. You know we visited the John Lewis archive. That blew my mind.
ZI: Where is it? I want to go.
FD: It’s like this library of fabrics and prints. We wanted to dive into it before we did anything else. But we ended up developing some new prints, based on the idea of cowrie shells.
ZI: I love the idea of this quintessentially British brand incorporating an ancient African currency into its clothing. These stories with so much significance are literally being woven into the fabric of British life. It’s beautiful. It’s the best of what we’re always trying to do in our work: share, and connect, and exchange.
FD: Even the fact that they allowed us to put up a giant Nomoli figure in the Peter Jones store.
ZI: Fabulous.
FD: I hope it made people ask questions, so we can start educating people about it. And then that travels.
ZI: It’s using fashion as a vehicle for ideas. The ideas are literally travelling with the bodies of the people wearing the clothes.
FD: You know, people always say to me, “you and Zezi are so tight. You’re so lucky!” You give a lot of love.
ZI: It’s reciprocated.
FD: I was reading this book by bell hooks, called All About Love – and that’s how I see our relationship. Love comes in different ways. You will tell me certain things out of love – and you can be blunt – but I know it’s because you care, and you want me to look at what I’m doing.
ZI: I’m direct. Because I want you to do what’s best for you. It’s important. And I know I can be straight with you. It’s like when I walked in your show [for the Spring/Summer 2026 collection].
FD: I’d asked you every season, and you said you’d do it when the time was right. So when you said yes I told my team, “you know she’s one of my really good friends. If you don’t make her look fab, we’re gonna fall out.”
ZI: And then you wanted me to wear flat shoes. [Laughs].
FD: You had a moment.
ZI: I had a small moment. I went out to buy heels. And then I had this moment of realising I love you more than I love my own conception of what is glamorous.
FD: And that worked out.
ZI: Yeah, because the venue was the size of an Olympic track. Are you excited for the next John Lewis collab to come out?
FD: I think people will be surprised by it. There’re quite a few surprises.
ZI: We like surprises.
FD: We’ve really taken it to the next level. There’s a couple of pieces that are hand-woven, we’ve got some pieces in woven leather. A lot of detail. I’m super excited.
ZI: I’ll be shopping.
Shop the new collection
All about LABRUM
Foday Dumbuya founded LABRUM London in 2014 to bridge the gap between western and West African culture. The name LABRUM is a Latin term referencing something ‘having an edge’, and that is exactly what LABRUM London designs deliver; innovative garments that blend West African flair with British tailoring, creating sophisticated and unique looks.
In partnership with Bowers & Wilkins
LABRUM and John Lewis invited Bowers & Wilkins to be a supporting partner within the collaboration, celebrating the unifying power of music. Foday says, “Music sets the rhythm of my design. As such a big part of my creative process, good sound feels essential – and the sound quality on Bowers & Wilkins’ headphones is just incredible.”
