Shade Thomas-Fahm

Shade Thomas-Fahm (1933-), born Victoria Omọ́rọ́níkẹ Àdùkẹ́ Fọlashadé Thomas (but known colloquially and professionally as "Shadé Thomas"), is a Nigerian fashion designer. In the 1950s, as was the practice at the time, she applied to go to England to study as a nurse. She left in the summer of 1953. But on getting to England, she was captivated by the well-fitted shops of the West End of London and took to fashion. She studied fashion at St Martin's School of Art (now Central Saint Martins) in London. She returned home to Lagos in 1960, the year of Nigeria's independence, and quickly established her own boutique –Maison Shade, later Shadé's Boutique. She is regarded as Nigeria's first modern fashion designer and pioneer. Her boutique swiftly became the go-to place for stylish people in Lagos and she counted diplomats and royalty among her regular customers. Often using aṣọ-òkè, àdìrẹ, akwete and okene in her designs, she often re-imagined traditional Nigerian styles for the modern woman, creating a pre-tied gèlè (headwrap) to make getting dressed easier, and added a zipper to the ìró (wrapper). Originally a wrapped garment, the new style of ìró allowed cosmopolitan women to move around with ease. Alongside her bespoke, made-to-measure pieces, Shade Thomas-Fahm had several popular ready-to¬-wear lines stocked at her boutiques and by other retailers, including Kingsway Stores in Lagos.