Shade Thomas-Fahm is a Nigerian fashion designer who has been acknowledged as one of Africa’s most significant designers and a trailblazer in Nigerian fashion. Her full name is Victoria Omọ́rọ́níkẹ Àdùkẹ́ Fọlashadé Thomas, Professionally known as “Shadé Thomas“. The legendary designer is reputed for owning the first boutique in Nigeria and for being the first professionally-trained fashion designer in the country.
Thomas-Fahm was born, on September 22, 1933, to the family of Bankole Ayorinde Thomas and Elizabeth Olaniwun Thomas. At age 12, her love for fashion began when she started learning how to sew from a local dressmaker in Lagos whose shop was called ‘Sisi Sewing Shop’.
In the year 1953, After her elementary and high school days, She left for England to study Nursing, But on getting to England, she was inspired by the stylish fashion houses and clothing stores in London and decided to go for fashion instead at St. Martins College of Art and Design, London. She became a qualified fashion designer in 1959, becoming the first Nigerian woman to acquire a professional qualification in fashion design.
In 1960, she returned to Nigeria and opened a factory and the first fashion boutique in Nigeria under the name, ‘Maison Shade‘ later called Shade’s Boutique, in Yaba, Lagos. She is specialized in using traditional Nigerian textiles such as aso oke, adire, akwete and okene to design outfits of different styles. She is the originator of several outfits including women’s kaftan, the boubou; a style she created when she feminized the male ‘agbada’ for women by reducing the volume, and the transforming the iro into a wrapper skirt.
Throughout the sixties, Shadé’s Boutique, and clothing shops in Lagos became the go-to place for Nigerian-made outfits of different styles. Her enduring impact was celebrated at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London in 2022.
She has had a major influence in the fashion business, and numerous designers have gained motivation and recognition because to her amazing work.
