THE LIONESS PROWESS
NALA LONDON was founded by self-taught designer Avril Kargbo as an extension of her lifelong relationship with fashion as a symbolic process, memory, and art in motion.
Avril grew up with a love for theater, especially musical theater (from watching musicals such as The Sound of music, Oliver Twist, Annie, The King and I, and Disney originals) where she saw the costumes telling the story. She fell in love with gowns and her appreciation for contemporary art created a bond in fashion.
In Avril's early world, garments were created through dialogue, from design, to sourcing, negotiating quantities, and working closely with skilled seamstresses to construct pieces for singular occasions. This instilled a deep respect for craftsmanship and the meaning embedded within each piece.
After moving to London, Avril encountered fashion as a revered form of sculptural expression. This experience solidified her instinct to work with dimension and structure while favouring delicate natural fabrics, particularly silk, as a counterpoint. She is drawn to the tension between strength and softness, exploring corsetry as architecture that frames the body, while fluid draping allows emotion to emerge. Each design begins with silhouette, allowing fabric, line, and hand-worked details to transform how the dress lives on the body.
In Avril's current world, she creates dresses where shapes and design unify as a living composition.