Reni Folawiyo

Reni Folawiyo is a cultural entrepreneur from Lagos, Nigeria, known for her visionary role in shaping and defining contemporary African style. As the founder and director of Alára – Africa’s leading space for culture, fashion, art, food, and design, housed in a bespoke David Adjaye-designed space on Lagos’ Victoria Island – she is a global leader in discovering, growing and celebrating talent from the African continent on a global stage. Widely recognized as a fashion icon and tastemaker across disciplines, Folawiyo has been a foundational guiding force and influential partner to many of the leading creatives working in Africa today.

The founding of Alára in 2015 was prefigured by decades of support, collaboration, and coordination with creatives across the continent. While still in her 20s and embarking on a career in business and law, Folawiyo began to host salons for artists and designers, organizing retreats in her home to commune, develop work, and build relationships. This collective of artists, designers, and friends grew steadily over the years, but early participants include designers who are deeply influential to contemporary African style. Over time, Folawiyo began to travel across the continent to seek out talent shaping a contemporary African aesthetic and style, and this exploration led to enduring relationships with key figures like Aissa Dione and Abubakar Fofana as the conversation on art and design also steadily evolved to center work in fashion and textiles. From this network, Folawiyo founded her concept store, bringing together works from her vast network of creatives, the result of a lifetime dedicated to finding, supporting, and growing a contemporary perspective on African style.

With Alára now recognized for its foundational role in tastemaking and talent scouting on the continent, Folawiyo is currently working to extend the work of Alára internationally with ALÁRA WORLD, an episodic global programming initiative that will create opportunities and pathways to bring the energy, culture, celebration, and access that Alára offers in Lagos, Nigeria to the international and diasporic communities in locations around the world. A recent example of this is the ALÁRA at Brooklyn Museum store and experience which took place from June till October 2023.

Folawiyo has received numerous awards and recognition for her work and cultural leadership including being named one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business by Forbes Africa in 2020 and one of Vanity Fair’s best dressed people worldwide in 2019. Prior to launching her business in the cultural sphere, Folawiyo spent her early career practicing law. Folawiyo received her Bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Warwick.

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