Charles and Anastasia Okoduwa-Costea, Lagos, Nigeria, 2008.

He/him
She/her

Charles and Anastasia Okoduwa founded the eponymous brand OKODUWA-COSTEA to combat apparel waste. “They talk about sustainability… not even… tonnes of dead stock ends up here, where brands send their out-of-date looks to die. Why do they think self respecting Nigerians want to wear this ‘nshi’?”

Working with clothing re-distribution charities they carefully select, re-imagine and re-assemble the west’s discarded wardrobes, creating new pieces of which no two are exactly the same. Training and employing talented local seamsters in their co-operative business, their eye for style and eco-credentials has created a cult following which allows them to pick and choose which boutiques to deal with. “Air freight is out of the question” laughs Anastasia, “if it’s worth having, it’s worth waiting for, we only ship by land and sea”.

Recently they attracted attention when World magazine in the USA featured one of their pre-teen designs in a fashion shoot worn by eco-science prodigy Mia.