Alara, a Temple of Luxury in Africa
We’ll try to answer the question of whether the luxury business in Africa is a myth or a reality, using the example of the Alara concept store. 6 hours by plane from Paris, with a 1-hour time difference, Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, is a pillar of West Africa’s creative industry. In the heart of the city, Alara, an imposing 9-metre-high ochre and black building, offers a curation of luxury goods. Designed by David Adjaye, the architect behind Washington’s Museum of African American Cultural History, the concept opened in 2015. Reni Folawiyo is behind the project. An accomplished lawyer and businesswoman, she is married to Tundé Folawiyo, a powerful businessman who has made his fortune in agriculture, energy and real estate. This Nigerian “power couple” is one of the millionaires of Africa’s leading economic power. Alara was naturally designed with the elite in mind. Every detail is important to offer visitors a unique experience. For example, the location of the Nok by Alara restaurant, attached to the rear of the building as if to preserve a certain discretion and cultivate a surprise effect. Ideal for business meetings, the place is popular with celebrities and influential personalities. This exclusive space has rapidly become a reference beyond Nigeria’s borders. The term Alara, meaning “the wondrous performer”, seems perfectly chosen. This private initiative by passionate investors with ambitions to become leaders in a high-potential luxury industry is to be applauded. It’s not about reproducing a Western concept, a “Merci” or a “Colette”. It’s about local entrepreneurship with a pan-African perspective and an analysis of the behavior of the continent’s most affluent consumers. The covid has challenged the team, who now regularly collaborate remotely to develop traffic on the www.alaralagos.com online sales site. As for the Nok By Alara restaurant, it now offers a new menu adapted to home delivery. The conditions under which this “Nokout” service is set up have been studied to protect the health of staff and customers alike.
A premium concept made in africa
The concept’s founder relies on a solid network of potential high-net-worth customers in search of unique lifestyle moments. She also maintains privileged relationships with creative entrepreneurs on the African continent, on the one hand, and sales representatives of Western luxury brands, on the other. Alara’s magic lies in its ability to bring together universes that may seem far apart. The originality of the concept also lies in the need to respond to the local climate and free ourselves from the constraints of the Paris and London Fashion Week calendars. On four levels, the Alara team suggests combinations of materials, colors and accessories that trend consultants could never imagine.
Limited-edition creations by designers from the 54-country continent rub shoulders with collections from major Western luxury groups. The scenography is unique, rare and precious. This is what gives it its luxurious character.
The buying experience involves tailor-made support. Retouching to adjust your collector’s item perfectly to your measurements is offered systematically. A model-making expert guides you precisely to assess the fit of your chosen item. A premium service that creates a solid, lasting bond with a clientele that is often just passing through.
A crossroads of know-how between Africa and the rest of the world
At Alara, you’ll find Jacquemus, Saint-Laurent and a selection of brands showing during Lagos Fashion Week. Christie Brown, Lisa Folawiyo, Bubu Isigo, Thebe Magugu, Kenneth Ize, … The list of luxury designers whose showrooms and workshops are based in Africa is long. These brands lay claim to local know-how and craftsmanship. A local perspective that extends beyond borders, as fabrics travel while remaining attached to their territory of origin and the people who made them. These African-made collections are veritable markers of a pan-African economic and social history. The creative audacity of the African continent is underpinned by the solid technical expertise of master tailors, embroiderers and the small hands who handle the blends of imported and local materials. African luxury designers offer a brand DNA recognizable by their quest for singular, constantly renewed silhouettes of the highest quality. Alara is a temple of luxury that values the full diversity of know-how with a unique form of objectivity and a perspective that is both African and Nigerian. An uncompromising curation far from any standardization, it offers a representation of all the territories of Luxury. At a time when the workshop of the world is sick, an entire economic, political and social model is being called into question. The mapping of know-how is a witness to the history of these territories. Mastering and preserving them is a real national challenge, and one that China has made into a development model. The current context invites us to explore alternative know-how and development models. An opportunity to travel “virtually” around the world to envisage new perspectives for creativity and the future.
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