When we envision the future of fashion, we think of Teni “Tia” Adeola of Slashed by Tia. Born in Nigeria, raised in London, and now based in New York, Adeola created a buzz while still studying, having launched her own brand from her dorm room during the summer of 2017.
But her love affair with textiles started much earlier than that, having learned to sew when she was about 8 years old. “In Nigeria, my mom would collect these beautiful fabrics, she just had huge stacks of them,” recalled Adeola in an interview with Fader. “I would take needles and thread and pieces of the fabric from her collection to make these extravagant dresses for my barbies. Then I took a lot of textile classes during my time in high school.”
Using her art history background and passion for the Renaissance period as inspiration, Adeola’s first collection would catapult her into stardom, with Teen Vogue selecting her for their 21 Under 21 class of 2018. “She’s ready to be one of the greatest female couture designers in the world,” they announced, pretty much nailing it.
“I just began making these silky, backless tops because I was really into backless stuff at the time,” says Adeola, explaining how her first collection came to be. “Then my friends started liking the pieces, so I’d make the tops for them and it just grew from there. Instagram definitely played a big, big, big role in the growth of Slashed. When I started, I was making pieces by order, before even creating the website.”
“I became super inspired by learning about paintings made during the 16th century in Spain,” she adds. “There were so many ruffled garments that princess and queens would wear that were so large and voluminous and difficult to make. I wanted to capture that and translate it for the modern day.”
Her clothes will appeal to the inner princess in you.
