Tolu Coker

Tolu Coker is a British-Nigerian fashion designer, textile designer and multidisciplinary artist based in London. Her work draws on British and Nigerian cultural histories, particularly the experiences of African diaspora communities, and frequently incorporates reused textiles and traditional craft techniques. She began developing her eponymous label in 2018 and formally launched it in 2021.

Coker was selected for the British Fashion Council's NewGen programme in 2023 and was one of eight finalists for the 2025 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers.

Early life and education

Coker was born in London to Nigerian parents and grew up in North Kensington in west London. Her father was a photographer and community organiser whose photographs of family life, protests and the changing neighbourhood later became reference material for her collections. Her mother made clothes for the family, including garments worn to church. Coker has also cited the exchange of clothing and household goods at Portobello Road Market and local car-boot sales as an early influence on her understanding of reuse. While studying, she undertook placements at Maison Margiela, J.W. Anderson and Celine. After graduating, she worked for a fast-fashion retailer in Spain before deciding to establish an independent practice. Her first designer collection, Juvenile Consciousness, was presented during the Autumn/Winter 2019 season after she received the Fashion Scout Merit Award.

Although Coker had produced collections and multidisciplinary projects from 2018, later profiles describe 2021 as the formal launch of the Tolu Coker label. In 2022, she joined an experimental design programme established by artist Theaster Gates in Chicago, where participating designers received studio resources and mentoring.

Her Autumn/Winter 2024 collection, Broken English, drew partly on informal traders Coker had encountered in Ghana and on the circulation of discarded Western clothing through African markets. Its London presentation turned the runway into a market-like streetscape and included tailored leather jackets, pleated skirts, corseted shirt dresses and sculptural headwear.

For Spring/Summer 2025, Coker created a collection based on the experiences and personal style of her mother, who had emigrated from Lagos to London. The show was staged in a set resembling a family living room, while prints and other visual details were derived from domestic photographs taken by Coker's father.

Coker continued to examine migration and ceremonial dress in her Autumn/Winter 2025 collection. It combined references to Black spiritual traditions in Nigeria, Louisiana, Haiti, Brazil and Cuba with British materials and garments, including tartan and white poplin shirts. In April 2025, she was announced as one of the eight finalists for that year's LVMH Prize.