A self-taught designer and the creative force behind Eki Orleans, Hazel Aggrey-Orleans was born in Germany, raised in Nigeria and educated in London where she currently resides.

This diverse mix of cultures has strongly influenced Hazel’s design aesthetic as she draws inspiration from all of her cultural experiences. The most notable inspiration comes from her West African heritage. Growing up as a child in the buzzing, chaotic and culturally diverse city of Lagos, Hazel developed a love for bold and vibrant colours.

Despite pursuing a career in finance, Hazel nurtured her passion and natural talent for fashion design through education and tremendous amounts of hard work and determination. It was not until Hazel was pregnant with her first child that she decided to rely on her creative ability and turn her passion into a full-time reality. So, when most mothers were taking their children to playgroups, Hazel was racing all around London with two children sorting out fabrics and sampling.

Hazel and her family have come a long way since those early days and there are no regrets, just more beautiful designs for every fashionable girl to covet.

“Having started my own fashion line and seeing it grow is what puts a smile on my face every morning”- Hazel Aggrey-Orleans

Eki Orleans design aesthetic is best expressed as young, fresh, feminine and elegant simplicity. Launched in 2007, Hazel Aggrey-Orleans, the founder and creative force behind the brand, has developed the brand from an initial scarf collection into a women’s ready to wear label. This expansion allowed Hazel to showcase her unique ability to create one of a kind, stunning silk designs inspired by West African traditional prints.

Eki Orleans has now launched the capsule Wave Collection, inspired by Hazel’s childhood memories of time spent by the beach on the beautiful Atlantic coastline. The combination of the turbulent and calm nature of oceanic waves is represented in the beautiful patterns of the collection and the key silhouettes evoke the flowing imagery of waves heading to shore. Indeed, with waves as her inspiration, Hazel has created a collection that is flattering, timeless and simply breathtaking.

The collection features a range of stunning, covetable dresses in beautifully tactile silks, creating delicate outlines that glide and drape the body. The collection also includes scarves, a pair of silk trousers and bikinis all in signature vibrant colours and prints.

Since the first collection, Eki Orleans has matured and perfected the signature style of fusing vibrant prints with the delicate texture of silk. Each collection represents the spirit and ethos of the Eki consumer, an independent, confident and sophisticated woman with impeccable style and taste. Such a consumer tends to turn heads and is the centre of attraction wherever she goes. Indeed, given that Eki means the centre of attraction, wearing an Eki dress only enhances the magnetic and beautiful spirit of the wearer.

Eki Orleans is a brand that will remain true to its ability to create clothing that flatters the feminine form while telling a bold, dynamic and sophisticated fashion story – definitely a label to watch!

www.ekiorleans.com