Bellanaijastyle iconBellanaijastyleSep 23, 2026 ~1 min source read

Two Months Before Her London Fashion Week Debut, Onalaja Lost Everything, Then She Rebuilt

Two months before her London Fashion Week debut, ONALAJA lost more than a decade's worth of work in a devastating fire at the brand's studio. Along with its archive and creative history, the blaze destroyed the original SS27 collection.

Two Months Before Her London Fashion Week Debut, Onalaja Lost Everything, Then She Rebuilt

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Two months before her London Fashion Week debut, ONALAJA lost more than a decade's worth of work in a devastating fire at the brand's studio.

Along with its archive and creative history, the blaze destroyed the original SS27 collection.

Inspired by the symbolism of the phoenix, the collection is shaped by the physical and emotional reality of rebuilding after loss.

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The useful part

Two months before her London Fashion Week debut, ONALAJA lost more than a decade's worth of work in a devastating fire at the brand's studio. Along with its archive and creative history, the blaze destroyed the original SS27 collection. Inspired by the symbolism of the phoenix, the collection is shaped by the physical and emotional reality of rebuilding after loss.

How it works

  • What was once an imagined story about rebirth became something the designer had lived through herself.

Details worth keeping

Instead, it became the beginning of something new.

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