Courtesy of Vivendii
Virgil Abloh’s list of designer collaborations is endless. The newly-minted artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear has previously teamed up with the likes of Jimmy Choo, Levi’s, Sunglasses Hut, and even Ikea. Most recently, Abloh joined forces with under-the-radar street wear label Vivendii, on a limited edition Nike jersey for the Nigerian football team. The sporty garment, which was unveiled during the Homecoming pop-up curated by grime artist Skepta’s manager Grace Ladoja, features Off-White’s ubiquitous logo in the center alongside the streetwear brand’s emblem and the signature Nike swoosh. The three-day pop-up also included global brands Patta and Mains, alongside local labels.
Vivendii was launched in 2011 by co-founders Jimmy Ayeni, Ola Badiru, and Anthony Oye, who all reside in London. “Modus vivendii translates to ‘our way of living’ in Latin,” explains Ayeni to Vogue.me over email. “It was always supposed to be a medium for the way we live and how we express ourselves both offline and online,” he adds. The designer, who credits Vogue Italia’s late editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani for encouraging the design trio to kickstart the brand (they even have a t-shirt dedicated to her in their Fall 2017 collection,) reveals he always liked the ideas of printing his own shirts. “In fact, I designed my first t-shirt for my eighth grade phys-ed class,” he recalls.
Modus Vivendii founders.
Courtesy of Vivendii
The designer admits that one aim of the brand is to pay homage to his Nigerian roots. “With Vivendii, I want to shine major light on the burgeoning creative scene in Nigeria— especially Lagos,” Ayeni explains. “In turn, that motivates me to put out the highest level of product possible.”
The pop-up was a bid to promote Nike’s new appointment of creating the official Nigerian football team’s jersey designs for the next four years. “It’s a great way of showcasing the creativity in Lagos. On the whole, the brand was very positively received,” says the designer. Indeed, supermodels Naomi Campbell and Imaan Hammam both paid a visit to the pop-up during the event, with Hammam sporting the brands shoulder bag.
Unfortunately, the limited football jersey was exclusively available only during the pop-up, though Vivendii’s lineup of slogan t-shirts imprinted with sayings such as “Enjoy your life”, graphic hoodies, thermal pants, and shoulder bags can be purchased online at modusvivendii.com.
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