Torishéju Dumi walks up to the tall, forest-green gates that separate her window-lit studio from the rest of the world, a treasured nook near Dalston Junction, East London. The British-Nigerian-Brazilian designer is dressed comfortably in an all black hoodie, 3/4 length leggings with black tights and black UGG Clogs; accessorising with a warm but shy smile. The studio itself is toasty from a small radiator – just how she likes it. Around us, huge rolls of fabric pile atop black metal shelves, where her signature blood red, khaki green and jet black hues are immediately noticeable. Boxes filled with archival research and other materials fill the space, meanwhile classical instrumentals playing from her laptop permeate the room. In other words, welcome to the inner-workings of Torishéju Dumi’s mind.

“It’s an obsessive study of shape, colour and form,” is how the 31-year-old rising talent defines the ‘TORISHÉJU brand’; rooted in religion, tradition, and spirituality. “I’m quite a creature of habit. I like things to look a certain way and I get obsessed with them if I look at them too long. The brand reflects that, my state of mind at times, and how I feel. It’s an image of myself and my world around me.” That state of mind is often led by nature, which in turn forms the world around her. “I love drawing from nature. The world around us is so beautiful. I don’t know how you couldn’t draw from it,” she says. “I’m not too big on things like artificial intelligence and technology and stuff. People say that’s the way forward. Perhaps in their eyes, it may be. But that, to me, is like bad juju. It’s like witchcraft on another level.”

As a result, her garments don’t sit on the body, but bloom into the intricate sculptural silhouettes that she’s become notorious for. You just need to take a look at Zendaya’s custom get-up for the Dune: Part Two premiere in Mexico City to understand how her undulating designs seem to quiver and quake like clones of the natural elements she often takes inspiration from. The two-piece ensemble was a draped mastery consisting of a cropped halterneck top, twisted around enlarged foam hoops from earth-toned silks, and a floor- length skirt split with a streak of red. It’s both sexy and powerful, ethereal and delicate; quite like Zendaya – who plays a warrior princess in the film – and much like the TORISHÉJU brand itself.

The TORISHÉJU base is about an hour train journey from Harlesden, north west London, the diverse neighbourhood she was born in as the youngest of three. So, naturally London is familiar territory for her but years later, her family would uproot further north to Hertfordshire. It was here, away from the big city, that a creative career felt even more alien. But it prodded her to give it a go.

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