Aso Ilé

September 10, 2026

A 'Koya project by founder and designer Hamda 'Koya.

What do we wear to feel whole?

When I moved from Nigeria to Canada, something changed in the way I dressed.

I stopped wearing clothes that reflected where I came from. It wasn't a decision I consciously made. Somewhere along the way, I became more aware of sticking out. Of being different. Of wanting to walk into a room and feel like I belonged there.

And how I dressed became a strong indication of that. I stopped wearing outfits that felt like home. Prints. Bright colours. Patterns.

A lot of people feel this way. Relocation slowly steals things from us. The further away from home we get, the more we start thinking about it.

The food. The sun. The rain. The language. The people. The clothes. All the tiny things you don't realize are home until home is thousands of kilometres away.

That is where Aso Ilé begins.

A $25,000 investment in ‘Koya's Growth

In 2026, I received a $25,000 grant from the Edmonton Arts Council to develop Aso Ilé and grow my practice as a designer and artist.

And yes, I said artist.

Because fashion is art, even if the world is still catching up to that.

The grant gives me the opportunity to take ‘Koya back to Nigeria in 2027 and spend time learning about the textile traditions that have influenced so much of my work; including Adire, Aso-oke and Batik.

Not just producing fabric. Actually understanding how it is made.

Who holds the knowledge? How are these processes passed down? What do the colours, techniques and traditions carry? And what happens when those textiles travel thousands of kilometres and are worn somewhere completely different?

I'll be learning, experimenting, making clothes, and documenting the process along the way.

Because as an African designer, I believe we have a responsibility to be custodians of our stories.

If we want to create clothes rooted in where we come from, we should understand the processes, people and histories behind them.

Otherwise, how can we translate them meaningfully into design?

What does next year look like for Aso Ilé and ‘Koya?

Aso Ilé is still in its early stages. But over the next year, I want to bring you into that process.

I'll be sharing what I'm learning in Nigeria, the textiles we're developing, the clothes we're making and the stories behind them.

And at some point, I want to hear from you too.

What does home feel like when you miss it?

What do you wear?

What do you eat?

What do you remember?

What have you carried with you?

And what parts of yourself have you had to find again?

Some of those answers might become stories. Some might inspire clothes. Some might simply remind another person thousands of kilometres from home that they aren't the only one who misses something strangely specific.

From Lagos to Edmonton.

Aso Ilé will eventually become a body of work created across the two places I now call home.

The project begins in Nigeria with textile research, collaboration and production.

Then it comes back to Edmonton, Canada where that work will become an exhibition and runway show exploring clothing and belonging, created especially with Edmonton's Nigerian and diaspora communities in mind.

I want people who have built lives here, far away from where they started, to walk into that space and recognize something of themselves.

Along the way, I'll be documenting the process through film — from the people and textile traditions I learn from in Nigeria, to making the final pieces, to their eventual presentation in Edmonton.

So you'll get to come along for the whole thing.

Right now, though?

We're just at the beginning.