Vanessa Obioha
Lulu Shabell, founder and CEO of Lulubell Group, has announced The ÁLKÈ Ball, a new cultural institution designed to strengthen Africa’s fashion ecosystem and advance the continent’s creative sovereignty.
ÁLKÈ seeks to redefine how African fashion and heritage are positioned globally. Derived from Alkebulan, one of the earliest known names for Africa, the initiative roots itself in the continent’s long-established traditions where cloth, pattern and adornment served as cultural knowledge systems.
Shabell said the project is driven by the need for Africans to reclaim authorship of their creative narratives. “ÁLKÈ is our declaration that Africa is not here to be discovered; Africa is here to be recognised,” she stated. “Our designers, archives, makers, and knowledge systems are not peripheral to global luxury; they are central to it.”
The initiative is supported by a pan-African collective of designers, archivists, curators and scholars working together to strengthen the continent’s creative industries.
A key component is The ÁLKÈ Endowment, a permanent funding structure that will invest in education, manufacturing capacity, archives, research and enterprise development, an approach Shabell says prioritises industry infrastructure over spectacle.
The inaugural ÁLKÈ Ball will be held in Cape Town, with subsequent editions scheduled to rotate across major cultural capitals on the continent.
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