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Zainab Ashadu, founder of Zashadu Bags in 2010 and Nigerian entrepreneur, is a designer who has carved a niche for her ‘Made in Africa’ luxury handbags. Having an eye for fashion since she was a child, growing up, she ‘fell in love with a beautiful Art Deco-style clutch bag’ that belonged to her mother. Her love for handbags, seen from how she would visit vintage markets in London and purchase well-crafted, timeless and quirky vintage bags, culminated in her inspiration to start her own business.

These luxury handbags are handcrafted in Lagos by a team of local artisans, sold locally and internationally on the website, and described as a ‘collector’s dream’. Additionally, considering the ethics and morals of her business, she explains that while the ‘Made in Africa’ fashion brands flourish across the continent and beyond, there is need to improve infrastructure, increase investments and create a better understating of the “business of fashion”. Therefore, her biggest challenge is the blending of business and creative sides of her company in a way that one does not negatively affect the other.

Zainab Ashadu, when studying architecture exploring the spatial relationship between geometry and fluidity that becomes reflected alongside her passion for handbags in their design and shape, is now a finalist in The Independent Handbag Designer Awards 2014 in the FEED’s“Most Socially Responsible Handbag” category. In her own words, Ashadu explains “I love to explore the tension between quiet elegance and unabashed glamour.”     

The contrasting colours offer a vibrancy feel to it, and the reptile print leather and genuine python skin in the Python selection brashly shouts out both its homage with an exotic look, emphasising its exclusivity. The handbags available are both suitable for work and collection, offering compact space and zip and phone pockets, however, are also perfect either during the day or evening, effortlessly adding glamour to any day-to-day outfit.

Yasmin Mahdy


The collection can be viewed at the zashadu website here.