W: Jackie King

Julius Foli Semanu is the first designer to be featured in Doreen Aduie’s "Out Of Africa" project, a collaboration with the Ashanti King’s Charity dedicated to showcasing young creative talent from across the continent. Driven by a bold vision of Afro-futurism and emotional intensity, his collection, Excitement, channels the charged energy of movement, memory, and selfhood. Rooted in imagination yet grounded in craft, the work reflects on what it means to feel alive in a future shaped by African culture, ancestral knowledge, and collective identity.  

At its core, Excitement explores the tension between tradition and innovation, embracing contrasts like softness against structure and chaos against control. The garments carry a sense of being lived-in and inhabited, suggesting a future that is permanently informed by memory. This philosophy is mirrored in the construction process, where an intimate, hands-on relationship with making echoes traditional African craftsmanship. By allowing intuition to guide the experimentation with color and form, Julius weaves a sense of creative sovereignty into every piece.

Beyond the aesthetic, Julius’s work serves as a challenge to established fashion norms, particularly within menswear. His design language—characterized by confidence, refinement, and asymmetry—positions bold color as a primary tool for identity and emotional resonance rather than a secondary detail. Recognized with high commendations at Graduate Fashion Week, Julius continues to balance cinematic storytelling with technical precision. Looking ahead, he aims to use his progressive design outlook to reimagine the boundaries of gender and material, ensuring the future of fashion is shaped by fluid and culturally rooted African narratives.