By Chinonso Ihekire

The runway as stage: A performance approach to fashion presentation

Ebimobowei Ayah’s artistic direction in Asin Kai Mi (In My Blood).

In the ambitious showcase “An Anthropology of African Stories: The People, The Land, The Heritage,” artistic director Ebimobowei Ayah proves the validity of the African proverb: the hand that holds many crafts shapes its own path. At the intersection of theatre, performance, and fashion, Ayah’s artistic direction for Asin Kai Mi (In My Blood), presented at London Fashion Week’s UDGN x Fashion Scout platform, offers a striking reinterpretation of the runway as a space for storytelling and cultural expression. It is a piece that reimagines the runway beyond display.

Breaking away from conventional presentation, Ayah approaches it as a performative stage, a space where storytelling and premeditated movement work as one. The direction draws heavily from his theatrical background to transform a standard “display” into a cinematic experience. By inviting the audience to feel catharsis, he moves the medium away from surface-level presentation toward something immersive and emotionally engaging.

Grounded in the Ijaw heritage of Southern Nigeria, Asin Kai Mi (In My Blood) builds from oral traditions and communal rituals, especially those surrounding marriage.

Yet what distinguishes Ayah’s direction is not merely the cultural reference, but how it is activated through performance. The piece develops through a clear structure. It begins with oral narration, moves into physical expression, and ends in a symbolic ritual. The opening voiceover, “The Ijaw people have always existed at the margins,” sets the tone, positioning the audience within a space of cultural reclamation—of taking back their story and restoring a sense of history.

At the heart of the direction is how the performers are used, with models no longer acting as simple wearers of clothes but as active storytellers within the piece. Their movements are controlled and wilful, often reflecting ceremonial gestures rather than the usual rhythm of a runway. This focus on physical expression shows a strong theatrical influence, where the body holds meaning instead of merely presenting garments.

What stands out most is the emphasis on female presence. Through spoken words, women are presented as keepers of culture, reinforcing a sense of continuity and collective identity. The result is a performance that feels more like theatre than a fashion show.

The use of wedding rituals—through procession, dance, and ceremony—becomes the central moment of the performance. These moments go beyond mere display; they bring the culture to life. By doing this, the work prioritises movement and cultural identity over simple visual spectacle. Ayah turns cultural ideas into story and real human experience, connecting theatre, fashion, and performance into one cohesive experience.

Ayah’s direction exists in dialogue with the Heritage Capsule collection by Twin by Tare, which has gained international recognition, including a feature in Vogue Italia. While the collection reinterprets Ijaw wedding attire through contemporary design, Ayah extends these ideas into performance, turning material culture into narrative and lived experience.

This ability to move across disciplines—connecting theatre, fashion, and performance—positions Ayah within a growing group of artists who challenge traditional creative boundaries. His approach suggests a future where fashion is no longer just seen, but experienced.

Despite its conceptual strength, Asin Kai Mi (In My Blood) reveals certain limitations that reflect Ayah’s grounding in theatre and stage practice. While his theatrical instincts give the work depth and emotional clarity, they occasionally contrast with the demands of film-based direction.

Transitions between sequences at times feel rushed or condensed, lacking the visual pacing often associated with cinematic storytelling. The reliance on linear staging and frontal composition, typical of theatre, can limit the dynamic possibilities of the camera, where variation in framing, movement, and visual rhythm might further deepen the narrative experience.

Additionally, while the use of voiceover is effective, there are moments where the balance between sound and image could be more layered, allowing visuals to carry more narrative weight independently. These are not failures of vision, but signs of an artist working across mediums, still refining how one language translates into another. These observations do not reduce the strength of the work; instead, they reveal a moment of growth in Ayah’s practice, where his theatre background continues to shape how he engages with newer forms like film.

Asin Kai Mi (In My Blood) stands as a hybrid performance work that successfully navigates the constraints of a fashion platform while asserting a clear artistic voice. It is a work that focuses on meaning and physical storytelling, offering something deeper than a typical runway show.

While certain aspects suggest the need for deeper engagement with cinematic techniques, these are not shortcomings of imagination but of medium-specific adaptation. Ayah’s strength lies in his ability to see performance as a space where culture, story, and presence come alive.

In a time when the lines between art forms continue to diminish, Ebimobowei Ayah steps forward as a multidisciplinary artist with a growing and distinctive voice—one that shows strong potential to make a lasting impact in contemporary performance and visual culture.