September 2025: Recipient 60, Kemi Ajose
The 60th recipient of the working class creatives grant is Kemi Ajose! A knitwear designer in London, her portfolio is rich, thoughtful, sustainable, and so sculptural it makes me rethink the tactile potential of knit. Listen, when I’m not writing about people who make things, I am knitting the most basic stuff so I appreciate Kemi’s work all the more for its sheer skill! But also the draping! The colourwork! The vast foundation in West African design across textile, painting, basketry, hairstyles and beadwork! Everything she holds closest comes through with so much care in the knitwear it becomes pure art. We are so glad to support more of her work – this month’s grant is funded in memory of Vi James.
BIO: Kemi is a knitwear designer based in South East London, creating work that tells a story and explores the relationship between material, culture, and craft. Her designs draw inspiration from traditional West African textiles, which she reinterprets into contemporary knitwear, reflecting her Ghanaian and Nigerian heritage within a British context.
Growing up in Britain, Kemi connected to West African culture through the nostalgia of her parents. By experimenting with colour, pattern, texture, and form, she explores how she subconsciously embodies this heritage, narrating a hybrid identity through knitwear. Her work strives to make fashion accessible both within and beyond the West African diaspora.
Craftsmanship is central to Kemi’s practice. All her work is handmade and fully fashioned on a hand-powered knitting machine, resulting in zero-waste production. She uses deadstock materials wherever possible, transforming what would otherwise be considered waste into extraordinary garments. For example, she once cut brightly coloured earth sleeving from electric cables into beads to create a tube top, demonstrating how everyday materials can be reimagined.
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