The Belgian Residence in Abuja was transformed into a sacred forest of Adire for An Adire Adieu, a special evening marking the departure of Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, his Excellency Pieter Leenknegt, and celebrating the creative connections that have grown between Belgium and Nigeria during his time in the country.
Suspended high above the atrium, lengths of Adire formed a canopy of colour, pattern and movement. Guests walked beneath and between the textiles as the light changed around them, turning the Residence into an immersive celebration of one of Nigeria’s most distinctive textile traditions.
Conceived and curated by IFFIZI, An Adire Adieu brought together heritage textiles, contemporary Nigerian art and design. The installation combined IFFIZI custom Adire with textiles from Adire Factory, creating a vibrant mix of traditional and contemporary interpretations of the cloth.
The title was deliberately playful, but it also captured something of Ambassador Leenknegt’s relationship with Nigeria. During his time in the country, he became a genuine supporter of its creative community and developed a particular appreciation for Nigerian art, fashion and cultural heritage.
For IFFIZI, the evening also celebrated a relationship with the Belgian Embassy that has grown over several years. It began with an IFFIZI fashion presentation at the European Union Delegation in 2024 and continued through King’s Day, the Old Masters – Future Masters workshop and celebrations of Belgian National Day.
These collaborations went beyond individual events. They created opportunities for Nigerian designers, artists and artisans to reach new audiences, while showing how culture can build connections between countries in very immediate and human ways.
A forest of living heritage
At the heart of the evening was Adire itself. Rather than presenting the textiles as finished garments or conventional displays, IFFIZI used them to transform the space. Hanging at different heights through the soaring atrium and interacting with the architecture and greenery of the Residence, the fabrics created a sacred forest through which guests could wander.
The collaboration with Adire Factory was an important part of the installation, bringing together different approaches to Adire and a shared commitment to keeping Nigerian textile craftsmanship visible, relevant and evolving.
Paintings by Yvonne Chinenye Ezie, an explorative artist and interior designer, added another dimension. Her bold and intuitive works were exhibited throughout the Residence for the occasion, creating a natural dialogue between contemporary art, textiles and space.
Together, the installation reflected a simple idea: heritage is not static. It survives because people continue to make it, reinterpret it and find new ways of carrying it forward.
From heritage to opportunity
That idea also led to one of the most important conversations of the evening.
For the first time publicly, IFFIZI introduced Cotton Bank, an emerging initiative built around a straightforward question: How can Nigeria’s extraordinary textile heritage not only be preserved, but become a stronger source of livelihoods, enterprise and opportunity?
Behind every piece of Adire is an ecosystem: cotton growers, dyers, artisans, generations of inherited knowledge, designers, entrepreneurs and markets. Yet many of these connections remain fragmented, and traditional skills can easily disappear when the people who possess them cannot build sustainable livelihoods from them.
Cotton Bank aims to connect these different parts of the ecosystem — from cotton and sustainable dyes to craftsmanship, skills development, design, finance, innovation and access to markets.
The objective is not to reinvent heritage or turn it into something it is not. It is to create the conditions in which traditional knowledge remains valuable enough to be practised, passed on and continuously reimagined. The idea also creates an interesting bridge between countries.
Nigeria brings generations of textile knowledge, craftsmanship and a dynamic contemporary creative sector. Belgium brings its own traditions of textiles, craftsmanship, design and innovation. Denmark, where partnerships around the idea are also being explored, brings considerable experience in sustainability, circularity and responsible production.
Cotton Bank asks what could happen if these strengths were brought together around a shared commitment to heritage textiles and the people who make them.
The response during An Adire Adieu was immediate. What was intended as a first introduction quickly developed into conversations among guests about craftsmanship, sustainability, investment, skills and the future of Nigeria’s textile sector.
Perhaps that was because Cotton Bank was not being discussed in the abstract.
The heritage we were talking about was quite literally all around us.
Many hands, one celebration
Alongside the contributions of Adire Factory and the paintings of Yvonne Ezie, photographer and visual artist Bolaji Alonge – Eyes of a Lagos Boy documented the evening and the transformation of the Residence.
The IFFIZI team worked across the creative direction and preparation of the event, while Victor and the VEETOUCHES production team translated the original idea into the spectacular installation that filled the Residence.
For Ambassador Pieter Leenknegt, the evening was a fitting farewell after years of engagement with Nigeria’s creative community and generous support for its artists, designers and makers.
An Adire Adieu began as a celebration of that relationship and of the threads that have connected Belgium and Nigeria during his time in the country.
But somewhere among the textiles, paintings, conversations and people gathered beneath that sacred forest, it also became the beginning of something new.
Some threads, it seems, are only just beginning to be woven.
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