BIOGRAPHY OF ADEY THANI

adeyAdey was born in London and graduated from the University of East London. The combination of his African origins and travel experiences are a source of strength and richness which influences his work. The use of bright colours and images from various cultures are infused into his work, creating them with a western, modern flavour.

Adey Thani’s Inspiration

He is inspired by the love of nature and multi-cultural, subject matter. His preferred choice for bright colours make his work aesthetically pleasant and uplifting. He is influenced by his immediate environment, taking into account social influences and music. He likes to experiment with earthy subject matter, the sublime, quirky and unique, but original ideas as well as the historic and political subject matter of the day. He likes to research and work in new materials and creating textiles from all kinds of suitable reclaimed materials.

First degree Final year Project

During his final year project, he developed a new textile material from chicken skin – making them into leather. He is very passionate about finding new materials, up-cycling discarded objects giving them a new, contemporary and glamourous twist as is evidenced by the use of spools from train ticket machines and till roll receipts. He believes that design should be ethical and sustainable.

Second degree Project

With the use of symbology, he told the story of emotional pain using photography and the creation of a 3D printed shoes prototype for women which he is in the final stages of building into a collection called ’emotions’ – A collection of printed scarves, accessories and t-shirts for smart and casual wear.

Fresh from completing his Masters degree at the University of East London, his love for bags and accessories has led to the making of modern, contemporary  accessories for men and women, using ethically sourced, handwoven fabrics from  developing societies because he believes the weaving industry will become extinct if the good quality fabrics from these societies are shunned by Western designers who mostly use industrially finished fabrics in their work. By using this ethical approach, he believes a difference can be made in the lives of these communities who will be able to afford a fair living, while at the same time shedding new light on the use of their handwoven fabrics. There are hardly any makers of fashion accessories who adopt this policy. It is also very important that every product is individually hand crafted to very high specs to meet the high expectations of his customer base.

Adey’s Watch-words

His watch-words are classical, glamour, history, technology, modern, playfulness, and ethically sustainable.