Foday Dumbuya

Last night, my heart overflowed with emotions as I received the Outstanding Achievement Award 2023 for my contributions in bringing African stories to a global audience from @boa_awards . This recognition means more to me than words can express. I want to take a moment to dedicate this incredible award to my beloved mum, who passed away two years ago. She was my guiding light, instilling the values of African heritage from the very beginning. She always reminded me that African history is not just a part of our own narrative but a vital thread in the fabric of global history. Her legacy lives on and I am forever grateful for her wisdom and love. Big up to @boa_awards team for putting together such an amazing event that celebrates African culture and excellence. Your dedication to promoting our heritage is truly commendable. To my family, your support has been my driving force. Thank you 🙏🏿 Lastly, I want to thank my incredible team. You have been the pillars of strength, working alongside me to bring my creative visions to life. This award is not just mine; it belongs to every individual who believes in the power of African culture, history, and community . Together, we are rewriting narratives and shattering stereotypes. Thank you, each and every one of you, for being a part of my journey. Let us continue to celebrate our heritage and showcase the brilliance of African culture to the world. Captured by @twinsdntbeg #designedbyanimmigrant #boaawards #african

Born in Sierra Leone, made in London and Nottingham. Today, I am incredibly honored to share that I’ve been awarded an honorary degree - Doctor Of Design, from @nottinghamtrentuni First and foremost I would like to extend my deepest thanks to NTU for acknowledging my journey from Newton, Arkwright, and bonington building (if you know you know) to where I am today. You provided me with the educational foundation that has allowed me to pursue my passion as a designer with confidence, conviction and clarity. The encouragement and knowledge I gained here not only shaped my skills but also ignited my ambition to create and innovate. I am forever grateful for the opportunities I received from the staff and the institution itself. To my family, thank you for being my unwavering pillars of support. Mum and Dad, your sacrifices for us did not go unnoticed. You pushed me to reach for the stars, even when it meant facing challenges. And to my two sisters, Salima + Khadija, I can’t express enough how thankful I am for your early investment in my education. Your dedication to ensuring I learned to read, spell and write before I dashed off to play with my friends has served as a foundation upon which I continue to build. This achievement is not just a personal milestone, but a testament to the incredible support I’ve received from this vibrant community that has shaped my journey. I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has played a part in shaping my path, from mentors to friends and family. Here’s to embracing every opportunity and making a difference, one step at a time! LOVE AS ALWAYS ❤️❤️ 🇸🇱

I am deeply honored and humbled to receive the Queen Elizabeth Award from your Majesty, King Charles III for British design. As someone who was born in Sierra Leone, and migrated to Cyprus and London, this recognition is beyond my wildest dreams. I stand here grateful to my family and friends, who have been my constant source of support and inspiration on this incredible journey. Your unwavering love and encouragement has helped me to push past obstacles and to continue working towards achieving my goals every day. To my incredible team, thank you for believing in my vision and for working tirelessly to bring it to life. It fills me with pride to know that we have achieved this honor together. Thank you to @britishfashioncouncil for your continued support. Finally, to my loving wife, thank you for being my unrelenting support system and for inspiring me to chase my dreams fearlessly. Your love, intellect and unwavering devotion have helped me to live a life of purpose. As a proud Sierra Leonean, British designer and West African migrant, I believe that fashion is an integral part of what makes our world beautiful and diverse. This award is a symbol of how far we've come as a team, and the journey we will continue as we push forward and embark on new frontiers. Thank you to your majesty King Charles III, for this incredible recognition, I"m honored to receive the Queen Elizabeth Award for British design. To Sierra Leone, London, and the world, I am incredibly humbled and grateful. #labrumlondon #labrum #designedbyanimmigrant #britishfashioncouncil #london #sierraleone

RUN WITHOUT BORDERS FREETOWN CHAPTER 🇸🇱 Bringing the adidas x LABRUM running movement home to Freetown meant everything. From the beach roads to the coastline, the community showed up in full force for our first ever 5K community run. Energy, spirit and togetherness from start to finish. Running has always been bigger than sport for us. It’s about connection, belonging and freedom through movement. Freetown, thank you for the love. This is only the beginning ❤️ Thank you to @adidasuk for the support. @adidasrunning Imagery: @_samakai #LabrumLondon #DesignedByAnImmigrant #5k #LabrumAthletic #adidasrunning

RUN WITHOUT BORDERS FREETOWN CHAPTER 🇸🇱 Bringing the adidas x LABRUM running movement home to Freetown meant everything. From the beach roads to the coastline, the community showed up in full force for our first ever 5K community run. Energy, spirit and togetherness from start to finish. Running has always been bigger than sport for us. It’s about connection, belonging and freedom through movement. Freetown, thank you for the love. This is only the beginning ❤️ Thank you to @adidasuk for the support. @adidasrunning Imagery: @_samakai #LabrumLondon #DesignedByAnImmigrant #5k #LabrumAthletic #adidasrunning

FREETOWN CHAPTER 
Join us for the LABRUM Pop Up & BBQ as we launch the new adidas x LABRUM collection alongside exclusive new pieces available for the first time in Sierra Leone. Come through. Bring energy. Bring family🙏🏿❤️ @adidasuk @adidasrunning Photography: @_samakai #LABRUMLondon #DesignedByAnImmigrant #Freetown #SierraLeone #PopUp

THE GATHERING (2026) A permanent commission for @artscollectivenn , presented at The Northampton Rooms and NBHA Open Studio. Video & Edit : @doculture.film

BARTA STOOL (2026) Commissioned by @artscollectivenn Inspired by the djembe drum, the Barta Stool translates rhythm into form. Its segmented, upholstered body echoes the percussive logic of the instrument where sound reimagined as a tactile, communal object. Wrapped in LABRUM textiles, the surface carries movement. It recalls water, migration, and the circulation of materials and ideas across geographies, a language of flow rather than fixity. Woven into each panel are stylised mask forms, drawn from Sierra Leonean visual traditions within my lineage. The structural presence of Temne masks, defined by angularity, strength, and protection sits in dialogue with the Mende mask, where pattern, refinement, and femininity are foregrounded. Though distinct in form, both operate within ceremonial contexts that honour life, community, and ancestry. Here, the mask shifts from performance to surface. No longer worn, but embedded. No longer distant, but held. Through this gesture, cultural symbols are not preserved as static artefacts, but reactivated through use, through touch, proximity, and gathering. The stool becomes both object and archive, carrying memory not as something to be observed, but something to be lived. Images - @doculture.film @whatupitsjumo

BAKIE HERITAGE CHAIR (2026) Commissioned by @artscollectivenn Bakie Heritage Chair translates personal memory into sculptural form. A tribute to my grandmother, Bakie Sesay, it carries the intimacy of domestic space into a shared civic setting, where private histories are made public through use and encounter. The chair absorbs and reshapes multiple design languages. Its sculpted legs recall the rhythmic verticality of Endless Column by Constantin Brâncuși, yet this resonance is re-grounded in African design traditions, diasporic experience, and familial memory. Subtle references to Olókun motifs often found in traditional cloths rich with symbolic imagery introduce a language of repetition and growth, where pattern operates not as decoration but as a carrier of continuity across generations. Its asymmetrical three-legged structure embraces balance through imperfection, resisting uniformity in favour of individuality and lived experience. Through material and gesture, the chair transforms memory into a functional object that holds stories, relationships, and continuity across time. Images - @doculture.film @whatupitsjumo

THE GATHERING A permanent commission for Arts Collective, presented at The Northampton Rooms and NBHA Open Studio. Positioned between design and sculpture, the work explores furniture as a civic language, a site where narratives of migration, labour, and belonging are held and activated. Drawing from West African traditions of hosting, the pieces reframe everyday objects - chairs, stools, games tables as carriers of cultural memory and social exchange. Developed through a participatory process with local communities, the work proposes a model of public space that is lived, shared, and collectively authored. Operating through a logic of cultural osmosis, the project reflects on identity as something continuously formed through movement, encounter, and translation. Thank you to everyone involved in bringing this to life. Huge thank you to @emermaryg @artscollectivenn for all your supports and for believing in me

Moments after the London Marathon. Our @labrumathletic runners reflect on the race they’ve just completed, the journey, and the purpose that carried them through. @londonmarathon Video & Edit: @doculture.film #LABRUMLondon #labrumathletic #londonmarathon2026

“I’m going to do it?!” 😅⁣ ⁣ Bukayo gets behind a sewing machine in Episode II of The Link-Up ⚡