Kosibah Creations’ 2004 Collection Unveiled

Mrs Boatang wore an elegant black dress designed by Kosibah's Yemi Osunkoya, featuring a golden-hued bodice of Kent-Oke hand-woven textile.

‘Back to Glamour' was the theme of the 2004 Spring/Summer Collection. Bust-enhancing corsets and floor-sweeping skirts sashayed down the catwalk, the gleaming satin and translucent lace liberally accented with sequins and feathers. Wedding white and evening black refused to be constrained by tradition, and Yemi's favourite colour – bold burgundy – successfully infiltrated both collections.

Yemi Osunkoya, originally from Nigeria, says his signature look is one of shaped comfort. His dresses follow the curve of the body, flattering the feminine hourglass shape while allowing freedom of movement. Actress Angela Griffin actually salsa-ed in one of Yemi's dresses. Using corsetry and drapery, Yemi achieves a figure-enhancing, streamlined silhouette. Each dress is made to measure, and will put the commissioner back several thousand pounds.

Yemi Osunkoya founded Kosibah Creations – named for his mother – in 1991, after training at the Paris Academy School of Fashion. He recently moved his studio to Bankside from West Hampstead because, he says: “I wanted my workspace to reflect my work: contemporary and comfortable.”

SE1 has the perfect mix of the up-and-coming (as in the Tate Modern) and the authentically traditional (as in Borough Market), which makes for a vibrant and creative atmosphere free of pretentiousness, observes Yemi.

In addition, Bankside is just across the river from Kosibah Collections' core client base of City women in the twenty-five-to-fifty age range. Yemi Osunkoya's customers are people who know the value of couture and have the money to pay for it, but are short on time. Now the time-starved can just pop across the bridge for a designer dress, and take advantage of Yemi's ‘one-stop-shop' for shoes, headpieces, and other accessories to go with it.

Chances are you've already spotted a dress by Yemi Osunkoya. Helen Fraser, of ITV's Bad Girls, collected her prize at the National Television Awards in one of Yemi's creations, and Hollywood's Indra Ove (Interview with a Vampire, Resident Evil) wore a Kosibah Creations outfit to the 2003 Screen Nation Film and Television Awards. Yemi has also dressed Angela Griffin of BBC2's Babyfather, and Miss World 2001, Adgbani Derego.

Currently, the only way to get your hands on a stunning Kosibah Creations dress is to make an appointment to stop by Yemi Osunkoya's studio, just a stone's-throw from the Tate Modern:

• Kosibah Creations: Couture Bridal and Eveningwear is at Studio 208, 30 Great Guildford Street; 0207 928 5507.

• www.kosibah.co.uk