PARIS — Kenneth Ize has put his label on pause as he plots his next move after parting ways together with his investor last summer.

The Nigerian designer revealed he was taking a break in a transient Instagram post on July 23, and was a no-show at Paris Fashion Week in the autumn.

In his first interview on the topic, Ize told WWD he stopped working with Roberta Annan, the founder and managing partner of the Impact Fund for African Creatives, or IFFAC, and is hoping to relaunch this 12 months on his own terms. After struggling initially to digest the setback, he said he was feeling energized and able to bring recent ideas to the table.

Ize, who grew up and studied fashion in Austria, has been spending time in Lagos, Nigeria, reconnecting together with his culture and spirituality, which incorporates learning concerning the Orisha deities of the Ifa religion practiced amongst Yoruba communities.

“It’s similar to moving into a distinct space completely where I feel like I’m not rushed. I can start when I would like to begin, and end when I would like to finish, and I’m so grateful that I’ve been in a position to taste what that’s,” said the designer, who’s been on a whirlwind trajectory since reaching the semifinals of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers in 2019.

“The entire technique of consulting the gods is literally like a celebration, so I feel that for me, to have the opportunity to get to that time in my very own life now that I’m 32, it just really means a lot to me,” he added. “It feels great. I’ve been having fun with the break really rather a lot.”

Though he enjoyed a high profile because of the support of influential industry figures like Naomi Campbell, and a collaboration with the Karl Lagerfeld brand in 2021, Ize said his business was hobbled by a string of setbacks, including UPS losing two shipments of the signature handwoven fabric he used for lots of his designs and a partner in Italy failing to make payments on goods sold.

“I’ve had such unlucky luck,” he lamented, saying he ended up plugging his personal savings into the brand’s fabric production facility in Nigeria to maintain it afloat. The designer said the production issues were compounded by his difficulties with Annan. “We had issues,” Ize said.

“We’re nearly structuring and organizing the corporate, so there’s a lot work at this level to be done. And I feel IFFAC, they were probably overwhelmed. It just also really shocked me rather a lot after we made the sale from the previous collection and we made almost half 1,000,000 euros. And I even have an investor and I can’t produce that, and get extra money into the business,” he said.

“I even have to take a step back,” he continued. “The plan is to return back [this] 12 months. I’m going to see when. I assume, perhaps next season. I just wish to take my time to make this collection.”

A spokesman for IFFAC confirmed it was not working with Ize.

“Unfortunately, the connection between IFFAC and Kenneth Ize broke down on account of irreconcilable differences around finance following an investment of 520,000 euros. Each side agreed to enter an arbitration process under the auspices of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, and that remains to be ongoing,” he said. 

“Meanwhile, IFFAC wishes Kenneth every success in his future ventures, and retains confidence in his creative abilities,” the spokesman added.

Ize said he’s been taking a break from social media while he resets. “I don’t take a look at fashion. I haven’t been on Instagram for such an extended time. I kept myself away from it. Oh, my god, I didn’t know when the Queen died,” he said with amusing.

While he plots his next move, he’s working on a capsule collection of vintage pieces customized with brand signatures, comparable to the Ouroboros, a circular symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. Ize’s last runway collection, for fall 2022, also featured vintage finds mixed together with his trademark plaid fabrics.

He has arrange a fundraising vehicle, the Kenneth Ize NGO, to finance his local production unit and training facility.

“Hopefully we are able to start raising those funds by February and see what happens. I’m still opening the doors for investors to return,” he said. “The brand isn’t going anywhere, but let me just refresh myself and get back to you guys.”