Maxivive isn’t just making clothes, Papa Oyeyemi is staging a revolution.
The Dry/Wet 2025 collection, Dolls of Ms. Francis, is more than fashion. It’s a sharp, unflinching love letter to the Trans body: fierce, fluid, and defiantly alive in a world that tries to erase it, especially in Nigeria.
Presented in two acts like a runway opera, this collection demands attention. Act One: Trans men take center stage. A community often shrouded in silence now steps into the light, with garments that challenge the gaze and spark overdue conversations. These are not quiet clothes. These are declarations; stitched, strutted, and unapologetically seen.
Act Two: An ode to the unforgettable Fola Francis (a trans icon, activist, and founder of Doll Activities). Though her time here was cut short, her legacy is stitched into every seam, every silhouette. Oyeyemi channels her spirit into looks that carry her fight forward: power, softness, resistance, elegance, all rolled into one.
The collection riffs on the idea of plasticity, of the body, of identity, of fabric. Trans bodies, like the deadstock denim, camo, lace, and velvet Maxivive uses, are endlessly adaptive, constantly evolving, and undeniably beautiful. Each material tells a story of transformation: what was once discarded now reimagined, reborn, divine. Every stitch, every trim, every layered texture becomes a protest and a prayer. This is sustainable fashion not just in fabric, but in purpose yet reminding us that identity isn’t fixed, and fashion shouldn’t be either.
Dolls of Ms. Francis is a fearless tribute to bodies that shift, shine, and survive. Maxivive dares us to look, to listen, to celebrate. Because to be seen is to be remembered. And these dolls? They’re unforgettable.
