George Ababio Understands That Wardrobe Is Part of the Story

A garment behaves differently when it is asked to perform for a camera rather than simply exist as a finished design. It must remain convincing through movement, changing frames and repeated takes, while continuing to communicate something about the person wearing it. George Kojo Ababio’s work as a Wardrobe Assistant on Tolu Coker’s Unfinished Business in 2025 placed him within this relationship between clothing, character and image.

Presented as Tolu Coker’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, Unfinished Business moved beyond the conventional runway format. The collection was introduced through a fashion film featuring Naomi Campbell, using clothing and performance to explore motherhood, inheritance, Black womanhood and the memories garments can carry between generations.

The clothes are fundamental to that storytelling. Coker’s structured tailoring remains present, but it is balanced by softness and movement. Crisp shirting develops into sculptural sleeves and flounced forms, while pleated skirts introduce volume around the body. Earthier shades sit alongside blue, teal and lighter tones. Yoruba ceremonial references meet elements of British heritage dress, creating a wardrobe that moves between cultural memory and contemporary fashion.

For Ababio, working across garment preparation, fittings, styling assistance and on-set wardrobe coordination meant contributing at the point where these clothes became part of a moving image. His responsibility was not to establish Coker’s creative direction, but to support the practical consistency required for that direction to survive production.

This makes costume continuity particularly important. A fashion film is constructed from separate shots, performances and moments that eventually have to exist as one coherent visual world. Clothing must remain consistent in fit, arrangement and its relationship to the performer. A shifted collar, altered layer or misplaced accessory can become conspicuous when footage from different takes is edited together. Wardrobe assistance therefore requires an unusually attentive eye.

Ababio’s involvement in fittings and cast styling also positioned him close to the relationship between garment and wearer. Fit in this environment goes beyond measurements. Clothing has to preserve its intended silhouette while allowing the performer to move naturally through a scene. Styling must similarly remain faithful to an established visual direction while responding to how garments actually behave once they are worn.

This experience adds an important dimension to Ababio’s developing fashion practice. Working in wardrobe requires him to consider clothing after it has left the design table. He encounters the consequences of construction, proportion and styling in real conditions, where garments are worn, adjusted, photographed and repeatedly scrutinised.

There is also a valuable lesson in working on a project where clothing carries narrative weight. Unfinished Business does not treat wardrobe simply as something attractive placed in front of the camera. Garments contribute to ideas about identity, femininity, family and inheritance. Preserving their visual integrity therefore becomes part of preserving the story itself.

For George Kojo Ababio, Unfinished Business demonstrates another dimension of his understanding of fashion. His contribution existed within the detailed work required to maintain the relationship between garment, performer and image throughout production. It shows an emerging professional learning that fashion does not stop communicating once a garment has been completed. In projects such as this, the finished garment is where another creative responsibility begins.