Mowalola and Air Jordan take us behind the scenes of their new collab

Mowalola Ogunlesi knows her way around a collaboration. Fans of the Nigerian-born fashion designer know the extended Mowaverse has reached every corner of lifestyle, whether that’s bags with Marc Jacobs, sneakers with New Balance, skate decks from Skateroom, or Beats by Dre. And though all those link-ups have made their mark on pop culture, Ogunlesi has been pining after something a little more permanent. “After doing a run of different collaborations, I reached a point where I wanted to build something more long-term with one brand,” the designer tells us. “A real partnership where we could build a new world together, one that could evolve alongside my own.”

Today, that “real partnership” is unveiled in the form of Jordan Brand x Mowalola, with the designer’s eponymous label partnering with Nike’s famous basketball line. The collaboration was originally teased back in June, when Ogunlesi revealed her own take on the Air Jordan 14 silhouette, plus a brand new backless slip-on version: the Air Jordan 14 Mule. Now, the entire collection – fitted vests, oversized leather, ringspun tees and lowslung pants – can be seen in a campaign shot by the legendary photographer Norbert Schoerner.

Set against the backdrop of an abandoned hotel, the ‘cinematic narrative’ of the campaign – titled Something’s Off – unfolds across eerie corridors, hyperreal pink tiles and an uncanny basketball court mysteriously folding towards the sky. Jordan’s iconic Jumpman logo is spliced with the Mowalola motif and emblazoned on some booty shorts, while figures pace the foggy hotel grounds in front of a rusty pink neon sign. The dreamlike world is populated by supermodel Alek Wek, musicians Chxrry and Tezzus, plus rapper Pz’, all characters inhabiting “a world where nothing quite does what it was told, built by and cast with people who never did either.”

Below, we catch up with Ogunlesi about teaming up with Jordan Brand, collaborating with Schoerner on the campaign, and the cinema that inspires her creative work.

Can you tell me about the idea behind the name Something’s Off? How does this relate to the almost decade-long ethos of the Mowalola brand?

Mowalola Ogunlesi: I’ve always been very intentional with my world-building and unapologetic about my own vision, which often doesn’t fit within the current climate. That’s where Something’s Off comes from – the feeling that something is slightly out of place or operating outside of what’s expected.

For almost a decade, Mowalola has existed in that space, constantly challenging what feels familiar and presenting a different perspective.

The Jordan Brand and its Jumpman logo are already so iconic – was there any nervousness about using that iconography, or any pressure you felt entering that world?

Mowalola Ogunlesi: No nerves. The timeline for the first collection was a year and a half, so I had the space to really think about what I wanted to make. I wanted to create something timeless, something I would genuinely love and still want to wear years from now. For me, it was about bringing a fresh perspective to something already so iconic, while designing for the future.

Why did you want to go for a ‘cinematic narrative’ rather than a more traditional campaign shoot?

Mowalola Ogunlesi: I’ve never been interested in just showing a product. I’m always thinking about the world it belongs to, the characters who exist within it and the feeling you’re left with. A cinematic narrative gave me the freedom to build that world around the collection and create something that could exist beyond a traditional fashion campaign. I wanted it to feel like you were being dropped into the middle of a story.

Talking of cinema, were there specific films on the moodboard when building the campaign?

Mowalola Ogunlesi: There weren’t necessarily specific films that the campaign was directly based on, but there are three films that have been very inspiring to me this year: The Cell, Queen of the Damned and Female Perversions. They all create such distinct worlds and have a darkness and intensity that I’m drawn to.

More than referencing any one film, I wanted the campaign to have that same sense of entering a fully realised world, like you’ve been dropped into the middle of a story and have to interpret it for yourself.

Why did you choose Norbert Schoerner to bring this idea to life?

Mowalola Ogunlesi: You can feel Norbert’s love for image-making in his work. I’ve always been drawn to the relationship he creates between subject and location, and the texture of his photographs. He was the perfect collaborator to make something nonsensical feel believable, something both nostalgic and otherworldly.

Did anything surprise you about working with Schoerner so closely?

Mowalola Ogunlesi: What surprised me was how instinctive it felt. From our first meeting, we were geeking out watching abstract Japanese gameplay on YouTube and imagining how that language could translate into fashion and film. The whole process became really playful, just pushing each other to make the world stranger.

Scroll through the galleries above to see the new campaign and behind the scenes imagery