For a good few years, the slip dress had a very specific look. One colour, head to toe. Minimal. Whisper quiet. And it worked because the slip dress has always had this effortless ability to make you look rich without trying. Something about the fluid silhouette, the way it grazes the floor, the simplicity of it. Old money. Quiet girl. Rich girl on a private island who packed light. You know the vibe.
Brands like built entire followings around this version of the dress, and for a while it felt like that was the whole story.
From old money to rich aunty
The slip dress is shifting. The monochromatic, say nothing scream everything version is giving way to something with a lot more personality more print, more colour, more presence. Less "I inherited this" and more "I earned this and I want you to know it." We're calling it the rich aunty era of the slip dress. She walks into the room, she's dressed, she smells incredible, and everyone wants to know where she got the dress. That's the energy.
And honestly? It suits the silhouette better. The slip dress was always meant to move. Putting it in one flat colour was fine, but putting it in a vibrant print with intentional details? That's when it really starts talking.
African designers have been doing this quietly for years
While everyone else was still in nude satin, African designers were already doing something far more interesting. Banke Kuku has been making fluid, floor-length dresses in prints that stop a room for years — the kind that end up on women like Toke Makinwa, who, it's worth saying, does not wear things by accident.
Then there's Wanni Fuga — the Nigerian brand that took the slip-and-kimono combination and made it their signature. Their kimono sets have been one of the most talked-about silhouettes in the West African fashion space, and for good reason. A slip dress on its own is beautiful. A slip dress with a matching kimono that moves with you? That's a whole look. Wanni Fuga understood this early and built an entire language around it — fluid, intentional, and very much dressed.
What's changing now is that the wider fashion conversation is finally catching up to what was already happening on this side of the world.
Old money was a chapter. Rich aunty — dressed, printed, and draped in a kimono — is the whole book.
Meet Muva — our newest designer
We are very excited to introduce Muva to the Sanaa Threads family. We came across the brand and it was an immediate yes — the kind of designer that just gets it. Pieces that feel easy to wear but look like they required a real conversation to create. We're starting with two dresses, and honestly they are the perfect introduction to what Muva is about.
Ara Dress with Kimono
Bold Fuschia print, flowing maxi silhouette with a matching kimono overlay. Effortless layering that works for a wedding, a brunch, or a Tuesday you want to feel good about.
Shop the Ara →
Anju Dress
Royal blue with peacock-inspired geometric print, fitted silhouette, fringe shoulder detail. Sleeveless. Floor-length. The kind of dress that arrives somewhere before you do.
Shop the Anju →
New designer. Limited stock. You know how this goes.
We only brought in a small first batch and once they're gone, preorder is the only way back in. Meet Muva the right way.
Shop Muva at Sanaa Threads