This weekend, Sole DXB returns to Dubai, an electric mix of music, bars, food, and independent brands. Among them, Badibanga, the UAE-born, design-led fashion label co-founded by Oscar Badibanga and Gilda Gilantash Badibanga, makes its festival debut. Together, they are the ultimate duo – he shapes the language of design, she translates it into strategy, narrative, and vision.
The brand pulses with heritage and intention, treating clothing as a language of memory and identity. At the stall, it comes alive: Oscar and Gilda move as one, a partnership where vision and interpretation are inseparable, turning each garment into a conversation. Visitors can explore pieces from Batch 1 and Batch 2, alongside colourways created exclusively for Sole.
The logo palette asserts itself before the collections even come into focus: sand, black, red. Sand evokes Dubai’s terrain and the city that nurtured the brand. Black signals Oscar’s African heritage, while red ties together his Congolese and Belgian roots, Gilda’s Iranian background, and the restless energy of Dubai itself. Gilda giggles as she admits they have rarely articulated just how much the colours mean to them. Their voices carry excitement and conviction, a clear reminder that these choices are as central to shaping the brand as they are to cultivating the community around it.
For Gilda, the moment carries weight. “We’ve been coming to Sole since it first started – about 13 years ago. Being here now feels very nostalgic and a little surreal. It’s a full-circle, 360 moment.” While Oscar has curated pop-ups before, this is Badibanga’s debut as an independent entity – a culmination of movement, observation, and years of conversation with culture itself.
Badibanga’s visual identity embodies a rare duality. Its Instagram feed is clean and minimal, evoking exclusivity – almost like entering a refined, creative club – yet it never shuts anyone out. There’s a warmth and openness that invites viewers in, making the brand feel aspirational but also universally welcomed. It’s the balance everyone seeks: a space that feels special but belongs to anyone ready to step inside.
The brand grows through observation and accumulation. Oscar draws inspiration from travel – Japan, Africa, and his upbringing in Europe. “Culturally, you embrace a lot of different elements from different crafts and places,” he says. “These experiences shape silhouettes, proportions, and textures.”
Earlier this year, continuity became personal. Rediscovering sketchbooks he had drawn in since age 15, Oscar reflects: “It somehow disturbed how I wanted to create. But it also comforted me. The interest that I have now is a testimony of what I’ve seen.” For Oscar, the past is foundational. “The past is what made where we are today,” he says.
Culture is rendered with subtlety. Asked about Belgian or Congolese influences, Oscar explains: “It doesn’t have to be something that strikes your eyes and makes you think, oh this is from Congo or Belgium. It’s the way people live, the way you’ve been educated, the places you’ve been.” Culture is felt, not symbolic.
If Oscar defines the brand’s emotional language, Gilda shapes its voice. Badibanga defies prescriptive gender norms. “We don’t call it unisex per se,” she says. “But you can literally adapt it to anyone.” The garments are flexible – oversized or fitted, volumetric or precise – shaped by the wearer.
This adaptability is deliberate. “It’s about how you take the pieces and make them part of your identity,” Gilda says. At the stall, she demonstrates exactly what she means, guiding visitors through the clothes in a way that makes you understand – and makes one need to fight the urge to take the entire collection home.
Dubai plays a catalytic role. For Oscar, the city removes creative limits. “I started asking, what are the boundaries? And then I realised there are none here. You have to go full on.”
For Gilda, the UAE’s diversity is a constant source of insight. “Feedback comes from so many different geographies, climates, and lifestyles,” she says, “and it shapes everything – sizing, pricing, the form of the garments.” This perspective also explains one of Badibanga’s surprising bestsellers: outerwear. A coat jacket, thriving in the heat, makes perfect sense in a city defined by movement, travel, and relentless energy – a reflection of Dubai itself and the way the brand responds to its environment.
Sole DXB is an incubator, a rare weekend where fashion, music, and community intersect without hierarchy – where brands are experienced, felt, and absorbed.
To understand a brand thriving in a competitive field, the founders’ guidance is illuminating. “Lean on your community,” Gilda advises. “Say yes and accept help – it’s been huge for us. Stay curious. Make sure you’re passionate. This is a tough road, but if you believe in it, it will carry you further than you expect.” Their reflections on resilience, curiosity, and collaboration pulse through every stitch.
Hearing them speak, their devotion is clear – to their craft and to the city. Dubai is now a pivotal global hub, yet for those who glimpsed its potential years ago, the pride and purpose are on a whole new level of extraordinary.
Sole DXB evolves every year, and Badibanga is right there in the mix, making its mark, commanding attention, and proving there’s no slowing down for Oscar and Gilda, and the cool, stylish kingdom that they are building.
