Fashion designing is something I wanted to do from boyhood — Yemi Osunkoya

Take us through your background and educational qualifications?I am the third son of four sons born to late Professor Babatunde Olusiji and Mrs Beryl Cosiba Osunkoya. I grew up mostly within the University of Ibadan Campus where I went to Senior Staff School and International school Ibadan. I hold a BA degree in Fine Arts, […]

Take us through your background and educational qualifications?
I am the third son of four sons born to late Professor Babatunde Olusiji and Mrs Beryl Cosiba Osunkoya. I grew up mostly within the University of Ibadan Campus where I went to Senior Staff School and International school Ibadan. I hold a BA degree in Fine Arts, specialising in Textile Designs obtained from University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. I went on to study couture Womenswear and Menswear at the Paris Academy School of Fashion, London.
 
How did the idea of going into the bridal couture, evening dresses occur to you? What inspired you?
 When I started my business in 1991, I initially took on all commissions; wedding dresses, eveningwear, casualwear and menswear. Very early into my business I realised 2 things and acted on them. Firstly, casualwear was not viable for my business module of bespoke/couture garments. It would just be too expensive if the time it took to create the garment I was trained to do so was taken into account when costing the process. Secondly, I did not get any artistic or professional satisfaction from producing menswear and I had always told myself that I would only create things that I felt passionate about so I stopped doing both. I realised my designs and methodology of couture techniques lent themselves more to Bridalwear, evening and special occasionwear.

Was fashion designing something you always wanted to do right from a very young age?
Yes, being a fashion designer was something I wanted to do from a very young age. I was very good at Art in general and sketching of figures in particular from the age of 6 or 7. This talent was spotted by both my parents and my Art teachers and I was very much encouraged to hone these talents. At that young age, I really didn’t know what fashion design was as a concept. It was in my teenage years that I realised I could use my talent for sketching figures in clothing from my imagination into a career called Fashion Design. Because I was blessed with understanding and forward thinking parents I was able to pursue this career dream without hindrance.
 
What if you were not a fashion designer, what would you have been?
I possibly would have been an illustrator interpreting other designers’ ideas into reality on paper or perhaps a fashion stylist. It definitely would have been something in fashion.

What inspired your career?
What drives me to aim for continuous success in my business is the desire to justify the belief my parents had in their decision to fully support their son’s decision to be a designer at a time when it wasn’t very popular to do so. I have to confess this has really helped me to remain focused on my desire to succeed. From a design point of view what inspires me is celebrating the female form. Because I grew up seeing women of all shapes and sizes, I’ve always felt comfortable designing for ‘real’ and curvaceous women.

Your brand has been in existence for over 23 years now. What has kept it growing stronger?
As I mentioned before, I registered Kosibah as a business and started trading in 1991. Aside from my desire to vindicate my parents support, I was lucky enough to attend a short business course shortly before starting my business which covered areas such as marketing, PR, business administration, taxation etc. This made me realise that talent alone was not going to be enough to sustain my brand. I had to remember it was a business and had to remain viable and relevant to ensure continuous success. This has helped me tremendously to remain focused. I always try to increase my skills through relevant courses where appropriate to ensure I’m up to date regardless of how long I’ve been in business.

After so many years on the fashion scene and many awards to show for it, there must have been ups and downs. What has been the biggest ups and downs of your career?
Every business has its high and lows. There was a low period in my business when cheaper options online became available to brides and it was difficult to compete on the middle price point. One either had to go low end or high end. Because of the labour intensive nature of the way my gowns are made low end was not an option, so I steeled my nerves in the knowledge that I value my work and always strive for perfection, so I decided to steer my brand in the high end direction. I have had many highs in my career – winning Awards, dressing very high profile brides, being invited to participate at international events etc.

Your brand is based in London, how do you connect to your Nigerian roots in terms of fashion?
Social Media has been a tremendous help in staying connected to Nigerian fashion trends. There are a huge
Your career entails working with a lot of brides, do you ever encounter difficult brides in the course of your work?
I choose not to call them difficult brides, I see them as brides that have probably let the weight of expectation of a day they’ve probably thought about for a long time affect them and I totally understand this. I am confident in the work I produce and fortunately have the temperament to deal with brides like this. That is why in turn, I do not compromise in the prices that I charge to make the garments.

You are a Nigerian but based abroad. How would you describe the fashion scene in today’s Nigeria?
The fashion scene is extremely vibrant at the moment. Nigerians have always been extremely fashionable but recently the works of home grown designers are becoming more appreciated and patronized. The combination of numerous Red Carpet opportunities from both the Music and Nollywood scenes and the growth of the Stylist as a real career has really helped this phenomenon. Social media has also played a huge part in this.

If given a second chance at life what would you do differently?
I would not be too mindful of what other people thought of me or what I was doing as long as I knew in my heart I was doing the right thing and what was true to my heart.