Dad behind my sojourn into fashion —Lekan Balogun

Award-wining fashionista and the Managing Director of Mc Coy Clothings, Lekan Balogun, is one of the brains making waves in the fashion industry. The graduate of Business Administration of the Lagos State University, in this interview with TAYO GESINDE, speaks on why he abandoned banking for fashion and reason for being the toasts of politicians and celebrities.

How did you discover your passion for fashion?

I won´t tell you I was born with a silver spoon. I was from an average family. My late father was the one who inspired me to go into fashion. I was in Senior Secondary School (SSS) 1, when my father encouraged me to learn sewing. He noticed that I loved drawing and that I derived pleasure in sketching designs. I was a science student but, he took me to one of his friends who taught me for three years or thereabout. When I finished my secondary school education, I did my Ordinary National Diploma at the Lagos State Polytechnic and I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the Lagos State University. I joined Guarantee Trust Bank in 2006. It is almost four years since I resigned from the bank to pursue my passion. I didn’t resign because I couldn’t meet my target. In fact, I was one of the best staff in my office. I left because it was time to pursue my fashion. Today, many of my clients at the bank patronise me.  I am a bespoke tailor, so I can cut and sew. Till date, I cut my customers’ clothes, it is not that I don´t have a backup but I do it myself to guard against error. If you did not cut the cloth well, you can’t sew it well. Every cloth that is going out from my company, I check it very well. I have someone that does that but, I am the final check. The only time I can’t check is when I travel out of the country, because I have customers in the UK and US. However, I don’t leave my company more than 10 days, the highest is 13 days. I love my job because I have passion for it and if I have the opportunity to come back to the world, I will surely go for this.

What are some of the challenges when you started?

I won’t lie to you, apart from the challenge of electricity faced by every business in Nigeria, I would not say that I faced any other challenges.  There is no way funding won’t be a problem, because nobody is ready to assist or support you. However, the little profit we made was we ploughed it back into the business and that was how we got to where we are today.

Who are your role model in this industry?

In Nigeria, my role model is Mudi Africa; he is someone I love so much. In Nigeria today, we have many fashion designers who are doing well and I admire them all for their contributions to the development of the fashion industry.

How have you been coping with competition?

Competition is part of the business but, I don’t see myself as competing with anybody. My clients choose Mc Coy Clothings, because they know that the brand stands for ingenuity and authenticity. If you wear a McCoy dress today, you will not want to wear any other cloth again. So, I don’t see myself competing with anybody because competition is part of the game. In fact, it inspires me to be more creative. As a business person, if you come up with a quality product, people will patronise you. Also, if you have integrity and you don’t disappoint your clients, they will keep coming back to you. There is no time you will come to our place and you will not find us working. If you are loyal to your customers, they will stick to you. Everybody is looking for a new tailor everyday because some tailors tend to disappoints their customers; so, if they see someone who is a man of his words, who does not disappoint, they will go for him or her. Also, I don’t charge for “express service;” it is not part of me. It does not make sense, if any of customer wants a dress made at  a short notice, I won’t charge you an extra dime for it.

What is the secret of your success?

I know what I want and I know where I am going. I will tell you now that McCoy has been in existence since 2000. It will be 17 years this year but, I started it full time in 2000. My record speaks for me .To the glory of God, I have collected different awards; I got MAYA awards as the fashion Label of the year a few weeks ago. I won the Nigerian Fashion and Style Awards as the designer of the year in 2016, in Port Harcourt; I was nominated alongside top designers. I also won the City People’s Emerging Designer of The Year Award two years ago. I got another award in the UK, so it’s been God.

What distinguishes you from other designers?

It is my style. If you try to copy my style, you are not doing yourself a favour. Everyone has his own style, so I have mine which is different from others. I don’t like to copy others, so my style distinguishes me from them, and simplicity is our watchword. One of my major strengths is that most time, I don’t measure people before I can sew for them. I work with pictures. Once I see your picture, I can sew for you. I have many and I’m prayerful. Another important ingredient is passion. If you don’t have passion for it, you should not even try to go into it, because if you start well, you wouldn’t finish well.  Also, one must have integrity because a lot of tailors don’t have integrity; your integrity must not be questioned. Finally, you have to be loyal to your customers. If you have all these things mentioned, you will go far in the business.

Who are your target customers?

I have customers in different fields. For example, I have customers in the corporate world, politicians and celebrities are among my customers. I try to do my best and allow my work to speak for me. We sew for both the young and the old.