Adekunle Akinyele is an engineer and fashion enthusiast. In this interview, he talks about his passion and how he intends to take his fashion designs round the world.
How did you discover your interest in fashion?
I have always admired the arts as a child and somehow, it led to my interest in fashion. I grew up around people that were very fashionable and I was exposed to international fashion during my high school years. I learnt to admire and appreciate fashion, but there was really no platform for me to further my interest in it. Even though fashion has always been a part of my life, it was always from the consumer point of view.
Influence and mentors?
The biggest influence for me is the passion for fashion and photography. I live in Houston, Texas, which has one of the biggest malls in the world. I have been opportune to participate in different fashion shows and talk to influential people in the industry. I have learnt a lot from them. An example of those people is Ken Downing who represents Neiman Marcus as a chief stylist.
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What challenges have you faced in your craft?
There are numerous challenges in the fashion industry which include finding the right talents, suitable tools for creativity, cost of fabrics and maintaining continuity. Everyone can be creative but only a few people have been taught and provided the tools needed to express their imagination. The main challenge is identifying very creative people and helping them to turn their talent and vision into reality. Another issue is marketing, which is how to set us apart from the already saturated market.
What fashon pieces do you specialize in?
We specialise in unisex fashion. Our intent is to be able to meet a wide variety of fashion demands by having a diverse specialty of work force. We can make elegant wears, casual wears and anything in between.
Any collections
We are currently working on the summer 2020 collection. Our goal is to ensure that the collection caters for different fashion areas that we do which include elegant wear, casual wears and ready-to-wear clothing.
Who are your target market?
The target market is the international market. Our goal is to perfect our design by raising a very strong team to make us compete in the international market.
The fashion industry in Nigeria is huge now with more learned people making a livelihood out of it. What would you attribute this to?
I believe there’s going to be a lot of opportunities for growth in the developing country going forward. The art of fashion has been mastered in other developed countries. What we are seeing in Nigeria and other African countries is the realisation that we have unique products to bring to the market. Africa has a lot to offer and it is a great thing that there is a lot of great minds working in Nigeria to bring our creativity to the world. In order to be successful, there needs to be better collaboration between different companies, as well as hard work and trust.
How do you hope to break into the fashion industry in Nigeria?
Our plan is to listen to clients and to bring a lot of great creative minds into our team. We will learn from mistakes already made by other fashion houses and also share experience. Our biggest competition is the international market. We are prepared to work with local companies as we penetrate the international market
Tell us about your style.
My style is smart clothes which should represent the way I am feeling. I believe in accessories like shoes, chains etc. They help to better define styles. They are like the icing on the cake
Your typical day?
My typical day is always loaded with activities because I work as a full time professional engineer. In the morning I spend some time with God in prayers for inspiration and protection. I then go over activities for the day and identify the critical items for the day.
When I get home, I spend time with my family to support them with any challenges they may be facing and the exciting things that happened in their day. This is the best part of my day. I enjoy spending time with my beautiful wife.
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