Hitting the Restart Button My Journey Back to Fashion

I’ve always loved fashion. For as long as I can remember, style has been a thread that’s run through the fabric of my life starting as a bond between my mom and me. She just knew how to dress us exceptionally well as kids. I remember sitting beside her flipping through old family albums, asking questions about the clothes people wore, the stories behind each outfit, and what they were thinking in those frozen moments in time.

I’d say, "Mom, can we bring out the photo box?" and she’d always say yes. Those sessions planted something deep in me. I began to think in pictures. I was curious and observant. I saw outfits not just as clothes, but as expressions, like windows into the past.

At 15, an aunt gifted me some fabric. I asked my mom if I could design something and she, again, said yes. That moment? That was the start. If you’re Nigerian, you know it’s not uncommon to have a local tailor for custom outfits. There’s always something to attend, and you always need something to wear. I took that everyday reality and leaned in hard.

By 2015, I had officially started designing in Lagos, Nigeria, after attending fashion school for two years. I was driven, hungry, and full of vision. But passion alone doesn’t carry a business. I quickly learned that fashion was just 10 percent creativity, the rest was the business behind it. I hit walls. Things didn’t add up. And despite how much I loved Nigeria (it will always be home), the challenges, the infamous "Nigerian factor" made my dream feel like a crumbling pack of cards.

Then came 2020. The world paused. COVID hit. Life shifted. And I had to move back to the US. For the next five years, I worked a 9to5 job, but fashion never left my mind. I dreamt about it constantly. I grieved what I had left behind. I questioned if I’d ever get back to it. There never seemed to be a good time.

Then I lost my job at a luxury company.

It shook me. But instead of spiraling, I chose to see it as an opportunity, a chance to grow, reflect, and realign. I began to gather my thoughts again. I slowly started finding inspiration, rediscovering that fire that first sparked in my teenage years.

Somewhere along the way, I took a sustainability in fashion course. I became more conscious about people, about the planet, and about purpose. That awareness deepened my commitment to fashion in a new way.

And now… here we are.

I’m hitting the restart button. It’s not going to be a walk in the park, but for the first time in a long time, I feel ready. Excited. Grounded.

Thank you for being here. Stay tuned.