Lagos, Nigeria is a long way from London, but fashion isn’t something that worries about borders. As a former student of Western, Wannie has started selling the clothes, that she started making back home, in London, and has found a strange affinity between the two cultures. Much like here in Canada, the styles that she loved in Nigeria were simple and adaptable, and her fusion of traditional African styles and patterns with more “western” ideals give her clothes a unique and eye-catching aesthetic.
Casa London: You're from Nigeria, so how did you end up in London, Ontario?
I came to do my Master's at Western University in 2015. It was a Master's in Management of applied sciences, specialization in Data Analytics. So after that I just thought I would try things out here and see how they went.
Casa London: How did you get started with making clothes?
Well, when I started it was just for myself. I started in 2012 after my undergraduate degree. I said to myself, let's just learn a skill, I enjoyed doing something with my hands while I was in school. Then people would start to say "why don't you just make a dress for me", I didn't really know what to do but I decided to try! When they wore it, other people liked it and asked me to make something for them as well. Eventually it started to bring extra money so I just kept on going.
Casa London: Do you do this full time?
No, not right now. Before I came over to Canada I was doing it full time in Nigeria, and it's definitely something I want to do full time here, once I can get enough start up cash.
Casa London: What is the dream then?
The dream is to hone my talent continually, impacting peoples' lives through clothes. A physical storefront will aide in coming across more people, having a location where people can pick up both Ready to Wear pieces and Custom made pieces as well as learn dressmaking skills. The dream is to dress every ordinary person, to design dresses for different individuals that truly reflects who they are. With the web as a platform, an online storefront is currently in the works to reach and provide services for more people.
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