Nigeria itself is a huge country with over a hundred different tribes, and Lagos – its capital – is the perfect melting pot with over twenty million people. But I think that living in all these different places outside Nigeria has given me a good sense of the world outside my family, my culture, and myself; and more importantly, it’s given me a good sense of humour.
I remember living in Ghana for about four months; it was my first experience with a slightly different culture to mine. Moving to Dubai was a big deal: it’s a very interesting city with many different people from different corners of the world living in this little bubble. I usually find myself being able to feel truly comfortable in any social group – Muslim, Buddhist, black, white, Asian, Arab, etc. – because I respect their individual struggles and understand their way of thinking and style of communication. They don’t teach you that in school. 

I feel at peace in Barcelona; there is an atmosphere of tranquillity here and I’m able to move at my own pace. Yes, people are not the most progressive when it comes to fashion, but I don’t really care. I only care about people and people are down-to-earth here and they live honestly; I’d rather have honesty and tranquillity than fashion and noise.
I’m slowly setting up a base for my company here and I hope to influence the city as much as it and its people influence me. I believe that we, as young creatives, must shape the future – and I’m taking it very seriously. In 2018 we are starting the Voodoo Club with some help from a few creative people from Barcelona and Madrid. I think will be an interesting way to contribute and collaborate with the youth culture here. 

My first memory of fashion in its purest essence is while I watched my mother’s workers actually make yards of fabric from just threads of wool and starch. The intricacy of the design and the time they spent were amazing – and also the embroidery guy making art with the machine. As a kid, I was in awe and it has always kept attracting me. My first day in high school I knew I had to be the coolest kid: I had my school uniform custom-made and ironed everyday, and I kept my shoes polished at all times. That’s when I decided I wanted to do this. My father didn’t raise me with money, but he raised me to be firm and confident.

I hold my roots and my origins tight to my heart. In a world that encourages people to be insecure and timid, being proud of where I come from is my style of defiance, especially as an African. I think it’s less about what I put into the clothes and more about what the clothes contribute to the story.
I have a lot of memories and references of dry grass and brownish-red soil, playing football in the streets, running away when we broke the window of a car. That was pure happiness despite being young and poor, and you can see it everywhere in my work. I look at the world as a theatre play or as a movie and the clothes are the props and costumes, and the models are the characters in the story. It will exist without the clothes but it won’t be complete without them.

The main highlights of this forgotten part of our culture are the music and the taste in the air. The music was experimental and expressive and I’m sure that the air smelled like freedom; freedom from prejudice, and colonisation. Somewhere along the line, we as Africans (West-Africa) lost the connection with that raw expression and carefree mindset. I’m retelling that story and reinventing this aura in our contemporary world.

I have definitely felt discrimination in Dubai. When it comes to support or opportunities, just like everywhere else in the world, they want to be European. If my name was Antonio or Ahmed, I think it’d have been a different story. Let’s face it: the fashion world is run by old white men who grew up in very ignorant times. I know I can’t change or fight that; our only way of defiance is to create a new world for my people and me within the one live in. We are the new punk, you and I. With my bell-bottoms and Fela playing in the background, we are the new edgy.

I chose this format because I believe that video is the best way to precisely express the feeling of the collection. Collaborating with the models and making them part of the story, giving them the space to be carefree and expressive were part of my objectives for the collection. When we were producing the music, we imagined the campaign video looking exactly as it is.

Before I started sketching the collection, I imagined the party. I envisioned my grandmother and her friends; the collection is based on what they would have been wearing when they were young and free. So it was important to turn those images into reality with Adriana Ramirez, the director and co-director of photogrpahy; Sendoa Cardoso, co-director of photography; and Paula and Aina, the set designers.
The poem is a love letter to her. It was important to talk about what I feel for her, to say the words I never got the chance to tell. It was important not to sell clothes but to tell Florence's story. So basically, in the campaign video, we are revisiting Florence's younger days and the party is a celebration of her life (Florence played by the girl in the silver pants dancing). The poem is me talking about her and to her, turning her into a sort of eternal figure that will live forever.

Yes, I think it’s great. Fashion-forward people are opening their minds up to our culture, to our perspective. Maybe at some point in the future, globalisation in the fashion world might have a chance to be translated into real-life opportunities for African designers.

African representation in European media is all about refugees and immigrants, but it’s our job to change that and educate our friends so they can educate theirs in turn. There isn’t a lot of integration of Africans within Spanish culture if you compare it with France or Britain. We all know Africa is a very rich continent with an endless goldmine of content and inspiration. We all know that Picasso’s and Matisse’s paintings or Modigliani’s sculptures were mainly inspired by African art. We are used to taking from Africa, but not to giving.
We all have this prejudice when someone mentions ‘Africa’. However, I think it’s in our hands now to make a change. Thanks to the Internet, the future of the world is in our hands: we can choose to watch television and ignore the continent like our parents and grandparents do, or we can choose to open our hearts and minds to love and collaboration.

If I had a genie lamp I would wish for peace and equality in the world. I think it’d be a totally different place; imagine if Africa was just like Europe and we didn’t have to come here! My second wish would be to get the new season of Game Of Thrones before right now, before everyone else (laughs).

I’m going to build a studio here in Barcelona where I can work and continue developing my design language and learning with Wekafore. I want to collaborate with everybody and everything. Voodoo Club is very high on my agenda. I want to learn to play the piano.
In five years, I see Wekafore as a worldwide phenomenon, a bulldozer spreading peace and positivity while changing the way people think of the continent, making African contemporary fashion a staple in mainstream culture. A fucking superhero. And for myself, maybe with a cute little dog and with the ability to stay in a serious relationship.