Deola Sagoe was the first black woman to present a collection at AltaRoma, Rome’s prestigious fashion week in 2004, and the first Nigerian to have her own independent show at New York Fashion Week in September 2014. has earned the right to all accolade. and expressed in the world fashion industry. Her attention to detail, her ability to work with her diverse fabrics and her ingenuity are just a few of the big picture of Nigeria’s most important ‘fashionpreneur’.
Adeola Ade-Ojo was born in August 1966, the first child of Chief Micheal Ade-Ojo and Mrs. Elizabeth Wuraola Ade-Ojo. It was literally an entrepreneurial family, as her parents founded her Elizade Group, which was later run by her brother.
From business to fashion business
Deora studied business administration at the University of Miami, Florida, USA and returned in 1987 to pursue a master’s degree in finance and management at the University of Lagos. While she did so, her father encouraged her to join her family business when she finished her studies, after receiving proper business training in administration, finance, and management. , It is natural to start a family business.
Deora had no problem getting into the business, but she already had a better understanding of fashion. She instead chose to join her mother’s small tailor shop, which focused on producing traditional embroidered menswear.Deola became her own leading fashion label. I was interested in bringing my old business to new markets. The compromise she reached with her father was to continue working for her Elizard Group while pursuing her interest in fashion at her mother’s business.
she will tell you later “I didn’t choose fashion, fashion chose me. Fashion was my destiny.”
Thus, Deola’s fashion design career began in 1988. She wanted to expand the label’s repertoire to include more contemporary designs for the ever-developing cosmopolitan highbrow society. Deora focuses on bringing different cultures to life with African handwoven materials, reviving traditional African techniques that were largely lost.
Describing her style, Deora says. “African designers face so many challenges, creating collections and working hard to overcome manufacturing infrastructure issues. As a result, I feel that I am making more intelligent clothes, trying to fuse African cultural styles with a modern design approach.It is steeped in history. I love the dynamism of modernity out of nothing, and I think it brings a cultural mix to my collection.”
and produced the costumes. “October 1st” A monumental film about Nigerian independence directed by Kunle Afolayan in 2015: she herself won the Multichoice-Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award for Best Costume Designer.
The Sagoe brand is a leader in African haute couture fashion. Her designs are so compelling that Deola Sagoe now serves high-profile clients around the world. In 2010, the Deola Sagoe brand was recognized as a “Super Brand” and received the Super Brand Excellence Certificate in the fashion design and label sector.
Sagoe also partnered with her daughters in 2011 to create their own label focused on serving younger, more price-conscious consumers with uniquely designed casual wear and dresses. .
Not only is she one of the successful Nigerian entrepreneurs, she has put Nigeria on the fashion map of the world. The glamorous flagship store and headquarters, which opened on Victoria Island in 2008, houses the brand’s offices, showrooms and production facilities.
Recognition of the Deora Sagoe Collection
Goldfish have nowhere to hide, so it didn’t take long for Deola Sagoe to gain international attention. Deola Sagoe was named MNET Face of Africa in 1998 before being nominated for her Andre Leon Tally, an influential US Vogue editor, and in 2000 she won the MNET Anglo Gold African Design Award. (New York). 2000 New York Fashion Her Week showcased works by African designers.
What made Sagoe’s designs stand out was that she was the only one to introduce designs that used authentic African fabrics from ancient times and incorporated them into contemporary designs. I did. In 2001, Deola Sagoe ranked her 37th in the African Almanac of the 100 Most Influential Africans in the World.
She became the first black woman to present a collection at AltaRoma, the prestigious fashion week in Rome in 2004, and the first Nigerian to have a solo show at New York Fashion Week in September 2014. . She again received a Platinum rating for her quality. She won an award for her outstanding clothing at the 10th International Star Awards in Paris in 2007. Just one year later she received her International Her Quality Award (Diamond Category) for Excellence and Business Prestige at her 2008 Quality Summit in New York.