• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Olayinka Aro-lambo, stitch by stitch, she treads her way to living in the reality of her dreams

Olayinka Aro-lambo

In 2009, the young girl with a sketch pad and pencil in hand-launched her fashion brand with a debut collection, Denim Deluxe. A decade after, we have come to know Olayinka Aro-lambo, creative director and fashion enthusiast of Moofa Designs, a high-end womenswear label known for merging femininity, sophistication, and practicality.

The celebration of the MOOFA brand embodies both glamour and affordable luxury that appeals to the refined, independent woman. Season after season, MOOFA continues to grow in popularity with a strong celebrity following participating in prestigious runway shows such as The Gtbank Fashion Week, Lagos Fashion and Design Week (LFDW), Music meets Runway, Glitz Africa fashion week, Africa fashion week London and more.

Very often reminded about her path to become a top name in fashion, Olayinka set up her fashion school to provide knowledge and support for not only young but aspiring creatives who have the passion and discipline to forge a career in this line of work.

Born and raised in Lagos Nigeria, Olayinka attended Olabisi Onabanjo University with a degree in sociology before starting her design career in 2009.

Early life

I am the mother of triplets. I am the creative director of Moofa. Growing up for me was quite challenging because I lost my mum at the age of 2 and my dad at 13. I have two siblings and I was the last child of my mother. I moved in with my Aunt in Victoria Island, and living with them I realized that growing up without my parents made me see life in a different light. I grew up with a lot of women and I saw that you can achieve anything you want as long as you can work for it straightforwardly.

For me, I just want to be the best version of myself. The people that took me in, I didn’t want to disappoint them so I worked hard because nothing was handed to me. I think living on the Island gave me a bit of an advantage with the way I see life. It is either you want to do good or be on the other side of the able. I knew what it is to be hungry and to have needs and wants but settle for basic needs. So, to be able to afford what I wanted and make sure to never go hungry I have had to work extra hard.

I finished my University education at Olabisi Onabanjo and studied sociology and anthropology. I wanted to study fashion after secondary school. My mum was a seamstress and she liked designing clothes, but at that time, nobody paid attention because it was just seen as ‘tailoring’. I really enjoyed sewing, especially in J.S.S 3 when we took clothing and textile course and my teachers will commend me and be very impressed with me.

‘Unfortunately’ till now, I have no plan B because sewing is all I ever wanted to do. I wanted to do my own thing and do it right, and to get to where I wanted to get to, I needed to be the best I can be, be focused, work smart, be dedicated and consistent to my dream.

It is never easy, because my family wanted me to be a nurse so I can go abroad to earn a living and they didn’t understand the career path I chose. My family told me I must go to the university and study Accounting and I had only had basic knowledge of calculations.

When I got to University, I told the registrar that I wanted to study fashion, and the nearest course was Sociology, which I ended up studying while looking for fashion schools till I finished. After university, I found a fashion school in Jakande in Lagos but I had no money to pay for it, and I couldn’t go to my family for money because they didn’t understand what I was doing.

I spoke to Lanre Olusola who is married to my cousin Dupe (now Dupe Olusola). He paid for my fashion school training. He was the only one that understood, so he paid N50, 000 which was the school fees as at 2008.

I went to the fashion school and even had to save money and not depend on my family. I started sewing clothes for people, a few aunts and friends who continued to introduce me to other people. It was frustrating at first and I was not sure at times if I wanted to continue. It was really tough.

I got a loan from a Microfinance bank to further the little steps I was taking in my business, which helped me start and I struggled to pay the loan so I had to work extra hard. Being hungry made me prudent, I don’t live beyond my means because I don’t want to go back to where I came from, and my children must grow up knowing to work hard for what they want because I work hard.

I didn’t plan to carve a niche, it just happened. I love the damask fabric and I like creating new styles within the direction of that fabric, so people tend to relate it with me. I like to use damask and at times brocade. It was not something I planned but it grew on me. I also try not to copy.

Every year, I try to do a new set of designs that people are inspired to make for weddings and any other occasions. Most of my clients are returning clients, so most of the times I try to customize fabric and do a new design, because although we do new clothes on a weekly basis, people always want something different.

For people who aren’t sure of what they want, they get to look through the look book I make, to select and create what they want.

Some people coming in to steal your staff because they don’t want to train theirs is one of the problems I have encountered. Even students I train do it. When you are straightforward, you will get a lot done than when you are trying to steal from people. Karma is real I believe, so what goes around comes around.

How has marriage been?

Marriage has a lot of ups and downs, but my husband has been very supportive through it all. We went to secondary school together; he was one of those cool boys back in school. We lost contact when we finished school and started talking after he saw my picture on a friend’s phone. He sent me a message on Facebook which I couldn’t reply because at that time, it was all about work for me. I wasn’t in the space of dating and then he came back from London and we started communicating on BBM.

He played a major role in my business and trusted that I could do what I was doing well, so he invested in it. By the time we were about to get married, he asked me “Do you want to put so much in a wedding or we invest in your business?” so we settled for a small wedding in my compound and put most of our money into my business. I am happy I did that because where I am today couldn’t have happened just like that. Till date, my husband is very supportive.

Having Triplets I always wanted twins, but I never thought of triplets. After my scan, I was shocked especially because I never planned for it and I really just wanted to enjoy life for a while, be a mum and then go back to work. It was so unplanned and unbelievable. My husband even said ‘it is not possible’ and we kept going for scan because it was hard to accept, but the doctor made us come to terms with it.

Pregnancy was ‘crazy’; I could not eat or sleep properly for the first three months to six months. I had to sit and position my body with pillows to sleep. It was quite uncomfortable especially since my kids were big and long. My stomach was so huge that I had to buy size 22 dresses to wear. I travelled abroad to have the kids before I was 28 weeks or they wouldn’t have allowed me travel. I had to do a caesarean surgery, as the doctors did not agree for a regular birthing process and when the triplets finally came out, I cried as I held them and I am sure I could not have wished to have it any other way.