Nicole models a piece from the 'Control' collection by Obsidian.
“Obsidian is an independent fashion line for the discerning lady with a flair for the bold and unusual but with her own individual style. Fun and spunky, an Obsidian girl sets herself apart and is the epitome of all that is chic… when you wear Obsidian you STAND OUT.” SHF gets the story right from the source; CEO Isoken Ogiemwonyi lets us in on her vision for Obsidian, her thoughts on the future of African fashion and much more…
Tell us about your vision for Obsidian.
In an ideal world, I hope to branch out into other design areas that I am interested in and build a strong lifestyle brand, I’m also planning to take Obsidian beyond the shores of Nigeria.
What is a typical day like in your shoes?
Well, I am currently working on a number of projects (Obsidian and non-Obsidian) so my days tend to be pretty busy. A typical day would be – meeting with my fabric suppliers, taking stock of supplies in the sampling room, pattern checking or even something as mundane as buying diesel. It really depends on how much I’d have gotten done the day before.
Share with us some of the challenges you’ve had to overcome as an up and coming designer in Nigeria.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest problem is the power issue. Generator dependency is frustrating and one of the biggest costs my business has to face. It’s closely followed by the lack of properly skilled staff. It has been a steep learning curve, but when it’s all said and done, when you love it, you do what you have to do.
What do you think about the ‘Copy Copy Syndrome’ among some Nigerian designers?
It depends on what you mean by ‘Copy Copy’. I find that a lot of people don’t realise that everything in fashion (creatively speaking) has pretty much been done before, but I do not respect people who blatantly ‘copy and paste’ a design by a western designer and try to pass it off as their own. However, I also believe in the intelligence of the consumer – market forces will ultimately decide who succeeds and who doesn’t, and inferior copies simply won’t make the cut, in my opinion.
Which designers inspire you right now?
Zuhair Murad is all kinds of amazing and I really quite like the new LDA collection, a new label – Republic of Foreigner is also doing some interesting things, but other designers aren’t my main source of inspiration.
What will you consider as your greatest achievement till date?
I wouldn’t say this is my greatest achievement but I am quite pleased that in discovering and honing my talents, with the help of likeminded individuals, I was able to raise a substantial sum for the UNICEF Unite For Children, Unite Against AIDS programme a while ago. It’s something I would like to keep doing, and hopefully when the brand is more established I’ll be able to do more.
What is the inspiration behind your new collection?
It’s a surprise! I’m kidding, the next collection is still at the conceptual stage but all I will give out now is that it is going to be more personal than the last collection, but it’ll still be quintessential Obsidian.
How has your short film for the collection been received so far?
I think it has been received pretty well, given there has been criticism as well as rave reviews, but we continue to grow from strength to strength. I believe the short film concept was new for some on lookers but with time will get more accustomed to the ideas and themes.
Should we expect more films and other creative PR in the future?
Definitely, as I said before we continue to grow and aim to be a viable brand, thus, will endeavor to connect with the consumer through more creative channels.
When and where can the collection be bought?
We hope to have the e-commerce site up and running very soon (there have been some unfortunate hitches) where the collections can be ordered and bought. A stand alone store is also in the works.
Do you have a favourite piece from the collection?
I love every piece from the current collection; I think it is more enjoyable taken in its entirety, with the right appreciation for the film noir theme and what we were trying to achieve with the campaign.
What is your view on the emerging African Fashion Industry and the recent AFW?
It is definitely a positive one, the industry is garnering more attention and as such there are more competitors, which is eliciting a lot of demand, which drives creativity. It’s exciting to go through because people are more likely to push the boundaries and I love taking risks.
It’s evolving very fast. In any business you need to have an innovative way of doing things, and I think Africans (Nigerians especially) have always been good at recognising opportunities and rising to the challenge.I think the quality of the creative vision is also improving as people are trying to communicate their brand values more eloquently than in the past.
Africa Fashion Week is a great idea, and the execution seems to be on point, I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction and hopefully we should be seeing more public and private sector investment in the fashion industry.
What should we expect from the Obsidian in the next 5-10 years?
I don’t want to give a trite answer I can only say that our aims are focused on building a solid foundation, and raising brand awareness as well as growth. As the African Fashion Industry and Market matures, we aim to grow with it.
This is a really surprising interview. For some reason I didn’t think Isoken would be as insightful as this. Hope you maintain your drive.
Re Copy Copy, yes it’s true that most things have been done before but certainly not all. You only need to look at visionaries like Nicolas Ghesquiere, Hussein Chalayan and the late Mcqueen to discover originality season after season. You are certainly right – the consumer will select the best of the lot.