The FAB Creative Duo – Suby and Sinem Onabanjo

 

Suby and Sinem Onabanjo are creative photographers with a passion for bringing creativity to life predominantly using fashion as a medium of expression. As the Creative Director and Editor-in-Chief of FAB magazine respectively, they contribute significantly in ensuring that FAB magazine continues to push boundaries with their editorials, cutting-edge imagery and inspirational design delivered with quality and consistence. SHF’s curiosity got the better of us and we got the creative duo to tell us what it’s like to be Fabulous, African and Black.

How do you balance your personal and professional lives, considering that in your case these two are interwoven?

In our case, our personal and professional lives are totally interwoven. If we are in the office, we work long-days (around 12 to 14-hour days) and pretty much live in each others’ pockets. Also as a fashion photography couple as a principle, unless one of us is ill or away on business or on another shoot, we shoot together. As we have been together for ten years, married and working together for five of those, balancing our personal and professional life is a breeze – except of course, when we have creative differences on how certain images should look or be presented in the magazine, then we tend to have some shouting matches. I used to hold a grudge back in the days and become the Incredible Sulk but you I soon found out you quickly have to get over it as you have the other 11-12 working hours of the day to spend in the company of the person you’ve just had a blazing row with who also happens to be the husband you’ll see when you get home.

FAB caters to the need of the youth and young at heart on fashion, art and music. Is there a greater vision for the African youth?
While in essence we remain a fashion and lifestyle magazine presenting the best of Africa in 4 continents and 8 countries we’re sold in, effectively what we are trying to do with the format of ‘by Africans for Africans and beyond’ is to give new and young African talents and creatives a chance to shine – whether it be in fashion styling or photography or writing. We regularly give young styling enthusiasts a chance to shine by giving them the opportunity to style for the magazine. In our current issue, we published an 8-page spread styled by a young lady who had applied to work with us only weeks before and that was her first published work. To get your work in a print publication is a huge deal anywhere in the world and it takes some creatives years to get there but here at FAB, just like we like showcasing young talents in front of the camera we also like taking a chance on young creatives behind the scenes as long as they are enthusiastic and willing to learn and better themselves. Again for our next issue, we commissioned a young previously unpublished Nigerian photographer who is still at uni but has great talent. And if these talents get their debut in FAB and go on to work with other publications or designers, we’re all the more happy to have given them their break.

On a social scale, there are a few projects we are hoping to get off the ground later this year or early next year. Our fashion editor and I took part in a youth empowerment workshop project two years ago where the winners from my two-day photography workshop went on to winning professional cameras and the styling winner went on to become a fashion intern at FAB – not only is he now our fashion assistant but he is also on his way to building a stunning fashion portfolio with his work for designers and other publications.

As Suby and Sinem and our publisher Fab, we are all keen to mentor young people to help them reach their potential and we’re hoping to get involved with a number of projects which will enable us to do just that.

From a personal angle, what is your interpretation of creativity?

Out-of-the-box thinking. In a bid to create, most intentionally or unwittingly end up copying what has been done before them – being inspired by someone else’s work is of course only human but then instead of creating your own vision, copying theirs and ending up doing a lousy job is foolish. Thinking outside the box is always the key to creativity and vision.

How would you describe the evolution of African creativity over the years?

While it has to be applauded that there are many individuals who are entering and succeeding in creative professions they couldn’t have dreamed of some five or ten years ago due to social expectations and parental pressure, most are still at the above stage of copying rather than creating. Unfortunately what many have not come to realise yet is that you don’t wake up one day and call yourself a photographer or magazine editor. I have been doing photography with my husband on a professional level for the last six years but as it is not my first profession, I still have qualms about calling myself a photographer. I can call myself an editor with confidence because I have studied English at postgraduate level, honed my skill in journalism since high school and slaved at a Cosmopolitan internship. Unfortunately, many self-titled creatives in Nigeria don’t spend the time required to study or hone a skill – I am not sure if they are actually going into these professions because they have the burning desire to create and tell the world their story or they just jump on the bandwagon of the next ‘it’ creative trend. I guess only time will tell.

What is your response to the recognition African fashion and creativity is steadily gaining internationally?

Suby and I have been champions of African fashion back in the day where the only place you could catch African designers’ fashion show was at a dingy events hall in the backwaters of South London – except of course for a few household names – so it is amazing to see African fashion gain such recognition since those days and seeing a Bunmi Koko whom we encountered as a budding talent at Young African Fashion Designers Weekend in 2009 and Samantha Cole whom we first met at a small fashion show reach such great heights; perhaps only a few years in the big scheme of things but certainly something that has been a long time coming, and long may it continue.

Pls describe your personal style?

Most days, you’ll find me in boyfriend jeans and simple tees but if I have to dress up, these days it’s my flared jumpsuits and maxi dresses; not because I am ruled by trends but because secretly I have always been a ’70s girl at heart. Suby is at his most comfortable in his simple African print shirts – the ones you see Olisa Adibua rock on the red carpet.

What do you find inspiring this season as Editor and Creative Director of FAB magazine?

We are truly inspired by the African-inspired trends that continue to trickle into western fashion; think LAMB, think the recent Russian Vogue head wraps editorial… And all this inspires us even more to continue showcasing the best of African fashion and what it brings to the table. African fashion is not only head wraps or wooden bangles or Ankara print, and as much enthused as we are with the recognition of these elements, we are also fired up to show the diversity African fashion has to offer.

I saw your Vogue Italia mock-shoot and also read the post. It shows you have a vision for Suby and Sinem photos and photography in Africa. Please share with us? Tell us, what sets the standard for you?

SubySinem standards have always been the same: quality, professionalism, integrity. The Vogue mock-up and our post was aimed at all those who were and are still excited about a western publication which came out with an alleged ‘All Black’ issue which only featured 30 pages of black models and no black or African creatives – from stylists to photographers. You will find that there are African/black magazines out there which have not to date worked with black or African photographers or stylists or make up artists to date, which when you think of it, is quite infuriating and the vision to have an African magazine in the true sense was on off-shoot of the ideas presented in that post. We were lucky enough to meet someone, Fab, who shared the same vision and was on the look out for creative for a magazine in the same vein. This is how the inception of FAB came about.

From the very first day, we set our vision as 80% African and 20% international and this ratio is still very much in place. If the mainstream will continue to disregard African/black creatives who are equally talented and equally able to deliver quality, professionalism, integrity and do a perhaps a nominal ‘All Black’ or ‘Black Women’ or ‘Let’s-have-black-in-there-somewhere-in-the-name-but-still-keep-it-80%-Caucasian,’ we will continue building them up. And who knows, maybe one day we will do an ‘All While’ issue?

Who are your role models and what do you find inspiring about them?

Suby’s role model is his mum – because in his words, “she is a cool cat.” She is understanding, patient, most encouraging, coolest mum ever. While I totally admire Mumsy, I will go beyond family and say, ‘Oprah Winfrey’ – would love to be a force to be reckoned with like her one day. Mert and Marcus as they are photography duo and they get some great gigs – I still can’t get over their shoot with Kate Moss at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

Which talented young individuals do you see as the future of fashion photography in Africa?

We really really rate Hakeem Salaam’s photography – great compostion and control of light – be it indoors or outdoors. Another young talent who is not only talented but also very passionate about her photography is Toni Tones. I think both will move on to bigger and better things. In terms of the UK, I have recently had the pleasure of chatting to Daniel Igbinyemi – such a great young talent.

Pictures are way beyond just the images, the interpretation counts. How do you want your kind of photography to be interpreted?

We want people to see our work and feel inspired, emotionally connected, and feel like they are looking at something iconic that will stand the test of time. We don’t want them to see just another fashion image, but an image that will intrigue them as to how it was captured, stay with them for the next couple of pages they turn. You know there are pictures so beautiful that you want to tear them out of a magazine, frame them and put them up on your wall? We want to take those pictures.

There is a post called LIFE on Suby and Sins house with the picture of LolaMaja-Okojevoh whom i admire. It was quite inspiring. Did you actually put it on your bathroom mirror as you said? Indeed I did and it was there for a good while until I was pretty certain that I’d learnt it by heart but even now there are days I do need to bring it up on my Facebook notes or Shutterchance archives to have a little read. I even shared it with my students back in the days when I was still teaching.

A lot of young individuals admire and look up to you personally and professionally. What advice do you have for them?

Strive to be the best you can be, don’t take short cuts, don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek help, believe in yourself but do not feel you deserve or your are owed things (I see a lot of young people these days who have a sense of self-entitlement) because life doesn’t work that way; but when you work hard and accept criticism and success alike with grace, the chances are you will get noticed not just because of your talent but also because of your integrity.

What should we expect from FAB magazine in the future?

More pages, more countries of distribution, more cutting edge fashion and editorials. Whatever we set out to accomplish in the face of many who doubted us or questioned our ability to maintain the quality of a world class magazine, we promise there is way more energy, passion and creativity where that came from. Otherwise we wouldn’t be called FAB.

SHF credits FAB Magazine and SubySinem

 

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