After a five-year sabbatical, the Victoria’s Secret fashion show is making its eagerly awaited return and is now live on Amazon Prime.
The work of 20 exceptional creatives from thriving cities including Bogota, Lagos, London, and Tokyo will be featured in this year’s show, which spans a variety of industries including fashion, cinema, design, music, and the visual arts.
Bubu Ogisi, the creator of IAMSIGO and a fervent supporter of African fashion created by Africans in Africa, is one of the designers engaged. In addition to defying conventional notions of African companies, Ogisi’s collection for the event demonstrates her dedication to celebrating African ideologies, textiles, and manufacturing methods.
The show will prominently feature model Mayowa Nicholas, who went from being an accounting student to dazzling runways all over the world.
Mayowa, a native of Nigeria, never thought of making modeling her career.
Like many Black children in the nation, she was urged to prioritize her education and look for conventional employment. Mayowa, who was raised by a single mother, thought that studying accounting was a sensible way to ensure her financial security.
She was approached on the street to take part in a modeling competition with Elite Models, which caused her perspective to change.
She made the decision to compete despite feeling unqualified in comparison to experienced models, and she ultimately took first place.
This surprising triumph brought her a modeling contract in China, where she encountered prejudice and went through a culture shock. Nevertheless, Mayowa persisted, and she and 14 other girls were given contracts.
She made the painful decision to leave school and her family behind, traveled to Paris, and walked in Schiaparelli’s debut presentation during Couture Fashion Week.
After a while, Mayowa’s agency offered her the chance to try out for Victoria’s Secret while she was in New York. She initially declined out of fear, but the next year she jumped at the opportunity. She attempted to travel to China for the show but unfortunately ran into visa problems.
The next year, however, Mayowa had the pleasure of having her mother in New York to see her accomplishment in addition to getting the chance to walk the Victoria’s Secret show. It frequently happens that parents of people who work in creative industries can only fully appreciate their children’s work after seeing it for themselves.
Through group chats and social media, Mayowa’s mother happily informed loved ones about the accomplishments of her daughter.
At the beginning of her work, fashion designer Bubu Ogisi was passionate about studying fibers, materiality, and traditional methods.
She experienced growing up in several nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, and England, as well as going to school in Paris. She was particularly impressed by Nigerian weddings and festivals, which featured an abundance of textiles and materials.
Her exploration of fiber techniques, reading skills, and the real materiality of fabrics were all influenced by this encounter.
She was further exposed to the commonalities in these methods used in several nations, whether they are Anglophone, Francophone, or Portuguese-speaking, even though they go by different names while attending school in Ghana.
Ogisi found it fascinating to see how different weaving techniques are carried out, such as Asha key in Nigeria, kente in Ghana, and Heat kita in Ghana, in different ways and with individual variances.
Her work was shaped by her understanding of these parallels and differences, which allowed her to highlight the complex fiber research and the enchantment that can be made with one’s hands even in unnoticed locations.
Ancient, historical, and mythological tales are frequently the source of Bubu’s inspiration since she thinks that by recounting these tales, we may decolonize minds and introduce fresh perspectives. The world has frequently accepted some myths as true while ignoring others. Bubu uses language as a medium to fabricate stories that have not yet been spoken in order to shed light on them.
When contacted by Victoria’s Secret, Bubu initially chose not to reply but subsequently made up her mind to pick up the phone and speak with the entire team. When working with others, Bubu loves collaborative energies that are harmonious and in line with everyone engaged. Bubu was thrilled to have this opportunity to continue presenting a narrative to which she has been deeply devoted.
Bubu viewed this as an opportunity to tell Victoria’s Secret about her experiences, particularly in respect to the idea of Victoria and its association with legendary figures.
She wants to share the African myths and legends through her own culture, nation, and continent. Numerous studies have been done on the cosmological and mythical tales of Nigeria and other African nations.
The collection is influenced by Roman and Greek myths, with a special emphasis on the goddess Nike.
The purpose of Bubu is to present the tales of ten to eleven unisex deities, such as the God of War, the God of Space and Time, and the God of Water. The idea has been greatly influenced by the Nigerian-derived European Edo mythology.
The secret stone in the necklace serves as a representation of the goddess in the entire concept, which centers on exhibiting the feminine divine. Each deity is linked to particular substances, hues, and superpowers. locating and making the components needed to cross the continent.
Mayowa and Bubu have a history of collaboration; when she was 16 years old, Mayowa modeled for Bubu. For both of them, getting back in touch at age 25 was a pivotal and meaningful point in their professional relationship.
Hugging occurred occasionally throughout the process, demonstrating their close relationship.
Intricate styles that were genuinely one-of-a-kind and unlike anything Victoria’s Secret had done before were the outcome of Bubu’s concept for the project, which included hairstyles that paid reverence to the ancestors.
Content courtesy of Ebony & NFH
