Guardian Life Article 08/12/13 - Trend Report: Cut-Outs

Nothing says subtle sexy like a flash of skin and after eating healthy and logging all those man hours at the gym, showing it off without going full on skank is almost a prerequisite.

A bit of toned midriff here, a flash of thigh there, impressive clavicle action peeking out….maybe even a bit of side boob. Covering up while letting a bit hang out is the new black.

The best designer representation of the classy with a side of elegant trashy trend is definitely Cushnie et Ochs.

Cushnie et Ochs Spring 2013 RTW

The design duo of Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs are the undisputed masters of the game of form-fitting silhouettes and cutout detailed frocks.

Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs

Hollywood is here for these geniuses, and celebrities from Alicia Keys to Ashley Madekwe have been seen in their creations.

Alicia Keys

Ashley Madekwe

As usual we bring it down home to show the Nigerian designers who are constantly bang on trend and re-inventing Nigerian fashion constantly.

The front runner of architectural avant-garde designs has to be Meena who has interpreted cut-outs beautifully in ways that still stay true to the trend while taking into cognizance our more conservative leanings.

Meena’s collection for the Lagos Fashion & Design Week 2012 runway was a smorgasbord of elegance and understated sexiness.

Nigerian celebrities have proven to be stalwart fans as is evidenced by stylist; Ezinne Chinkata and milliner; Ene Maya Lawani showing up and showing out in Meena cut-outs.

Ezinne Chinkata

Ene Maya Lawani

The designer herself; Uju Offiah, in a Meena original.

With all these minute flashes of skin, it is clear the cut-out is having its sexy little moment.

Photo credit: bellanaija.com, styljunki.com, fashionbombdaily.com

Guardian Life Article 10/11/13 - Style Stars: The Nigerian Edition

Nigeria is a country of extremely well-dressed people, so well-dressed in fact that putting together a list such as this takes a lot of thought. I decided to narrow it down to people who wowed me on a daily, people who wake up in the morning, plant their feet on the floor beside their beds and set forth to slay every sartorial rule. People who in short make me take a second look every single time I see them.

As an avid style watcher I’m constantly on the look-out for great style. Anybody can afford fashion; it is trend in its most general form, but true style, the type that transcends even when you’re wearing the exact same thing as the next person is as elusive as it is valuable. That is why you can see a group of students in a school uniform, identikit outfits, but one or two might stand out; it might be in the way they tuck their shirt in or a certain rakish air they have lent to their enforced uniformity, a certain way their socks are rolled that sets them apart from the multitude. Everybody else can tell they’re different but nobody…not even themselves can pinpoint exactly why.

That, my people…..is style.

You might be thinking, surely this list is not exhaustive, in a country of 150,000,000 there must be a few more people than the 8 I have listed here that warm the cockles of my fashionable heart but I kid you not, I could not think of a single one.

Lisa Folawiyo

First up is Lisa Folawiyo, creative director of uber fashion label Jewel By Lisa.

Going by the gorgeous creations churned out by the House of Jewel By Lisa you don’t need to be told that someone with unusual sartorial flair is behind it.

Seeing Lisa in her daily outfits though cements her style star status. Lisa Folawiyo is possibly my strongest contender for most fashionable woman in Nigeria. Her style is not typical, she is on trend and yet marching to the beat of her own stylish drum all at the same time.

From shoes to jewelery to accessories, every item she dons gives me life.

Ashley Madekwe

Ashley Madekwe is best known as a scheming socialite in hit US tv show; Revenge and the reformed tart with a heart on British show; Secret Diary of a Call Girl. She is however carving a niche for herself as an international style star.

She has run a personal style blog called ‘Ring My Bell’ for years but it was only after cracking the US on Revenge that her fashion cred began to rise. Ashley is the epitome of simplistic chic, never overdone, always just right.

Her brand of super stylish minimalism evokes the laid back yet fashionable looks of Jackie Onassis and Audrey Hepburn in the 60s.

Eku Edewor

Eku Edewor is a tv presenter on Studio 53, an actress, a model and a seriously stylish personality.

Eku Edewor has a very similar look to Ashley Madekwe’s, in that they favour simple clean lines, nothing too fussy all delivered with class and subdued flair.

Never overdressed, never underdressed, always just right.

Nkiru Anumudu

Queen Mother Nkiru Anumudu is the biggest risk taker in Nigerian fashion.

Her style is so uniquely her own it cannot be duplicated. Her outfits are ripped directly from international runways and put together with her customary dash and whimsy.

She is probably the closest representation of the over the top, super stylish ways of international street style star Anna Dello Russo. With an enviable wardrobe and serious fashion cojones we salute this Queen of the Avante-Garde.

Ene Maya Lawani

Ene Maya Lawani is a former Miss Nigeria and contender-in-training for the throne of Nkiru Anumudu.

Ene is a risk taker as well and never plays it safe. The street is her runway and her outfits are her armour.

Mai Atafo

Mai Atafo is the designer behind label Mai Atafo.

As a suit-maker to the stars it stands to reason that he would look as at home in a suit as he would in a tee and shorts.

Mai Atafo is at the peak of mens fashion in Nigeria, pioneering the new generation Savile Row type tailoring in Nigeria.

Adebayo Oke-Lawal

Adebayo Oke-Lawal is the designer behind cult label ‘Orange Culture’.

Being at the helm of one of the most respected and fashionable young labels in the industry it stands to reason that Adebayo would be an able representative of his brand.

Always impeccably turned out, Adebayo combines trend pieces with the unconventional, creating outfits that are alternative yet highly wearable.

Terence Sambo

Terence Sambo is a photographer and foremost mens fashion and style aficionado.

The Lagosian turned Londoner is known for his hip-hop infused/eccentric/vintage-inspired/all round fabulous outfits.

As a respected fashion blogger he has serious style cred and never disappoints.

Anyone you think should have been on this list?

Photo credits: Instagram (@lisafolawiyo, @theorangenerd), onobello.com, bellanaija.co, onenigerianboy.com, fashionbombdaily.com.

Shout out to the following people who helped with insight when I was putting this list together:

@designerkath, @happyBBB, @TweenyTee, @ZinnieP, @bigchicanita, @OmogeMuRa, @oforiking0242, @_ChechiArinze, @Gorgeousbskin, @eneni, @Miss_Jayla, @omooziegbe, @prettyJules1, @Dov3li, @TheShoeShopAbuja, @OnyinyeFafiObi, @OGaggs, @Chaud_TheMag, @wild_hearts, @cassie_davies.

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Guardian Life Article 27/10/13 - Perfect Guest

*in collaboration with aisleperfect.com*

Nigerian Wedding Season aka December is around the corner and with bbm display pictures, Facebook statuses, Twitter tweets and Instagram pictures congratulating one newly engaged person or the other you know it’s going to be merciless starting from December 1^st.

Besides being burdened with contributing to bridal showers and souvenirs you also have to contend with finding the perfect outfit. Whatever your mission may be at that wedding; to accidentally on purpose elbow the high jumper beside you in the face as you dive for the bouquet to the thumping beat of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’. To show other new mums how your body has snapped back after childbirth. To run a steady stream of slander against everyone around you. To find The One amongst the sunglasses clad, suit wearing, inebriated groomsmen…..

Whatever your reasons for clutching your Access Card like your life depended on it and stalking into that venue, you’d want to do it looking like the baddest chick in the room.

That’s where Aisle Perfect comes in; it’s a daily wedding blog providing chic inspiration to the discerning bride. Created by a hopeless romantic, AP inspires through real love stories, the latest in wedding style, planning tips, and much more. It's your one-stop shop for a stylish ever-after.

Wedding websites have recently crowded the Nigerian cyberspace but the first and the best to do it; aisleperfect.com shows us how to own an event by providing weekly outfit inspiration for the stylish wedding guest.

For the Native Wear Inspired Guest

For the Glamorous Guest

For the Avant-Garde Guest

For the Supremely Ladylike Guest

For the Romantic Guest

For the Super Chic Guest

Guardian Life Article 20/10/13 - Fashion Week Ready

Unless you’ve been hiding under not just one but several strategically placed rocks, you should know that the Lagos Fashion Calendar is on red alert for the month of October. The GTB Lagos Fashion & Design Week (LFDW) is coming up from the 23^rd to the 26^th of October.

I have fond memories of last year’s LFDW, great fashion, awesome new designers, beautiful people, sparkling events…..and I know this year is going to be bigger and more fabulous.

Now if you are an ardent style blogger watcher such as myself you could not have failed to notice the gorgeousness that was rolled out in the name of fashion during the just concluded Fashion Month that took place in the powerhouse cities of New York, London, Milan and Paris (maybe Lagos…one day?).

Bloggers, magazine editors, stylists, women with no discernible occupation but whom are frightfully stylish and frightfully well-connected, celebrities, models etc. All these people gave us all the life we needed and more with knock-out street style fashion. From Anna Dello Russo to Miroslava Duma to Ciara to Aimee Song…every “fashion person” demographic was represented and we were grateful. International Fashion Week is a twice yearly spectacle and the people watching is half the fun.

Nigeria and most particularly Lagos have people representing us in the celebrities, stylists, people who are popular for no discernible reason, models, etc categories. So we expect to see a healthy dose of street style (well whatever could pass for our own street style, getting papped in the lobby of Eko Hotel perhaps)

.

What is the secret however to becoming a Nigerian Street Style Star?

We all know cameras are tricky, you may have borrowed, begged or stole a knock-off Herve Leger dress with 25k Louboutins, walked as slowly as possible, smiled invitingly (desperately) at the photographers and you still don’t land that Bella Naija/Ono Bello/Guardian Life feature.

What guarantees you get noticed and become the next Queen Nkiru Anumudu or Eku Edewor?

If you are not famous and are looking to put yourself out there and as a result become a target for the comments danger zone in gossip blogs, here are a few tips below:

1) Wear Something Quirky

You know why your borrowed bandage dress didn’t work for you, too ordinary, too pretty, too predictable.

Unless you’re famous and the photogs already know your face, therefore if you showed up to every event looking like you’re going to prom in the 80s a la Emma Nyra they would still fall over you, you can’t afford to play it safe.

Be bold, be out there, be frankly….a teensy bit ridiculous.

Honestly if you pull an Anna Dello Russo and don’t get noticed then you’re just unfortunate.

2) Look Busy/Unconcerned

Even if you're just trying to figure out where Don Jazzy is so you can waylay him later, do it with an important face on. Everyone will think you're responding to a bbm from Omoyemi Akerele. 

Extra points for looking vaguely angry.

3) Be A Label Whore

Chanel Jumbo Maxi Flap bag – check

Louboutins or Guiseppe Zanotti’s – check

Hermes clic clac bracelet – check

Chanel brooch – check

How else will your people back in the village be able to say their daughter has arrived if she’s not armed to the teeth with labels? 

Make sure whatever you have on is monogrammed to the hilt, bend/break your ankles so everyone can see the red-bottoms, take every photo with your bag accidentally on purpose placed in front of you, absolutely refuse to take of your Prada Baroque sunnies indoors. 

How else will the fash-pack know that you have arrived and are waiting in the wings to take your rightful place with them?

p.s. knockoffs are totally allowed, you’d find yourself in tremendously good company.

4) Print-Tastic

If you look like Susie Bubble on acid and give them a print-plosion of life, trust and believe you will land the website cover of Bella Naija the next day. 

I personally guarantee it.

Now the trick is to look like you’ve clearly lost your mind. If at the end you closely resemble a living room in the Seventies then you have definitely hit your target.

Start with something ridiculous, layer with something else equally ridiculous, and then proceed to clash with as many ridiculous items as possible.

I love me some Susie Bubble but Lord knows her style is a mystery to me.

5) Walk The Walk

I mentioned walking really slowly initially and I wasn’t being sarcastic. 

See in Nigeria, our paparazzi culture is not as prolific as its international counterparts.Therefore at these kinds of events there are not enough photographers to satisfy the massive number of fame whores.

So if you want to guarantee you get noticed, walk into the venue and pause, make sure there isn’t someone famous ahead of you because the persona and their entourage will be taking pictures for the next 30 minutes.

When you have established that the coast is clear, walk really slowly giving the photographers time to notice this new style ingénue with her strategically placed quirky accessory, tapping away at her phone talking to far more interesting people, draped in Azzedine Alaia and clashing prints like her middle name is Solange.

After a successful outing, wait a respectable 24 hours and hit the blogs.

Do you see yourself?

Thank you.

The Guardian Life Team will be keeping an eye out for style stars at LFDW. Show up, show out and catch our attention. You never know, you could be the next Nigerian Street Style Star.

p.s. Hope you guys are still voting for me to win Most Promising Female Blogger at the ELOY Awards.

To vote go HERE

Or text "ELOY" followed by "ThirdWorldProfashional" to 35070 or email "ThirdWorldProfashional" to eloy@exquisitemag.com.

Guardian Life Article 13/10/13 - No Country For Trends

This is a rebuttal to the article I wrote last week on the hot new trends. It is my prerogative to contradict myself.

Fashion trends are a farce.

An astute eye would notice exactly how fashion editors, blogs, photographers, stylists, magazines; in other words, spin doctors; attempt to convince us that each year, each season brings something new. When in actual fact it’s just trends from the year before; bigger, better, shinier…on younger and newer faces.

The fashion calendar is broken up into two seasons; Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter, with each season having its own distinct trend which we must all, on pain of being unfashionable, adhere to.

In the Spring, starting from around February pastel colours come back into fashion; Lavender, Mint, Apple, Cerulean, Ivory, Blush etc, making it seem like we’re trying to atone for the ostentatiousness of the previous holiday month.

As Spring/Summer gains momentum and we start moving forward to the wedding months, starting from April, floral becomes the order of the day. Suddenly everyone just HAS to have something in floral or they’re not on trend at all. Every wedding in this season will have at least 70% of the female attendees in floral dresses or separates.

As the weather gets warmer and layers start coming off, the colours amp up into vibrant technicolour and suddenly neon is the “it” shade. If your yellows, blues and oranges aren’t blindingly fluorescent you might as well move back to the boondocks.

The gloriously hot months of July and August dictate that everybody must be in barely there clothing, with not exactly toned down, but warmer colours. 2011 took that to a whole new level with the trend that refused to die and has apparently become a mainstay; colour blocking; the deft art of intentionally clashing colours as far away from each other on the colour spectrum as possible.

Autumn begins unofficially in September and as the days start to get a bit chillier the light-heartedness of the summer months are suddenly persona non-grata and colours start to get a bit more muted, now instead of a glorious Scarlet, designers churn out identikit clothing in Burgundy, instead of screaming Orange, we get subdued Rust, instead of acid Green, we get Forest. As the leaves fall from the trees the colours get darker and darker, the prints become increasingly sinister, paisley, animal prints from leopard to python to pony to giraffe…….we’re all suddenly serious minded people again.

Then the apex of it all, the month long party that is December, everybody is suddenly draped in sequins and glitter, trying to one up the next person, all culminating in the party night to end all party nights; New Year’s Eve, where you must don your shiniest, most outrageous outfit, a combination of all the trends that made an appearance that year.

After this climax of course comes January, the month of austerity and the cycle begins again.

Think about it, this rotation repeats itself without fail, every single year. There are a few variations on the trends and they are tweaked a bit to show some originality but nonetheless every year we start off with pastels, then florals, the neon, then brights, then muted colours, darker prints and climaxing in glitter.

Therefore, fashion trends are a farce.

As human beings we all believe we’re different from the next person yet strive so hard to look exactly the same. There’s nothing stopping you from wearing animal print in April or sequins in August, or wearing a black jumpsuit and a croc fascinator to a summer wedding.

Now why I love Nigeria and Nigerian fashion is because we have 365 days of summer, we are not constrained by the dictates of Ms. Wintour, Nigerian fashion designers luxuriate in the fact that their designs are not hidebound by changing seasons and therefore have the artistic freedom to churn out gorgeous frocks regardless of what time of the year it is.

After all it’s a party every day in Nigeria.

Fashion rules say otherwise but the only rule is that there are no rules.

Don't forget to vote for me to win Most Promising Female Blogger/Online Editor at the ELOY Awards.

To vote go HERE

Or text "ELOY" followed by "ThirdWorldProfashional" to 35070 or email "ThirdWorldProfashional" to eloy@exquisitemag.com.

Love and light xx