FIVE MINUTES WITH ALOYE ADEDE
Self-proclaimed fashion sculptor, Aloye Adede, after her secondary education, embarked upon an undergraduate degree in Business Management. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she attended renowned design school Central Saint Martins, and later trained under prominent fashion designers like Nigerian Wale Adeyemi before heading to Alexander McQueen. Her continued hunger and thirst for knowledge in the area of fashion led her to Italy where she completed her Master’s degree in Fashion Communications and Styling. On her return to London, Aloye set up her eponymous fashion house EYOLA, which is a 19th century-inspired womenswear expressed through the art of moulding and sculpting luxurious couture fabrics and embellishments onto the female form. Eyola also irrevocably changes the direction of fashion by introducing more frequent, smaller and timeless eight-piece capsule collections released regularly and randomly throughout the year.
How did you get the job of working with the late Alexander McQueen and what impact did this have on the aesthetic of your own designs?
I went through the standard application process but I made sure that my individuality shone through. Being a very driven individual, I had already set my sights on McQueen as a place where I would further educate myself about the business of fashion. McQueen’s style did not rub off on me, on the contrary! I have always had my own style that is against the grain of current fashion and McQueen had a similar mindset so it was only natural I found myself drawn to him as an artist and designer.
How many labels do you have under your brand, please expand.
There are three labels under the Eyola brand umbrella, namely:
EYOLA: Specializing in women’s cocktail dresses, party wear, evening gowns and modern alternatives to traditional wedding attire: coloured, mini-dress and skirt-suit bridal wear. Eyola also caters to bridal wear for all your wedding celebrations - the engagement announcement to the wedding dinner, ceremony, reception, anniversary; as well as outfits for the mother of the bride, bridesmaids, maid of honour and wedding guests.
EYOLA’S SMA SET: Inspired and named after my father, Senator Musa Adede, Eyola’s SMA set is the brand’s first foray into menswear. Each set is the only one of its kind consisting of a: tie, scarf and pocket square; handmade in London.
EYOLA’S FEMME DE ROSE: Specializing in tailored wardrobe staples for women. Our current wardrobe staple crush is the tailored blazer jacket. There are two ways to shop our wardrobe staple blazer, either design it yourself via our website or alternatively shop from our Ready To Wear ‘Infinite Collection’ at our online shop. Simply visit www.femmederose.com to start designing your perfect blazer.
EYOLA’S THE M.A.Z.A.Y.A FOUNDATION: Not exactly a label, but an extension of the Eyola family nonetheless. The Foundation aspires to make a difference to the lives of women, children and the elderly. With a focus on the sick, the downhearted, orphaned as well as healthcare workers and education, the foundation endeavors to touch the lives of those who are less fortunate. The rationale behind the foundation is to steer clear of requesting monetary donations. Therefore we seek help from anyone who has a skill, knowledge or expertise to share. For instance, if you have a company you could welcome orphaned or less privileged children to spend a few hours to visit the premises and learn more about the trade; a restaurant could invite children to their kitchen to teach them how to cook a few simple healthy recipes; doctors teaching children first aid and how to take care of their health; providing support to health workers, such as nurses; companies could provide paid apprenticeships and jobs for the youth. Our aim is to revolutionize the way charities work and instead of donating money and being far removed from the actual process of giving back personally, we hope to invite people to give their time and expertise to the less fortunate. Still in its infancy, we are currently in the process of looking for people and companies to partner with us on this mission.
Where are your dressmakers based?
Our team consists of the most expert master tailors and craftsmen (handpicked by me) who are all based in London and have either worked, trained or are accustomed with the traditional bespoke tailoring of London’s Savile Row.
Tell us more about your ‘limited editions’.
It is imperative that I first mention that each creation under the Eyola brand is handmade in London and is transeasonal (timeless, not season-led and therefore doesn’t ‘expire’ and can be worn season after season), transitional (can be dressed up or down to cater to all occasions) and exclusive (in the true sense of the word). The most fundamental part of each of my fashion creations is that it is either one of a kind or limited edition to a maximum of eight per style. I strictly follow the guidelines of 19th century luxury and one of the most integral hallmarks of this era, which is found in each Eyola design, is that each piece was an exclusive collectible item for haute fashion lovers. The Eyola brand combines craftsmanship, care and precision always focusing on a single aim, the pursuit of quality.
Who is your target audience for each of your lines?
I prefer not to restrict my art (of fashion) to a specific type of demographic profile. I see myself as a sculptor whereby I mould and shape fabrics onto the female form thus giving women a tool (the finished design) to express themselves and their individuality. I merely provide women, all women, with the tools to build an outfit that is an extension of their DNA and their souls.
What is the time limit for your orders and how do people gain access to your store?
We have opened the doors of our flagship store - Eyola’s Private Showroom. Located in Lekki (Lagos), the fashion showroom is the first ‘By Appointment and By Invitation Only’ fashion destination in Lagos. Members are either exclusively invited by me or selected via a membership application process. To enquire about membership simply get in touch either via phone or email. Non-members and members alike are invited to visit the showroom without an appointment during our ‘Open House’every Friday between 1pm to 4pm - for a limited time only! We advise customers to give us a courtesy call en route to our showroom so that there are no disappointments.
Eyola prides itself on the utmost craftsmanship and therefore this requires time and patience as we do not compromise on quality. Femme de Rose orders take on average three weeks to be tailored and then additional time is required for the finished item to be shipping to your chosen destination. Depending on your destination and shipping selection, this can take anywhere from two weeks right up to a bit over a month, should you opt for standard shipping to West Africa. Eyola however has a slightly different format. While we offer Ready To Wear designs to shop off the shelf, made to order garments will need a healthy amount of time from the initial stage of sketching designs based on your requirements right through to fittings, slight modifications and shipping. We also make it our priority to keep customers informed throughout the order process with regular updates including the delivery time of their completed garment.
African women are basically more full-bodied than catwalk models. Have you considered that in while making some of your outfits?
At Eyola, we embrace women of all shapes, sizes and walks of life. Therefore our designs are not limited to a certain body shape. We encourage our more fullbodied customers to get in touch with us and we are happy to advise them on the best design options to compliment their beautiful shape. We cater to all sizes and welcome women of all shapes to enquire about our products.
I prefer not to restrict my art (of fashion) to a specific type of demographic profile. I see myself as a sculptor whereby I mould and shape fabrics onto the female form thus giving women a tool (the finished design) to express themselves and their individuality.