Ayodeji Alayande Takes Business to Next Level
Diligence, it is said, is the mother of good fortune. In the age of motored things, hard thought and harder work are not the most celebrated virtues of business management. Thankfully, their rewards remain the same: admiration, recognition and lots of cash.These qualities, as well as their consequent benefits, are but a few of the selling points of Ayodeji Alayande’s I.RASA ventures.
Only two years ago, Ayodeji Alayande established the first threads of his fabrics and textile business, the I.RASA. According to him, I.RASA was the culmination of long hours of thinking and retirement from the conventional eight-to-five whitecollar occupation in London. Less than 24 months into his venture, I.RASA is becoming a household name and already expanding to accommodate increasing clientele.
On February, 2020, a new division of the I.RASA venture was opened at the Ikeja City Mall, Lagos. That the event attracted the likes of ex-BBN housemate, Seyi Awolowo, actor Bolanle Ninalowo, media consultants, Damola Layade, Wale Agbaje, Tolu Oluwo, Segun Ogundipe and numerous hobbits of the fashion industry is a testament to I.RASA’s Afrocentric distinctiveness and Alayande’s business potential.
I.RASA is different from the typical fabric yard or tailoring workshop in that it affords its clientele access to a cache of ready-to-wear clothing, rather than the ordinary fabric. In more ways than one, the company is a crusade against the traditional sales of fabric and the customary delay to be expected from tailors and clothing designers. Instead, the trend allows customers to select from arrays of already-finished ankaras, with styles ranging from old-fashioned to modern, conservative to radical, eye-turning to neck-breaking, and more and more. From ready-to-wear labels, bags, caps, accessories for men, women and kids, name it, it’s available.
It is therefore not unreasonable that the event celebrating the new I.RASA branch was broadcast far and wide, with an attendant fashion show, sales, music and partying, and networking.
The new front of expansion does not deviate from the original business identity, except to show that Alayande is not resting, but intent on bringing Ankara and Nigerian native clothing styles and clothing technique to the forepart of fashion.
One might say that Alayande and his I.RASA are stitching the old traditions of fabric, fashion and business with new lines; and every new branch is a thread closer to corporate fashion utopia.