As the founder and creative designer of OYSBY, Dolapo Otunla-Adeyemi is fulfilling her passion to not just be another designer in the fashion world, b
As the founder and creative designer of OYSBY, Dolapo Otunla-Adeyemi is fulfilling her passion to not just be another designer in the fashion world, but to do so with a difference. The London based cerebral designer opens up to the Lifestyle Editor, Nkarenyi Ukonu on her foray into the style business and what really drives her.
You have a degree in Chemical Engineering yet you veered off into fashion via your brand, OYSBY. How did that part of you evolve?
I have just been generally interested in the arts. I studied Chemical Engineering because I did well in WAEC especially in maths and technical drawing. I thought it was a good combination for Chemical Engineering. To be honest, I loved Chemical Engineering and loved my time working in oil and gas, Oando Plc to be precise but I guess when it was time to leave, I had to. Fashion just came to me naturally a lot more than Chemical Engineering did.
But there must have been a spark that made you decide that you were done with oil and gas
I guess part of it also was me projecting ahead and thinking that I had gotten to the age where I wanted to get married and settle down to raise a family. I didn’t think I wanted to continue going to work sites and climbing columns and vessels. Around that same time, I developed a very intense interest in fashion too, shoes specifically. I have always loved shoes, I have hundreds of them and I have lost count of them. Even though I liked to be in fashion, I had to take a year off to explore what I wanted to do next. I guess I eased into fashion naturally and easily because it is what I have always liked. At school I learnt about apparel, bags and shoe making but it was really at the end of my study that I decided to settle for shoe making.
Which schools did you attend?
Apparel and Industrial manufacturing at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), California. I spent about two years there. I also attended the London College of Fashion and completed a course with ARS Sutoria as well as the International Technical Institute of Art for Footwear and Leather in Italy. Attending these schools opened my eyes to a lot of things and other possibilities in the fashion industry. Thereafter I started to design handbags and after a while, I released that I love shoes and thought, why not design shoes instead? I combined designing shoes and handbags at the beginning and it has been a really interesting journey. Now I primarily focus on the shoe business.
So you can make clothes as well
Yes I can but I am not interested in making clothes on a commercial level. However I sometimes try to make something for myself or my daughter. Even though the clothing business is interesting, it is really not my kind of thing. I am more of a shoe person which is why I focused on shoe making.
Not many women are shoe designers with the exception of a few who have really stood out with their peculiar designs like UK born Sophia Webster. Would you consider her your role model?
Oh yes, she inspires me. I like her aesthetics, I like what she does. She is really quirky.
How would you describe your OYSBY designs?
They are quirky as well but classy as I try to be as simple as possible in other to make them wearable. For instance one of my designs, a pair of pumps that has a pole heel with a heel cap has been a really big hit because it is a classic pump with a little bit of edge to it. Several international stars have worn that particular design such as Country music star, Carrie Underwood, the girls from Fifth Harmony etc.
You operate basically from London. Do you have plans to come into Nigeria fully?
I don’t know yet, I will like to see the response to my products first. I know I have a market outside Nigeria but I haven’t really tested the Nigerian market to understand what they really want. I have had companies like Saks, Bergdof Goodman and Barneys who have all seen my shoes. They love them and are actually watching out to see what they can buy from my collection. But I also want to get to that point in Nigeria where high end stores can see my products and want to stock it. A few stores have already embraced my products here but as much as I would love to establish a presence here, I am not favorably disposed to owning a flagship outlet yet, even though it would be nice because I am Nigerian. I would prefer to collaborate with other high end stores.
How affordable are your OYSBY products?
Affordability is relative. People spend money on all sorts of things so I don’t think it would be too difficult to afford my shoes. I consider them affordable luxury because it is hard for you to get the kind of aesthetics you get from my shoes from a lot of other designers. I do have some brands that I really like and follow as well but at the same time, when it comes to OYSBY shoes, you get what you pay for. My products are almost at the same price range as designs from Sophia Webster and Charlotte Olympia while some are priced similar to Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo due to its intricate details.
Where do you get the shoes made?
In Italy and they are all handmade and of original leather. I do not comprise on quality. Most big brands go to China to make their shoes, but I want to make a world class product which is why I opted for Italy and for them be handmade. I mean for a store like Saks to approach me, it is because they recognize the quality of shoes that I make.
How long have you been doing this?
I have been doing this for five years but I actually launched the product in August 2013 in Las Vegas at an interesting shoe fair. I say interesting because when I wanted to do that show, I was told that unknown names don’t get a lot of attention but I did get noticed by international lifestyle magazine, Marie Claire. They featured my shoes in their publication and since then, I have had a lot of press mentions in international magazines like Vogue, Glamour, Elle, Footwear news, an industry magazine that every footwear retailer goes to in America and it has been really good.
How has the journey been so far? Any challenges and how have you been able to overcome them?
There has been a lot of challenges. Finding a factory that will be in tune to your vision is a designer’s greatest problem. The first two samples of shoes that I made were rubbish because the factory didn’t get it right. It was a huge learning curve for me. I lost a lot of money but I just kept going because if I didn’t, whatever I spent would have been a waste. It is really tough and it doesn’t get any easier. It is a saturated market out there and so it is crazier as you are competing against world class products. It is easy to design a collection but you have to keep them much more excited to stand out and I am glad that I have been able to do that. I have designed three collections for three seasons and the fourth is going to be showcased in Paris this January at Premiere Classe, a highly curated prestigious show that is the meeting point for designers of fashion accessories. I think it has been perseverance, I had to just keep at it.
How do you feel getting your OYSBY brand accepted in top notch and highly exclusive circles?
I find it simply encouraging and rewarding and I hope Nigerians will accept this brand the way it has been accepted in international circles.
Did you think you would get to this point in your career so soon after starting out?
I hoped I will but I didn’t think it would happen this fast. I thought maybe after five, ten years but not so soon. But the fact that it is happening now and organically too, not because I am forcing it down people’s throat, is humbling. People see my designs and just like them.
What does your brand name, OYSBY mean?
It is an acronym for Own Your Style, Be Yourself. I came up with it because with my personality, as an introvert, I always come up with crazy things such that when people see me and see what I have come up with, they really can find the correlation. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, your style is your style. If you need to be crazy, then by all means, be so, regardless of what people may think, as long as it is your style. I am very particular about what I wear, my shoes, my bags, I try to own my style.
Speaking of bags, your very first leather product was a solar bag. What was the inspiration behind it?
The Solaris Damaris bag was a line of solar bags capable of charging mobile devices on-the-go. I had Nigeria in mind when I made it. It was launched in 2011. This was way before solar products became really popular. It was just something I thought of as an engineer who loves fashion. I thought of a way to marry the two together and that was how I came up with it. However when OYSBY shoes came up, it kind of took my focus away from it a little bit but it is still there.
Is it going to make a comeback?
Oh yes I plan to make it even better. No matter how good a product I have right now is, I am always looking for ways to perfect it. I am already working at making the functionality a lot better.
For young women who want to toe your path and become entrepreneurs, what advice would you give them?
Nigeria is a very good market compared to the developed world because it isn’t saturated yet. There are a lot of good designers coming up now but you just need to find your niche and stand out in whatever way you can. To be honest, I think most people call themselves designers because it is the trend and everyone is towing that line. If you join them, trust me, you would burn your fingers. You need to have something deep inside you that you have to keep at. Also if you don’t have enough support, it might be a hard thing to do. I had support from my husband, my family and friends. So keep your network tight.
Are you done totally with Chemical Engineering or would you still have cause to go back to it?
I would say yes for now. I don’t see anything that will take me back to engineering as we speak but like people always say, your first degree is always a stepping stone to help you launch into what you really want to do and to be honest, if you want to be a fashion designer but you want to first study engineering, there is really nothing stopping you. As long as you have it in you, you will always navigate your way back to your first love. But you have to think of what will immediately serve your purpose before you get into your dream career. No knowledge is wasted.
Would you say being in fashion has been your greatest achievement in life so far?
It is hard to tell because I am a mother now and there is nothing bigger than that. But in terms of personal achievement, yes I have done a lot of impressive things in fashion and so I believe it is one of my greatest achievements in life.
So what is next for OYSBY?
I am going to keep doing what I am doing because it is still a startup business regardless of the recognitions that has come its way. I am still trying to get the brand to be better. Once I achieve the kind of stability that I want for OYSBY, I really would love to help young designers who are looking at doing the same thing because at the end of the day, it is a passion that you would want to interpret into a business venture. Besides the creative side of it, I would love to show people the business side of their passion as well. I have a Masters Degree in Process Technology and Business Management from the University of Warwick, so I have a little bit of business training as well. And it would be my delight to be able to help young designers who are struggling with their business at some point.
How would you describe your style?
Reserved, versatile, eccentric, meticulous and spontaneous
