My Ankara Movement

I have always been in my “fashion designer” mode as long as I can remember however the British influence had me clamouring (get it???) for more English type fabrics like French lace, satin, corduroy, silk, wool etc…   It wasn’t till my freshman year in college that my Ankara senses were awakened.  I remember the Multicultural center at my university was having an event and as one of the organizing members of the African Student Organization (ASO), we were required to setup a table featuring all things African.  I was enthusiastic about our table being one of the best.  I rummaged through my mother’s business inventory and selected her prime African pieces like her Hausa bean bags, woven baskets and masks (She didn’t know that I borrowed them hehe!).  She also had loads of Ankara outfits that she had designed herself.  I selected one of them to wear for the event at school.  Everyone that came to our table was very impressed as we not only had items from Nigeria but all parts of Africa like Ghana, Congo, Libya, Sudan, Sierra Leone etc… We especially got compliments on our outfits and this really opened my eyes to how people viewed our culture.  That was the beginning of my Ankara movement!!! Everything I got sewn was done with Ankara fabric unless I had to use a different fabric.  Every chance I got, I wanted to showcase the versatility of the fabric and my designs of course…       




Hausa Bean Bag



African Masks



Woven Basket

We Are Engineering Fashion!!!

Vector Drawing

Apply Pattern

Scott Barry Kaufman, a cognitive psychologist who specializes in the development of intelligence, creativity, and personality, defines passion as the energy that can fuel a project, or a task. It has a similar role to inspiration. When we engage in something we are passionate about, we feel free from external constraints and in control. 




Finished Product

My passion lies in seeing my ideas come alive to an actual tangible product. It stops being a projection on paper and computer and is now a reality. Hints of my character are seen in the execution of my designs. I am inspired to follow my passion which is to constantly create not just great designs for myself but lasting memories for everyone I come in contact with.

My passion for Ankara Fashions stems from my educational background in engineering, my love for my native country Nigeria, and my need for individuality. My passion and experience has merged to make me a force to be reckoned with. My tenacity for excellence is the driving force behind the creation of Ankara Fashions.

A great man (My father) always told me as a kid that “Opportunity + Hardwork= Success” but the engineer in me must revise that equation to “Passion (Opportunity + Hardwork) = Success”. Without the passion, there is no energy being generated to fuel the hardwork.

In The Beginning





One of my very first designs
my mother let me run with-
Notice I am rocking the bubble
hem, the asymmetrical cut,
ruffle neckline and dramatic
shoulder all at once

 

One of my many Christmas designs-
Ruffled collar with dramatic shoulders
and a pleated bottom

As early as the age of 5, I can remember my mother and I spending hours in my favorite tailors shop (Baba Esther) picking out designs of outfits that I wanted to get sewn.  My mother knew she had created a monster when everyone else would go through the style magazines and point out a design and be done while I would pick components from 5 different styles and try to blend it all into one design.  My mother would always bring us with her to the market to select the different fabrics for getting our outfits sewn.  While all other kids were wearing ready-made outfits, one thing was certain about the Adetoba clan, you never saw our outfits on anyone anywhere. 
This level of pickiness (uniqueness) has grown with me through my teenage years and my adult years.  It has expanded outside the fashion realm to every facet of my life.  My good friends always get frustrated because a simple selection task is never that simple to me.  I still can’t wrap my head around not being allowed to pick and choose features that I like and want.  This is the very concept that birthed Ankara Fashions.  I know that I am not alone in that aspect.  There are others like me who don’t conform to cookie cutter selections.  You don’t want to walk into a party and see 2-3 people wearing your same outfit.  This is where the spilling of the drinks begin lol.

Ankara Fashions puts you in the driver’s seat of your design.  You have the power to select any feature you deem possible.  If you can dream it, it can be done.  Ankara Fashions is my brain child of the fusion of my love for my African heritage, my love for all things shoes and handbags and my desire for individuality.