Imagine a dress that would work for virtually any occasion. Prom night? Check. New Year's Eve? A-ha. A date? Yep. Zoom party with friends? Sure.
Sounds too good to be true, but Nigerian fashion designer Oyinda Akinfenwa has made it possible with her smart multifunctional dresses. Oyinda’s dresses can be worn in many different ways to fit your style, mood, look, and event, and when I say many, I totally mean it.
For example, her recent gorgeous creation in mustard yellow can be styled in 11 ways. Think of it as a real fashion transformer, or maybe a future of sustainable fashion where we all need just a handful of garments to fit our many needs.
“I got into designing because I was trying to make more clothes for myself, then I realized that I could actually do this for real, which made me start making more effort and putting in more work to make for other people and start my own brand,” Oyinda told Bored Panda in the interview that you can read in full below. And don't forget to check out our previous article on Oyinda's designs.
More info: Twitter (Designer) | Twitter (Brand) | Instagram (Designer) | Instagram (Brand) | YouTube
#1
Image credits: just_oyinda
#2
Image credits: just_oyinda
#3
Image credits: just_oyinda
In an interview with Bored Panda, Oyinda Akinfenwa said that the idea to make a transformer dress that can be styled in 11 different ways came about when she started getting requests from people who don’t like wearing tight dresses.
“This inspired me to try something like this, then I realized, what if the person who prefers free dresses might like to try out something more fitted, which was why I decided to add the skirt to give them multiple options, which led to the making of this dress.”
When it comes to designing dresses, Oyinda is totally self-taught. “I got into designing because I was trying to make more clothes for myself, then I realized that I could actually do this for real, which made me start making more effort and putting in more work to make for other people and start my own brand.” Today, her brand, Janore, which specializes in multifunctional dresses, has 3.5k followers on its Instagram page, and her client audience is rapidly growing.
#4
Image credits: just_oyinda
#5
Image credits: just_oyinda
#6
Image credits: just_oyinda
As for inspiration, Oyinda searches for ideas online, where she looks for various dress designs. “It helps me expand my personal fashion catalog,” she said.
Oyinda is already planning on expanding her dress portfolio and designing other types of clothing. “There’s so much you can do with fabrics and I can’t wait to get into it when I start expanding my brand, which I plan to do very soon. I’m planning on making my brand even bigger and better so that it actually serves everyone’s fashion needs.”
The Nigerian designer also said that she’s been getting a lot of support from kind people that she genuinely appreciates: “it definitely keeps me going.”
“And customers really love the dresses, they love the fabrics and also the neatness of the sewing, which makes me really glad because I put so much thought and energy into making sure my designs are well-made and perfect for my customers.”
#7
Image credits: just_oyinda
#8
Image credits: just_oyinda
#9
Image credits: just_oyinda
#10
Image credits: just_oyinda
#11
Image credits: just_oyinda
#12
Image credits: just_oyinda
#13
Image credits: just_oyinda
#14
Image credits: just_oyinda
#15
Image credits: just_oyinda