Gift Olohije is a founder and head designer at LOHIJE, and the brand has become synonymous with colourful prints and bold designs. Her clothes have been seen on world renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and on the runway of Lagos Fashion Week. Olohije draws inspiration from African art history and cultures with sustainability at the heart of the brand. Her first exposure was through her mother who was a seamstress and that set her on a path to pursue fashion as a career.
Olohije obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Benin before pursuing a Diploma in Fashion Design from Rhoda Michael’s Fashion School before creating her brand.
BUBBLEGUM CLUB sits down with the Nigerian designer to talk about her brand.
LEE NXUMALO: What makes the LOHIJE brand different?
GIFT OLOHIJE: The thing that separates Lohije is the value of our artisans. We are always about discovering African artisans and then building something unique, fresh and functional. We believe in working with people whose craft is not as celebrated as it should be. We create collections around them, we tell their stories and that is important to us. We are not just making clothes, we are telling stories. These stories are fictional or they are tied to history or to events and experiences of people.
LEE NXUMALO: If you don’t mind me asking, how did you find the capital to start your business?
GIFT OLOHIJE: It came from my personal pot, friends, and family. One significant supporter of mine was my husband. I shared the idea with him and he came on board and made an investment. He supported me before I got the grant from Fashionomics to expand the business. He has been a strong backbone for me.
LEE NXUMALO: Tell me a little about your design process – how do you go about starting a new line?
GIFT OLOHIJE: I’m always thinking about what story I want to tell. We work around what inspires me and then I begin to research. A lot of things inspire me, even when I walk or when I’m just doing random things. I write them down. I go through all these things. Sometimes, I could be attracted to a particular colour at that time or I might be attracted to some kind of scene, it can be a very messy start but I want to be very creative and just go out of the box.
Then I begin to connect this story that I want to tell to the fabrics. I sketch out the designs. I will design the things that I want and then I will reach out to Matt who is an experienced designer, who then starts on the 3D pieces and samples. Then we test them out in the studio.
There will be a lot of mistakes, a lot of change, and a lot of tweaking until we get what we want. We then develop a mood board that complements the story we want to tell for the photography and videos. Then we put the clothes on the models and take pictures for a campaign.
LEE NXUMALO: What is your perspective on Nigeria’s fashion industry?
GIFT OLOHIJE: Nigeria’s fashion industry is big, wide and growing very fast. It is very prosperous but it is yet to have a structure that goes together. It should be like a house where every wall is connected to another. It is not a building if there are separate walls everywhere.
Right now, a lot of people are doing their own thing. There needs to be collaboration and we need to work together. [Right now] people just find out what’s happening on their own and you have to learn lessons on your own. There’s hardly any mentorship and no real support. I know many Nigerians with great ideas about fashion but need education, enlightenment and a platform. There are hardly any schools to study fashion and the ones that exist are not serious, they are just basic. There needs to be more institutions where they can study, intern and have some backing.
Answers have been shortened for clarity and brevity
