Abby Ikomi: Got standing ovation at first exhibition

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Abby Ikomi is a designer, interior decorator, entrepreneur, and CEO of IRAWO. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she takes you into her world, showcasing her first collection on the runway for ARISE, the things that inspire her, why she wanted to be a model and more.

Why were you interested in being a model?

I was interested in being a model because I look like one. You should have seen me when I was younger. I was skinny and tall. But my parents were Muslims and they refused. So, any modeling job I did before marriage, I hide.

Now, my children say to me while you wanted to be a model, you got it from a different angle. You now hire models, so you still have to work with models.

Did your husband also see the model in you?

Yes. That is why he married me. He saw me and told himself this young girl isn’t going anywhere. It’s so funny because I met him when I was 21. I met him in Kano and within two years I had my first baby. Then another two years later, I had another child. So, I had my kids back to back and by the time I was 31, I had finished having my children.

What were you doing at 21?

I was a student and he had just come back from the United States. He was a bank manager at the time. Over the years, I have done a lot and this brand is my newest baby. The major thing that I have done is interiors. I also ran a shopping mall for years. I have done a couple of businesses and I am very industrious.

Tell us about your fashion brand.

If you go through our pieces, you will see that they are very different. It is almost like you are casually wearing art. That is how I see fashion. I don’t see fashion as being in a box. I see fashion as being very flexible. You can pull it, the way you want to pull it. As long as the blend is beautiful and nice.

At what point did you opt for fashion?

I have always been very fashionable. I love fashion; it’s not hard for me. It’s an innate thing for me and I am very emotional. It runs in the family. My mum is extremely fashionable and my grandmother was a fashion icon in Ikorodu. Fashion is something that I was born into.

Over the years, my husband would always tell me, you are still going to end up in the fashion industry. To be honest with you, I was very reluctant. I didn’t want to go into the sector. I just wanted to be doing my own thing. So, whilst everybody would tell me, this is where you belong. I would be pulling back until about 9 years ago when my first two daughters were graduating in the US.

They wanted strictly African for their graduation dresses; they didn’t want to wear anything Western. They wanted African, precisely Ankara dresses and I started looking for where to get them the right funky type but I could not find them. I said what’s going on; I went everywhere, on the Island. It is not like now where you have a lot of stores.

Finally, I found what I wanted somewhere in Opebi and it was very expensive. After I had given them their measurement, nothing fit. I had to look for Chinese people to help me alter. You can imagine how much I now had to spend again. I told myself I could do much better than this.

At that point, I told myself that I was starting this business.

Read Also: Abby Ikomi shifts focus

Did you go through any training?

To be honest with you, I just followed my passion. When I see good things, I know. So, I said to myself, I would come out with collections and do things for myself. Within the first six months of starting, we featured in ARISE Fashion Week and some people told me, don’t do this. Don’t go and disgrace yourself on the runway. You have never done this before; do you know what a collection is? They said this is a big thing; the whole world is going to see. I said just leave me alone. You know what, if you don’t try, you don’t know. Even if I don’t do well, that will propel me to do a better job next time. But I did so well at ARISE.

The collection was stunning and we almost got a standing ovation. It was like who is this greenhorn and she is doing well? After that, we kept pushing, and I pushed the brand. My kids are grown and I could not have done that when the kids were younger. That helped. Even my son, the youngest was in boarding school. This was now a baby for me to nurture and I just nurtured this brand with everything I had and I have just been pushing.

Was it easy to get the right personnel to work with?

It is still a challenge. A big challenge. I am the kind of person that flows with everyone and it helps that my staff can relate with me. I operate an open-door policy, you come into my office and we talk. Everyone calls me mummy, that helps and they consider me a lot. One of my tailors was going back to Senegal and he sent me a long text. It was a moving message. People that work with me, I look at them as somebody’s children. I don’t treat them in any funny way. However, it is a nightmare sometimes. Even when you recruit good people, some people would come and take them away. You cannot be at your factory 24/7 and whilst you are doing that someone is waiting in the corner to poach your staff.

Let’s talk about the latest collection that you are unveiling today.

We just relocated to a bigger place; we used to be on Idejo in Victoria Island. When we started I told my kids that my prayer was that gradually we would move to an affordable but classy place. This brand must have certain aesthetics in its way. It’s a new journey to the luxury line.

We have now journeyed into deep customization. Before we were doing ready-to-wear and when we get orders for Aso Ebi, we do outfits that give our clients that grand entrance or after-party dress, bridal outfits, and outfits for milestones. That is a niche that we are looking into because I want our brand to be identified with the most prominent parties. We have been doing it for a long time and we are ready to go to the larger audience.

Tell us about some of your star lines.

There is a piece called Ojuolape, we use laser cords to hold the shoulders and it sorts of drops to the shoulder. When you bring your aso ebi, we make that as a corset top for you and the aso ebi at the bottom. The selling point is that you can repeat the corset with other pieces like a skirt or pants. It was beautiful and everybody was taking her picture. My aso ebi, people can repeat, wear to church, family gathering and people would always ask you, what are you wearing?

Are you also into accessories?

No? There is no point in being a jack of all trades.

We do more of luxury, everyday wear. Not just African but a mixture. There was a time we used Ankara a lot but if you look at the fashion trend in Nigeria, you would Years back everybody wanted Ankara and I was known for making one of the best Ankara jackets. But you cannot be rigid about fashion; you must flow with it. These days, it is tie and dye, adire. We also make our fabrics in-house; we have our dyers that work with us. We have the GenZ part of the business that my children handle. They have funky pants that they make for men, and shirts too. But, I do things basically for older people with a focus on women.

How would you describe the experience over the years?

It has been so exciting. There are times when I would be here till midnight and I won’t really know that time has gone. So, when my husband calls, I would realise that time has gone. So, I don’t really see it as work but a passion. It has its challenges, I would not lie. But because I love it so much, I embrace the challenges and think of solutions. There was a time when my generators packed up, nothing was working and I had orders. Everyone was panicking but I didn’t. One thing about me is that I don’t panic. The only thing that panics me is if I am trying to reach my children, that is the only time that you would see a different part of me. My staff always wondered how I remained calm at such moments.

What about the export side of the business?

We take a lot of things to the US and people really love our pieces over there. The change in trend now is because we have made the pieces wearable. They have quality, it is modern and you can wear it anywhere. The things our parents wore back in the day made use of heavy fabrics. Our young people are not going to wear, fabrics that are so heavy like lace. A lot of fashion designers now know how to watch the trend and a lot of millennials are into fashion. Everything has changed, mothers have also changed. Now, less is more. You have more simplicity and class.

Where do you see the brand in the next few years?

We have been featured internationally. We have done a lot of fashion shows in and out of Nigeria. In the future, we hope to have our pieces in Fifth Avenue Selfridges in the UK. That would show that Irawo has arrived.

How did you arrive at the brand name, Irawo?

It was actually a revelation from God. I am very spiritual. So, when I was going to start, God told me that is the name. I have always had an affinity with stars.

Let’s talk about your husband and the role he played in supporting you.

My husband is absolutely an amazing human being. He is a pillar of support, he doesn’t complain. He encourages me to keep at it, even when I am tired or discouraged, he will make sure that I have something to eat. That is really what every woman needs when your partner supports and encourages you, It’s a wonderful thing. There is nothing that I bring to the table that makes him angry or nervous. He knows my tailors, he knows my workers, he knows my agents. Even when I say I cannot get this or that person, he would call them on my behalf. He is so supportive.

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