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A Nigerian female designer who started her fashion career in a period where being a fashion designer was not a lucrative and well celebrated business. She remained focused, navigating her brand through the periods of changes fashion has undergone in Nigeria and in the world. A woman of astute reputation and a fashion icon: Adeola Sagoe.
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Adeola Ade-Ojo was born in 21st August, 1966. She is from Ondo state, the western part of Nigeria. She studied at the University of Lagos and the University of Miami, with a Masters degree in management. She was married to Kogi Sagoe but they got divorced in 2009, due to irreconcilable differences. They have three children together: Teni, Aba and Tiwa. Adeola is the first child of Chief Micheal Ade-Ojo, the founder of Elizade University and his first wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Wuraola Ade-Ojo. Her parents are from the town of Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State.  Adeola began her fashion career in 1989. She started  when she joined her mother’s business with the intention of expanding and infusing more contemporary designs for the ever growing fashion world. Since then, she has gained the much needed exposure and attention befitting of her brand. She is known for her use of colorful and vibrant designs. Deola is known for using a wide varieties of African prints. She uses all sorts of olden and modern fashion techniques to bring to life something mind-blowing. She is very daring and always ready to accomplish any fashion task. Adeola frequently exhibits her couture collection at Cape Town Fashion Week and has been an invited guest of New York Fashion Week in the past.  Sagoe has won many awards which is not uncommon for a fashion icon of her caliber. In 2000, she won the MNET/ Anglo Gold African designs. She was nominated by a vogue editor in the US, Andre Leon Tally. In 2001, Adeola was rated number 37 on the African Almanac scale of 100 most influential Africans in the world. 
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In 2004, She was the first black woman to present a collection at AltaRoma, Rome’s celebrated fashion week. In 2007,  Adeola was recognized at the 10th International Star Awards in Paris and merited the Platinum Quality Award for her superior clothing. In 2008, she was awarded the International Quality Award (in the diamond category) of Excellence and Business prestige at the Quality Summit in New York. In 2010, the Deola Sagoe brand was recognized as a ‘Super Brand’ and was recipient of the Super Brand’s Certificate of Excellence in Fashion Design and Label category. In September 2014, she did the unthinkable. She became the first Nigerian ever in the history of fashion to organize her own stand-alone show at the New York Fashion Week.   In 2015 she featured in and produced costumes for the monumental film on Nigeria’s independence directed by Kunle Afolayan: “October 1” and merited herself the Multichoice- Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award for Best Costume Designer. Adeola designed the wedding dress of the billionaire daughter, Halima Dangote.  On January 2022, Adeola’s dress, the Tropical Galactica 02 Ethereal, trended on twitter. She is mostly patronized by the rich and influential as her designs are very expensive. Adeola’s consistency to her brand is worth emulating. She has proven to be very unique and extremely talented amongst her colleagues in Nigeria and the world. References Wikipedia House of Deola  Featured image source: TheFamousNaija
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This article was first published on 9th March 2022

agbagba-bukola

My name is Agbagba Bukola. I write about the business and exciting world of fashion.

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