Dumebi is one of the youngest fashion designers in Nigeria. She started her Andrea Iyamah fashion brand in 2011, but now have her headquarter in Toronto and branches in Lagos and New York. Her brand caters to females across borders, language and ethnicity who are confident, adventurous and unafraid of clothing designed with a statement.
Early life
Dumebi was born in March 18,1993 in Lagos, Nigeria to Andy and Onyi Iyamah. She is the last child of her parents’ four children. Her parents are from Ika, Agbor in Delta State, Nigeria.
Her father was an engineer and her mother was a beautician. The latter owned both a hair salon and clothing boutique. Her parents were the owner of their individual businesses. When Dumebi was seven years old, she lost her father and was raised by her mother.
She attended Grange School in Lagos, then proceeded to get a bachelor’s Degree In Communication And Multimedia from McMaster University, Ontario, Canada.
Career
When Dumebi discovered her passion for fashion, she learnt the trade.
At age 17, when Dumebi was still in the University, she founded her fashion brand, Andrea Iyamah, with the help and support of her family and close friends. She joggled her education with her career.
Her years in the fashion industry did not exactly start out with her being a fashion designer, she was first, a fashion blogger. On her blog, she shared her creative designs and sketches with her digital audience.
Still an undergraduate, Dumebi began designing couture dresses for her clients. She specializes in three main streams in female fashion: custom bridal, ready-to-wear and swim /resort wear.
In 2013, Dumebi officially launched a full swim collection, and since then, she has continued to create breathtaking designs for her numerous clients.
Her sister, an actress in Nigeria, Somkele Iyamah, is currently the director of Andrea Iyamah.
Motivation
Dumebi’s main motivation is interconnectivity. She wants her clients to connect with her designs.
She wanted to be a fashion designer because of her love and passion for the industry.
Her aesthetics are mostly birthed from her Nigerian background. According to her, her work always have to tell some form of cultural story. It has to imitate her environment while adding a modern twist through structural shapes or something inspired by nature.
A large part of her brand is filled with resort wear collections, which is partially because of Dumebi’s struggle to find fashionable swimsuits that fits her fuller figure.
All the prints Dumebi uses for her brand are designed in-house and she can’t be prouder.
Recognition
Dumebi’s works have attracted press like Vogue, Elle, Essence, Refinery29, HuffPost, Cosmopolitan and many more.
In addition to that, she has staged several fashion shows in Africa, Europe, France, and the United States. In 2019, she showed her Spring/Summer2020 line at Lagos Fashion Week.
Major celebrities have worn her designs. Celebrities like Michelle Obama, Kate Hudson, Ciara, Gabrielle Union, Genevieve Nnaji amongst others.
She is regarded as the number one African resort wear brand designer and her works are referred to as “high fashion art”.
References
Wikipedia
PR UNO LTD
Popsugar.com
Andrea Iyamah
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