Seeing how her plus-size friend struggled to be at peace with herself while they were in school was a defining moment for Oluwasayo Adeola Olugboji, a fashion designer and stylist.
Though at that time, Olugboji felt that her friend had a shape every plus-size lady would want, her friend didn’t think so for a day.
“I knew there were many more women out there with similar challenges. So, I decided to be committed to such people. Nevertheless, I make clothes for everybody, male and female, regular or plus-size, and children and adults. I only add styling tips for plus-size women to help them understand shapes and outfits that would fit them,” she says.
According to her, fashion is about expressing oneself through what one wears, including the hairstyle and shoes. While insisting that she can do without makeup, she admits that some women cannot do without it because they always feel uncomfortable with their natural appearance.
“They probably don’t have clear facial skin or they feel they’re not beautiful enough. To me, it has to do with self-confidence.
“My favourite colours are black and white. These colours blend with my body. As a plus-size woman, black outfits give me a trimmed appearance. But I can’t be caught wearing backless outfits. I generally don’t like clothes that are too revealing.”
When Olugboji told her late father, Dr. Oluwole Olugboji, that she wanted to go into fashion business, he was furious. Her father, who was a commissioner under the administration of ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi, had spent a fortune to ensure that she obtained a degree in Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Ghana.
Though the original plan of the Ekiti lady was to later go to medical school so as to please her dad, her plan changed along the way.
“After school, I decided to go into plus-size fashion. The original plan was to contact tailors to help me interpret my designs. But my mum advised me to learn things myself. I went to my dad to discuss it with him and he got mad. He was disappointed that I was ready to dump my medical school to be a tailor. Though it took him a while to see how passionate I was about fashion, he later fully supported me till his last breath,” she says.
