Sherifa Amira Shuaibu is the Founder of menswear fashion brand, Leone and Grey. A graduate of Food Science and Nutrition from The Federal University of Technology, Minna and currently running an MBA programme at the Lagos Business School, in this interview by Lolade Bamigbola, the fashion entrepreneur is excited about making a statement in male fashion and showing commitment to empowering women.

What inspired you to choose fashion designing as a career?

I’ve always been passionate about the creative process, creating styles to fit different personalities; the colours, the process of designing and fabric selection. These were enough reasons to start a career in fashion.

What does fashion mean to you?

Fashion, for me is the freedom of expression, showing who you are through your style and being confident in whatever style you choose.

Why the interest in designing men’s wears?

I chose menswear because it is just not the norm and I love interesting challenges. It is also a lot more straightforward and gives me the opportunity to express my creativity seamlessly.

What is favourite part of being a fashion designer?

The satisfaction on my clients’ faces when the style and fit is just right. They show so much gratitude even though they are paying for the services. This right here gives me a sense of fulfillment. Also, seeing my sketches come to life, better than I expected, because it’s one thing to imagine and create a design, it’s another to have it tailored as envisioned.

How have men responded to a female fashion designer making their wears?

I can summarise the perception of our designs in three words: simple, classy and unique. The reception has been amazing. We can always hope for the best.

The designs you create are no doubt great, but who and which things were your inspiration while creating such designs?

A lot of things come into play during a design process. My inspiration sometimes comes from my clients’ needs, personalities and expectations from our brand. Also, any interesting art piece in any form, whether natural or artificial, can inspire me to create a design and my colour combinations come from nature and everything around me. Working with a mood board makes the process smoother, it brings together all my ideas and pictures of things and people that inspired the particular project.

What skills are necessary for a successful fashion designer?

The passion, firstly; then a very good creativity level, the ability to keep up with trends – socially and economically – people management, financial management, social discipline and general customer service management. Also, it is very important to understand your brand personality.

What are some of the challenges that you are sometimes faced with in the business of fashion designing? Does being a female designing men’s wears pose any challenge?

Theft of intellectual property and dealing with misogynists that tend to look down on me or my work because I’m a woman. I often have to put in double effort to prove that I deserve a seat at the table.

 With the advances in technology, how have you been able to keep up with trends?

With fashion apps and social media, it is easy to keep up with trends. I follow pages that align with my fashion perspective and sign up to their emailing lists. So, I’m always kept in the loop of what’s happening. When it comes to style and design upgrade, we try to keep at our best by employing the use of latest machines with advanced technology to improve the quality of designs we create. We have a lot of fashion blogs, magazines, similar brands social platforms and TV channels we keep up with to stay updated and we never miss a new trend.

What do you think about work ethics and what kind of ethics do you believe in following while working with fashion?

Respect your competitor’s intellectual property. In as much as no idea is unique, I always try to tweak designs to make them my own, add my own flavour. In addition, it is important to be as transparent as possible in your dealings with all stakeholders and create a good working environmental and culture for employees to boost productivity. Lastly, always save for rainy days because in business, regardless of the sector, there will always be highs and lows.

Does your background have any influence on your designs?

Yes, I’d say so. I’m the only female child of my parents and this has greatly influenced my designs, watching what my brothers liked, their fashion sense, what they looked for in an apparel…details and comfortability.

What do you consider the important facets of the fashion industry?

I’d say creativity, media and marketing. How your work is portrayed has a great impact on who can align with your work or story as an artist; how you capture the details of any design and how you pass the message.

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

I’d say my greatness strength is being able to learn from others, taking people’s suggestions, especially the people that work with me. They might see things from an angle I couldn’t. As for weaknesses, not being as creative as I’d like to. Working in menswear doesn’t leave room for more creativity because men are simple and tend to go for what they are used to more often than not.

How would you relate past and present fashion trends?

Fashion is basically repetition; nothing is new with fashion. They just continue to be recycled over the years.

Where do you see Leone and Grey in five years from now?

Global. We hope to have started exporting our creative pieces.

Lolade Bamigbola is a marketing communications expert. She lives in Lagos. The interview was initially published in Local Content Digest, NCDMB’s stakeholder magazine.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.