PEOPLE
Ebunoluwa Faith Morakinyo, the CEO of Simcraft read History and International Relations at Babcock University. She also holds a Master’s degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution from the University of Ibadan. She eventually settled for fashion designing, pushing aside her academic certificates. Ebunoluwa shares the story of her fashion house with THISDAY
What is the name of your outfit?
The name of my outfit is Simcraft Celebrity International, (S.C.I) or Simcraft for short.
What is Simcraft all about?
Simcraft is a body comprising of diverse parts of fashion. We make bespoke outfits for women, ladies, and girls, we make classy and trendy ready-to-wear for sale, we make celebrity outfits for the less privileged and people living with disabilities and we also have a training school called SCITS – Simcraft Celebrity International Training School. Here we train young adults and women in pattern drafting skills, as this is the contemporary way to do fashion designing and also flat cutting for all kinds of female wears.
At what point did you think of going into this kind of enterprise?
Well, it was at the point when I realized I had more interest in fashion designing than any other profession, that point where I chose it over my present job and felt peace, and trust me – I have never regretted that decision. As a peace and conflict scholar, (yes, I have Master’s degree in that, from the prestigious University of Ibadan) I was working in one of the Peace and Conflict NGO affiliated to the University, and I needed at a point to take a leave from the work to fully pursue my fashion training and I was denied leave, on the grounds that I was one of the important members of staff in the head office and well, I quit the job instead and went to stay in a fashion school’s hostel.
Where did the inspiration come from?
Couple of inspirations I must tell you, from the days of being the head girl in secondary school, and adjusting my uniform with my grandma’s machine to fit and stand out, to the days of being in the NYSC in 2013 and was required to acquire a skill. Major inspiration I must say was from the feedbacks on how very neat my class projects were, and how I particularly take time, giving details to each part of the outfit, I then felt the urge to do this on a larger scale aside from for myself alone, and these feed backs have been spot on in every of our outfits.
What challenges does the business face?
One demanding aspect of the job is the ‘Oliver twist’ ways of our customers and the time frame and man power to meet demands. Also getting quality personnel, everyone who is good enough has started out on their own hence the shortage in good stylists. Dearth of competent hands is a major challenge.
How old is the outfit?
It’s been three awesomely beautiful years.
What is your vision for Simcraft?
Our Core vision is for Simcraft to be an internationally known and accepted fashion brand.
Where do you see it in five years’ time?
I see it on major fashion runways and international stores, I see it train the best of the best, I see it shift focus from the celebrities as we know them today to the real celebrities, Simcraft Celebrities (i.e. the less privileged and people living with disabilities). I see it having branches in major cities in Nigeria. I see you reading this article attesting to the quality we give to someone else, because you would have had a convincing experience with us.
Did you have any formal training in fashion designing?
Yes I did twice, first for flat cutting and second for pattern drafting with one of the best here in Ibadan – Tolumi, The Fashion People – an affiliate of London College of Fashion.
How many people do you have working with you?
Two full time stylists, a fabric consultant, one marketer, and a pick-up and delivery personnel…that makes five.
