Remi is the Creative Director of Rayk Collections, one of Nigeria’s growing fashion brands. Its fusion of different style and culture is what has set the brand apart from others with detailing and attention to customers’ preferences. Remi talks to Tosin Clegg about his brand, the new collection just released and much more
What makes Rayk Collections different from others?
Our uniqueness is in our style, our brand creates designs not just to fit into the demands of society, but to make our clients stand out and command the desired attention. Our collections have been designed to infuse our culture into our modernisation, without losing the essence of our roots and heritage.
How has it been for you as a designer and what lessons have you learnt on the job?
It has been a tough journey since we began, especially in this part of the world where just few people believe in the local brand, but one thing we have ensured is not bringing down our standards to suite the general belief. We are sure our brand will break out at the appropriate time. We have learnt to ensure extra quality at every point in time, and also never to give in to societal pressure
Tell us about new collection, Bibi Ire?
It started with an urge for originality, we’ve always been designing all sorts, but this is quite different because it comes from the inside out. We decide to create something out of our cultural background, our intention was to create something beautiful and at the same time appreciate our own fabric. So we decide to make it something African and also urban, something like an afropop kind of vibes, we hope this project will make people see the funkiness in our cultural fabric.
What’s going to be exceptional about it?
We decide to blend in the urban with our African culture. Prior to this time, most of our local made fabrics have been viewed as inferior compared to their foreign counterparts. We decided to make the world see a new picture, we decided to change the narrative, we decided to create urban designs using our fabrics, and it came out more beautiful than we thought.
