Constance Walter :A Woman of Constant Evolution

Every woman wants a piece of Constance Walter, the eponymous fashion brand owned by Chioma Constance Walter. With a global clientele spanning the United Kingdom, Middle East, and America, the brand has captivated women seeking unique, standout styles. In a recent chat, Vanessa Obioha explores Walter’s remarkable journey, transitioning from banking to the fashion industry.

Timeless. That’s the word often associated with Constance Walter, the eponymous fashion brand headquartered in Lagos with a global clientele.

During the brand’s SS25/Holiday Collection held last December, the founder Chioma Constance Walter, who hails from Imo State, was pleasantly surprised by the turnout of guests at the Pearl Garden in Victoria Island, where the event took place.

“When I came out and saw the crowd, it was overwhelming. I thought, ‘Oh my goodness! How did this happen?’ I was excited to see my very good clients, who I wasn’t even expecting that they would be around. Indeed, I was pleasantly surprised,” she shared on a recent afternoon in her Lekki office. Her showroom was filled with stylish attires for women—from kaftans to boubous and evening gowns— in a vivid array of colours.

What stood out even more was seeing a client who still looked elegant in a piece she had purchased a decade ago at the event. This kind of scenario is not uncommon in Walter’s over 10-year career, which began as a childhood passion. Often, friends would send her photos of someone wearing her designs.

“A customer came in three days ago and told me how, at a party, she immediately recognised another woman wearing Constance Walter. Statements like that make me happy.”

Her enduring legacy, however, goes beyond her designs. It’s rooted in her understanding of branding. Many have mistaken her brand for an international label. 

“I remember one time I travelled to the UK for Christmas to visit my daughters. I went to Selfridges, and a woman stopped me to admire my outfit. ‘Who’s the designer?’ she asked, expecting me to say Givenchy or Louis Vuitton. I told her it was Constance Walter. I didn’t mention that I was the designer. She asked for the social media handle and I shared it with her.  It was after she sent a DM that she realised I was the one.  ‘Oh my goodness,’ she screamed, saying that she would have been starstruck meeting the designer if I had told her I was the one.”

“So that’s the whole idea of using my name Constance Walter. It is for global acceptability. And it has worked tremendously.”

Walter adopted Constance Walter over four years ago, just as the COVID-19 pandemic started. Before that, she had experimented with other brand names, such as Truly Essential and Stitches by Chioma.

“Someone asked for my handle and I gave her Stitches by Chioma. The moment she typed ‘stitches,’ over 100 accounts with the name stitches came out. So that was when I started thinking about rebranding from Stitches by Chioma to a name that is unique and personal to me,” she explained.

Since then, Constance Walter has stuck, and she has no intention of changing it. The brand name has taught her the importance of branding in the fashion business.

“Branding is everything. In fact, before you even start the business, you need to plan your branding. I remember I had a customer in South Africa. She ordered some outfits from my Instagram page. So, her husband came to Nigeria and took her order with him to South Africa. When she received the packages, she went gaga. She said at one point she thought she bought an outfit from Gucci or Louis Vuitton. She felt that way because of how we package our dresses. We consider every detail. Branding is a total package, it is about every detail. From your identity to the clothes you make, every element matters.”

Her ability to run a successful fashion business that caters to every woman stems from a deep-rooted passion for fashion which was ignited at a younger age. As the only daughter of her parents, her mother unknowingly nurtured her sense of style with her outfits such that any time she stepped out, people always paid her a compliment. Whether it was a matching bag and a pair of shoes or the way her dress was styled, Walter, at her younger age, turned heads. Gradually, she found herself evincing a passion for creating her own designs.

One of her mother’s apprentices, Aunty Priscilla further fostered this interest. Walter spent much time at Priscilla’s shop, cutting fabrics and learning. One day, Priscilla challenged her to make a patchwork for a scarf. Walter, who had observed her closely, completed the task with ease. Her mother, noticing her growing interest, got her a sewing kit.

By the time she entered the University of Port Harcourt where she studied German and French languages, she again stole the spotlight with her designs. Her designs stood out and it was only a matter of time before her friends started insisting that the tailor styled their clothes just like hers.

Despite all the signs, it took Walter some time to fully embrace fashion as a career. She first worked in banking, then in aviation. It wasn’t until she travelled to several lingerie fairs across Europe and America, launching her own lingerie line, that she found her true calling. A friend encouraged her to set up a fashion business and even helped her acquire sewing machines. From there, Walter transformed her living room into a showroom, with her restroom serving as a changing room.

Today, Constance Walter is sought after worldwide, from the UK to the Middle East and America. Every woman wants a piece of the brand. Walter’s magic lies in the high-quality fabrics she uses and, of course, her originality, which she emphasised, cannot be replicated.

“There’s a unique touch to my designs. Even if you copy the style, you can’t capture that touch,” she stated confidently. “That is the blessing God has given to me and it’s also originality.

“I know how many weeks and sleepless nights it took me to create that stuff. And when I’m producing it, I know what it takes me to correct certain things, from mistakes to becoming that style or design. So you are just seeing the finished work, you won’t know what I have done to get to that.  Some designs are like serendipity situations, from a mistake unexpectedly.”

Walter’s main goal is to make every woman unique, rather than follow trends.

“A woman feels her best when she wears confidence like a dress and steals the spotlight when she walks into a room. That confidence is even stronger when she knows no one else is dressed quite like her. That’s what we give our clients. A unique style,” she concluded.