Ade Bakare is a big name on the
Fashion scene in London. He is also very popular in the Nigerian fashion scene.
He is very good at what he does. And he has been at it for decades. He runs his
Ade Bakare Brand from both London and Lagos and he enjoys a huge clientele
across the world.
A few days ago, Citypeople
Publisher, SEYEKEHINDE got him to talk about his success story and what he has
been up to in the last few years. Below are excerpts.
What has been happening to the
Ade Bakare brand over the last few years?
We have been steadily expanding
in Nigeria, with a view to expanding more across Africa, having a presence in
some fashionable African capitals .We are also expanding our ready- to- wear
line which has been a great success in Nigeria and the U.K.
With our usage of African
textiles which we have pioneered for over a decade especially with silk Adire.
Due to the COVID pandemic across the
world, especially in Europe , we had to slow our operations there ,but our
output in Nigeria has been unaffected .We were approached during the height of
the pandemic to produce masks in Lagos state under the "Mask up lagos
" programme .Since this entailed us being open ,we started making masks
for our private clients also and gradually expanded into lounge wear during the
lockdown period.
However, we are fully operational now concentrating on our couture and RTW lines.
Are you back home or still in London?
We are still based in London, but
have an atelier in Lagos that caters to our clients with another branch in
Abuja .Nigeria is a very creative hub especially at the moment and we get
invited to undertake various projects such as designing for hotels ,airlines
,restaurants and films as a costume designer
What is new about your brand?
With maintaining a fashion brand
you have to produce collections seasonally, which your existing clients look
forward too and it attracts the attention of new clients. The collections have
to be always new and exciting, which requires a lot of research and design.
Our current Summer 2021
collection titled "Ayinla " was inspired by the film, produced by
Tunde Kelani on the late Apala singer, Ayinla Omowura .We were invited to
design the costume designs for the film .We have also started producing a line
of ladies bags for work and evening in exquisite leathers and colours. We shall
also be re- introducing our bridal line in Nigeria which for some years was
only available in the UK.
Has there been any change in your
brand focus, design and clientele??
We still design our couture line
of day and eveningwear, with the ready to wear line .It's been able to capture
a younger audience, who want clothes that are easy- to -wear and with a modern
touch of modernity and an african influence. We designed a line of symbolic
adire that have patterns such as ilari ( comb) ,Apere ( basket weave ),orogbo (
bitter kola ), and ododo ( flowers ) .
The designs became such a big
hit.We had to register the designs at the Copyright Commission in Lagos
,Nigeria .You can see it in the film "Ayinla " and the current Summer
2021 collection titled by the same name.
You been into fashion now for how
long?
We started the Ade Bakare Couture
label in London in 1991, through the PYBT (Prince of Wales Business Trust)
initially selling a high end couture line of, day and evening wear, to shops
and boutiques across the UK.
This year marks our 30th year and
we shall be marking it with a series of celebrations through the year, starting
with a Design Seminar in Lagos on the 26th of June, then a fashion show, a
fashion gala dinner where we shall unveil a book on 30yrs of style, culminating
with a fashion show in London
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