Our creative spotlight shines on the 19-year-old Ayodele Boluwatife Joy, the first child in a family of five, currently studying Surveying and Geoinformatics at Bells University of Technology Ota. She is a jeweler and also the creative director at Bolu Andelle.
She told Red Edit Magazine how she derives inspiration and how her brand is perceived for Simplicity, Divergence and Eclecticism.
“Well I don’t really know why I’m passionate about fashion but I’ve always known that fashion appeals to me and I literally just love every bit of it. Especially accessories. There’s just something about it that I love. In fact I love the manufacturing process of making chokers and that’s what drives me really.”
“I love to watch fashion campaigns, fashion TV, attend fashion workshops and read about different fashion brands. I also recently started listening to Odunsi and Santi’s music and sometimes I love to watch their music videos because I usually get some inspiration for my brand shoots. Honestly, I get inspiration from a lot of things altogether.”
Her inspirations are from Bulgari Cartie, Deola Sagoe and also Presley Oldham, a Los Angeles freelance photographer and Choker designer.
She also spoke to us about her day-to-day challenges in trying to make chokers a regular accessory in fashion, and how being a fashion creative has helped her to discover herself and passion for fashion. And most importantly, to always think outside the box.
She said, as an up and coming designer, the challenges would be that not a lot of people wear chokers these days. There are only a few.
“When I go to advertise my chokers some people say they don’t wear it, so my aim is to make chokers the go to accessory for both the male and female gender in the nearest future.”
“I have started putting out some content on my Instagram page and I have started creating look-books for each of the chokers. I also make sure to wear my chokers when I go for fashion events and workshops because to me Bolu Andelle is a movement.”
She is doing all of this to show the world the power & beauty of wearing chokers.
She concluded with saying, the fashion industry in Africa is very creative and we have a lot of beautiful & Passionate minds and there has been a lot of growth. Also we have African designers who have made it to the international fashion scene and that is something that I am happy about because it means that we are doing something right.
“I don’t know what the future holds but In 5 years I see myself pushing my brand further than it is right now. At that time I should also be done with school and NYSC. I plan to use my degree to work and also continue fashion on the side.“
