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Designer Spotlight: Autumn Adeigbo

Designer Spotlight: Autumn Adeigbo

Autumn Adeigbo's latest collection was inspired by vampires, but not of the "Twilight" variety. While designing she asked herself, "If Ophelia Dracula, Count Dracula's wife, hosted a cocktail party in Transylvania, Nigeria, what would her girlfriends wear to the soiree?" Not sure what they would wear? Keep reading to learn the answer to that question and several other questions about the designer and her work.

Author

Anuli Akanegbu

Date

March 22, 2010

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inCOLOR: As a person who grew up in a Nigerian household, I have found that African parents and immigrants in general prefer their children to work in the medicine, law, or engineering fields. Have your parents always supported your desire to work in fashion?

Autumn Adeigbo: My mother is a physician and yes, she did want me to become a doctor. My father is an artist but always pushed me to get an MBA. Lil Wayne has a [line] in one of his songs that goes “tougher than Nigerian hair.“ If you ask my parents, since birth my will has always been tougher than my hair. I have and will always do exactly what I want, when I want, no matter what anyone else thinks or says. When it comes to something as personal as following your dreams, I’d advise anyone out there to do the same.


inCOLOR: Your Web site says that were voted “Best Dressed” in the fourth grade. If you were given the same award today what would you say during your acceptance speech?

A.D. : I would acknowledge all the people and things who cultivated me into who I am today. My parents for loving me just the way I am and never asking me to be anyone other than myself. My therapist, Judith, who planted the seed in me that I could start my own business at age 24. Stylists Rebecca Weinberg, Leslie Fremar and Andrea Lieberman, who believed in me enough to give me a chance as an assistant. The team at W magazine, who let me explore the world of editorial high fashion. The beautiful women of the African continent, whose spirit and strength is exemplified in the brightness and beauty of their fabrics, and my God who made all of the crooked places before me straight on my journey thus far.

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inCOLOR : If fashion was your first love, then why did you decide to study economics in college?

A.D. : Growing up, I thought my dream to do fashion was just that—a dream. As a girl growing up in Indiana, I really didn’t think I could become a fashion designer. But during my studies at Spelman, studying economics, I knew my future did not place me in a suit working in the banking world. I was way too wild for that! I knew nothing about how to pursue my dream in fashion, but late at night I taught myself how to sketch fashion figures and clothes. I discovered that Donna Karan went to school at a place called Parsons. This was way before “Project Runway”; before Parsons was well-known outside the fashion industry. So, I applied to school there and was accepted.


inCOLOR : Spelman College is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and Parsons is located in New York City. How would you describe the differences between the street style in Atlanta and street style in New York?

A.D. : I haven’t been to Atlanta in a few years. This makes me very sad to admit, but I’ve just been so wrapped up in pursuing my dream. I would say the main difference between Atlanta street style and New York street style is an Atl-ien’s attraction to color and a New Yorker’s like of muted palette of blacks and greys. Also, New Yorkers have more access to the heart of the fashion world and many more designer shops and department stores, so their style has a bit more of a trend-setting edge.

inCOLOR : How did you come up with the names of your designs, such as the “Sylvia” and the “Dada”?

A.D. : Some dresses are named after my relatives and some are traditional African tribal names that are appropriate to that specific collection. My fall 2010 collection was inspired by vampires and how vampires symbolize eternal life. All those dresses are named after female “vampires,“ or women who have crossed through the doorway of death and are now living an eternal life in heaven.
The death of my best friend’s 11-year-old daughter, Kenise, followed by the deaths of two women with photos in my inspiration book—Casey Johnson and Brittany Murphy—took the collection to a deeper place for me. I realized that the reason vampires resonate so highly with our collective conscience is because vampires symbolize the idea of eternal life. A vampire never dies. Anyone who has lost a loved one can feel that while their loved one’s body is gone, their energy lives on. The reds and purples of the collection now represent the blood that stops circulating when someone passes away, and the traumatic experience of death. The baby blues now represent the peace and serenity of Heaven. Flowers make us think of the cyclical nature of birth, death and rebirth. Flowers are also present at one’s right of passage to the afterlife—their funeral.

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inCOLOR: Did working as a stylist help you as a designer?

A.D. : Being around such high-end clothes for years really set the bar high in terms of what is acceptable in terms of the quality of my own collection. Being a stylist also helps me understand the inner-workings of the realms of celebrity, editorial, and PR worlds and the politics involved with those spheres.


inCOLOR: How would you describe your ideal customer?

A.D. : My girl is funky. She’s worldly, meaning no matter where she is on the planet she sees the person next to her as her brother or sister. She looks people in the eyes; she empathizes, analyzes, and rationalizes. She’s a quirky sophisticate; she has a sophistication of the heart. She sees the problems of the world and longs to make a difference. She’s a kick-ass chick.

inCOLOR: Why did you decide to donate 5 percent of your sales to the sexual violence crisis in Africa?

A.D. : My heart goes out to the women and young girls who are having their womanhood stolen from them in such a violent manner as rape. Women are a society’s strength. Their backbone and these men who are often demoralized, misinformed, drug-crazed, and desperate take away from these precious gems what does not belong to them. It saddens me beyond words and outrages me. I want my dresses to be a voice for these women—a beacon of hope. A way to replace the ugliness of this act of violence with something of beauty. What more than something as simple as a dress to remind a woman of her power?


inCOLOR: Your business tagline is “culture, color, conscience.” Out of all the words in the dictionary what made those three words appeal to you?

A.D. :
Culture: Each dress is inspired by the women of the continent of Africa, a land ripe with beauty and culture.
Color: The collection showcases all the colors of the rainbow. Besides women, color is where I find a lot of my inspiration.
Conscience: 5 percent of each dress sale is donated to helping sexual violence victims on the continent of Africa.


inCOLOR: Where can people find your designs?

A.D. : The collection can be found at NYC boutiques Honey in The Rough, TG170, and Boston Boutique Crush. I plan to launch an online boutique from my Web site for fall 2010.

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