Omoba Fashion World is all about fashion designing from its cradle to the end. It is a place where an educationist and an accountant, Mrs Adunola Thomas, exploits academic knowledge with skill and produces standard products. In this interview by BAYO AKA, she tells our teeming readers about her products and services. Excerpts.
Let our readers know you or tell our teeming readers about yourself
I am simply Adunola Thomas. I am a graduate of both Ibadan Polytechnic and University of Ilorin where l studied Accountancy and English respectively. By the grace of God, I am happily married and God has blessed me with fortunate children. So, it will be correct to say that l am a trained accountant, educationist and fashion designer.
This, you will agree with me, is a good background but was it the dearth of employment opportunities that made you become a fashion designer?
Never! As a matter of fact, fashion designing has been my life long ambition. It started with a passion to always cloth the needy when l was very young. It was my desire to give clothings to the needy. And as God would have it, l later trained as an educationist. So, what I am doing at the moment is a combination of both a ministry and a vocation. It goes to say that Omoba Fashion World is a ministry, vocation and little of business. I had opportunities to work in many places and though, l made use of some of the opportunities in most of the states l have lived. Especially in Abuja, Kwara, Lagos and recently Kogi State where I was appointed as a Personal Assistant to a former Commissioner of Education. So, l have never lacked job. Omoba is a divine calling that can never be ignored.
There is this misconception of referring to a tailor as a fashion designer. What is the difference between them or are they the same?
I am aware of such controversies. It is just like asking if a mechanic is an engineer. You can be a tailor without necessarily being a fashion designer. Garment making at a point became a profession though it has not gotten government approval in Nigeria but we are moving towards it. At the moment, we have a lot of people who have not been trained that are calling themselves fashion designers but with time, the issue will be resolved in the sector. But there are differences between just being a tailor and a professional fashion designer.
What are the differences between being a tailor and a fashion designer briefly?
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing while a fashion designer conceives garment combinations of line, proportion, colour, and texture. It is just like an architect and a builder. A fashion designer’s job comes before that of a tailor. Mostly, the designer conceives of what to do and how and gives same to the tailor for execution. It is just to say that a designer conceives while a tailor executes.
Good, thanks for this response. Where is Omoba Fashion World located? Where can you be reached?
Omoba Fashion World is at exactly where the customers can reach it. Just as you know that the advent of digital market has uttered the way businesses are conducted. We are at the moment in Lagos but more importantly over 60 percent of our businesses are conducted online. We have our contact phones, we are on Facebook etc where we reach out to our customers who are interested on our services and products like training and consultancy services, garment making, sales of fabrics, and others. It may interest you to know that Omoba was in Ghana last year for over a month and we are preparing at the moment to visit some West African countries like Senegal and others. And by the grace of God by the middle of this year Omoba Fashion World will be live in UK.
Yes, for a versatile person, this is understood but for those not too familiar with social media, what would you tell a customer who wants to reach you to do?
We are on N0 138, Old Otta Road, Ayobo, Lagos. You can reach us through phone number: 08068292625.We are also into culture advocacy and fashion publication.
Tell us more about culture advocacy, fashion publication, incorporating children into fashion and zero tolerance for nudity
Cultural advocacy has to do with our efforts in Omoba to ensure that we promote garments or fabrics that are peculiar to us as Nigerians and Africans. For example, we need to promote our cultural attires so that we do not lose our cultural identity. For instance, what is bad in using African attires as school uniform?
Also, must we wear western attire in the church for weddings to take place? This will help sustain our culture and also boost our internal economy. It will help to revive our dead textile industries and contribute to our growth and development as a nation when our focus is on local attires. We have started an on- line publications that is fashion focused. This is aimed at bridging the existing communication gap among stakeholders in the industry. Very soon, we will invite all stakeholders to the launching of our on- line publication called Fashion Digest and we promise to invite you as one of our guests.
Incorporating children in to the fashion industry is one of the mandates of our organisation as a way of restoring dignity into the industry. This is because, there is a general misconception that the fashion industry is for the dropout and those who could not secure good jobs or for retirees. We want to encourage and educate our children to consider fashion designing as a necessary career option.
What makes your services or products better than others or what would you say are your selling points?
Our unique selling points are: Quality design and finishing in garment making, moderate pricing and modesty in design. Omoba is also unique in the area of incorporating children into fashion and zero tolerance for nudity. Our after sale services are superb and we don’t disappoint customers.
As a way of convincing prospective customers, give us your last words
Thank you Sir. Dear customers, Omoba Fashion World is a direct response to all the questions agitating your minds. By the grace of God, we will ensure that standard is entrenched in the sector and you will no longer pay for services not rendered as it used to be. Through our unique services, we will help to bring out the royalty in you. This is a promise that we are capable of keeping. There will no longer be a situation of come tomorrow, come next tomorrow for your cloths. You will get your clothes the exact date you are given. Beyond that, we normally reward our loyal customers.
