Wake me up from sleep and show me a dress made my LDA without mentioning the designer and I will immediately identify her as the maker. Whenever I am at an event and I see any woman in LDA’s outfit, I say to myself “This is the archetypal touch of LDA” and 99.99percent of the time, I’m correct…why? you ask well, it is because her designs are always distinct, classy, stunning and timeless.
So when you see a woman oozing class, daring to be bold, confident and classy, wearing an inimitable outfit, check her well, she is probably making a fashion statement with an LDA outfit.
This beautiful and highly industrious woman has put Nigeria positively on the international scene several times but the one I am not quick to forget happened at the June 2012 Pitti Immagine Trade Show in Florence, Italy organised by Lagos Fashion and Design Week and Style House Files, the platform responsible for selecting designers who represent the fashion industry at the trade show. It was the debut of the LDA brand at the famous retail store of world design giant- Dolce and Gabbana. Pieces from LDA’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection specially tagged ‘Butterfly Kisses’ can now be bought at the Dolce & Gabbana Spiga2 Concept Store located in Milan, Italy and guess what? LDA is the first African designer to be selected to stock her pieces in the Spiga2 Concept store. I am sure you are wondering who or what LDA stands for. Well, LDA simply means Lanre Da Silva Ajayi, and she is the founder of the eponymous design label LDA, she is my ‘date’ for this week.
In nine years, her passion for fashion has gotten stronger making the label a fashion favourite among the media, celebrities and fashion lovers.
LDA brand first arrived in the fashion scene in 2005 with iconic 1940’s couture signature designs – a result of what has evolved into a much more modern and cutting-edge brand and a full-blown fashion house. The label’s collection includes couture, prêt a porter, and accessories such as hairpieces and statement jewellery.
Regardless of the label’s strong historical design roots, LDA’s creatively combines pattern, print, exquisite and even traditional fabrics to produce day wear, evening wear, gowns and cocktail dresses that bridge time and make the label successful within and outside Nigeria.
An LDA woman is the personification of sophistication, femininity, brilliance and boldness, which are the inspiration for each of her collections. Lanre states “Couture, colour and boldness with an edgy twist are the signature of my designs”.
The brand has showcased locally in Nigeria and internationally including the Thisday Africa Rising Festival, London (October 2008), ARISE Africa Fashion Festival, South Africa (June 2009) and the New York Couture Fashion Week (September 2009), Arise Magazine Fashion Week, Lagos (March 2011 & 2012), the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Spring 2012 Made in Africa by Arise magazine, (September 2011), London Fashion Week (February 2012), the Pitti Immagine Florence (June 2012) and MTN Lagos Fashion and Design Week (October 2012& 2013).
Lanre holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Coventry University and a Masters degree in Finance from University of Leicester. For her contributions to the Nigerian and African fashion industry, LDA has received numerous accolades and awards for excellence and she is married with two lovely children.
Lanre’s love and passion for fashion was birthed from watching and learning from her mother who made beautiful pieces for the children and their friends as a hobby. “It definitely paved my interest in the fashion industry watching my mother.” Lanre tells me, adding that “during my study in the UK, I developed more love for haute couture and the fashion industry as a whole. I also attended short courses in relation to fashion in London and I enjoy reading a lot of fashion books.” Lanre admits.
Earlier in January 2012, renowned designer Roberto Cavalli and Franca Sozanni Editor-In-Chief of Vogue Italia and Goodwill Ambassador of Fashion 4 Development made a special trip visit to Lagos and during their time in Lagos, Sozanni and the Vogue Italia team made a special visit to LDA’s flagship boutique to view her collections and this visit resulted in the designer showcasing a capsule collection during the Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week Fall 2012/13 at the initiative “Fashion 4 Development” that supports the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and the unprecedented global effort ‘Every Woman Every Child’. The event was organised by Ambassador Cesare Maria Ragaglini -permanent representative of Italy to the United Nations and it was in honor of Franca Sozzani. It was also a fashion business initiative to attract the attention of potential buyers & investors. As a result of the visit, on the 4th of May 2012, Vogue Italia and yoox.com’s special project (Discovered in Africa by Vogue Italia exclusively on yoox.com) was live on the yoox.com under special projects. People from different parts of the world now have an easier access to buy pieces from LDA through this project. “It is really a humbling experience and I remain grateful to God for this because I understand that mere human ability is not enough to prevail, God’s blessings and favour all adds up in the ‘package’” Lanre says.
Lanre just celebrated her birthday and it was a day filled with bliss and lots to give a way. “I am thankful to God and ever so joyous when I celebrate my birthday. The feeling is priceless. It is always also an opportunity to be a blessing to others. This year was quite different, the love I received was so much I ran out of words to say thank you to everyone who reached out to me. I felt really loved and humbled, I knew I had impacted lives in my little way but did not know how much I had done and my birthday was one of such ways I realised the importance of making positive impact in the lives of people no matter how small. I am indeed in awe of my maker and remain eternally grateful to him for life.” Lanre tells me.
That is not all there is to Lanre’s charitable side as she tells me more about her love for CSR. In her words, “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is important to us. Our artisans, both tailors and beaders are all local. We also source for most of our traditional fabrics locally. It is our own little way of giving back to the society. This is a huge feat for us as we are communicating the brand as a brand that produces handcrafted fashion made wears by Nigerians in Nigeria for the world at large.” She quips.
Mentoring is very important in life and one way Lanre does this is reaching out to tutor upcoming designers. She was also a Judge on the Multichoice program called ‘Fashion Protege’, hear her speak on this. “Fashion Protege was made possible by Multichoice, Bellanaija, and Bola Balogun. Thanks to these individual bodies this platform was created. I had an amazing time being a mentor alongside Mai Atafo, working with young creative minds. I will say Fashion Protege most certainly impacted the young designers as it gave them exposure, they got advice from me and Mai Atafo, and the contestants won great prizes which wasn’t limited to the winner alone.” She narrates.
LDA is currently embarking on various projects and she shares them with me “For now, LDA will be showcasing her SS15 collection at the Vogue Talent Event in September 2014 and we intend to stock up our collections in more places in Africa and abroad.”
LDA is ever creative and dynamic in her ways, attributes she says has a lot to do with “hard work, strong passion for what I do and my desire to see my clients happy and fulfilled.” Lanre says.
As busy as Lanre is, she places premium priority on family and still finds a way to balance work and family. In her words, “It can be tough at times, but I make it work. My family takes precedence and my work is a close second. I plan my time well and I meet all my deadlines. I am grateful to God for this and so much more.”
To every upcoming designer, Lanre’s message for you is this “you must be prepared for the hard work involved, be very determined and above all, patience is key.”
Like we all said (that is if you participated in debate in primary/secondary school), with these few points of mine, I hope I have been able to convince and not confuse you that LDA is the designer to beat-Thank you!
KEMI AJUMOBI
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