Episode 6

Harness the power of the internet -Abosede

                    Adedotun Abosede

             Founder, The Royal Couture

Good day our esteemed readers, we are glad to be back again today.

Today, we bring to you another amazing individual, a creative per excellence. Join me as I welcome Abosede.

Welcome to Chat With temidada, we are delighted to have you.

Abosede: Thank you so much for having me.

Can we meet you please?

Abosede: My name is Adedotun Abosede, I am an entrepreneur based in Jos, I am the founder of The Royal Couture.

Can we know what  Royal Couture is all about?

Abosede: The Royal Couture is a fashion brand. We make bespoke female wears, though we look forward to expanding our scope to making male wears later but we focused on just female wears for now.

How did fashion designing start with you?

Abosede: Fashion designing was an inspiration I got at a very young age, I was about 12 then, luckily for me I could lay my hands on an abandoned sowing machine, so I cleaned it up and started as an hobby.

Did you learn fashion designing from anyone?

Abosede: No, I did not actually, but very few people know this. 

Until about a month ago I bumped into a channel on YouTube, I love what the woman shares and I have checked her page a couple of times.

So how did you learn fashion designing?

Abosede: Sincerely I can't explain. I told you it was an inspiration, so when I started I didn't have access to a phone or the internet (I did not even thought of that) I just discovered that it was something I couldn't wait to get home from school to resume to. What I realize is when I need to make a style or when a style is described to me I just seem to figure out how I'm going to go about it and that's it. Although I didn't begin with extremely difficult styles or complicated ones as we have these days, I started with sewing for just my immediate friends and family members and amending clothes too, so I don't have much problem. I took it a step at a time and this is where I am now.

It is how many years you started fashion designing?

Abosede: I have been sowing since 2007, though I don't make money out of it, I just sow for free for my customers, though most of them are friends and family members and myself too. I sow a lot for myself, though in my last year in school I sew dinner dresses for my course mates which I made money from. So I've been sowing since 2007 but The Royal Couture came into being in February 2020.

How has been the experience since you started fashion designing professionally?

Abosede: It's been wonderful. I had about 13years of building up and practices. I'm not perfect and no one is an epitome of knowledge, but with my knowledge and our present dispensation if I'm curious about anything professional, there are tons of answers to my curiosity and I know where to get them from. Well I thank God for His grace, when I got my machine here in Jos, I was really sowing a lot and doing well too until the pandemic started and as you know it happened to everyone unaware but so far, it has been good.

Before designing anything, how do you get your inspiration?

Abosede: Well; more of my sowings  was done when I was in school. I do come across lots of styles on social media, I always decide to try them out especially the ones I feel are a bit tedious, and I make them.

Do you plan to make fashion designing your major focus or your side hustle?

Abosede: Major business all the way, it is one thing I am never tired of doing, it is in me, in fact it is me.

What are the difficulties you have faced on this journey, and how did you overcame them?

Abosede: Yea, I was waiting for that.

At the inception of this journey I made lots of mistakes, with measurements, cutting and sewing at the very beginning I started with cutting brown papers then my mum gave me a lot of fabrics she isn't using. I remembered vividly the first time I measured myself and I cut the fabric at that same measurement and after sowing, the material didn't enter me.

Sometimes I cut without putting zip allowance and some other funny stuffs like that, but due to my interest in it I sit back and think of what I'm missing out and what I could do to get the measurement I wanted then I realise that if I added more space (its called sewing allowance, i didn't know it as that then) I could arrive at my initial measurements after sowing. So with a lot of practices, I over came most if my challenges, and when I got more access and knowledge about the internet I find solutions to most of my curiosities because I'm a very curious person, I wonder how 1+1 becomes 2 especially with sowing, sometimes I Google and sometimes I just ask someone that knows more than I do.

Again I wasn't bothered about sewing for free, because I saw it as a way to build up more and most friends are not worried about giving me their fabrics especially when they see what I sew for myself, so I have been able to overcome my challenges through my doggedness and consistency.

How has the internet helped your growth?

Abosede: As I said the other time I'm a curious person, I remembered sometime ago when I was curious about how ready-made clothes are made for different sizes and shapes without seeing them and it will fit or almost fit, so I googled to check measurements for different body sizes. The internet gave me answers to questions in my head as there are no formal bosses I could turn to.

Where do you see your brand in the next five years?

Abosede: In five years by God's grace the world would have heard about The Royal Couture with prominent personalities as its clients and also reach out to others.

What is your advice to those planning to take fashion designing as business?

Abosede: My advice is; work on your skill, get it right even if it means doing it multiple times, you never can tell who will see your work one day and call for your services. Put in your all until you are satisfied and your work can stand anywhere, don't be bothered about your present customer, sow for them as if you are sowing for kings, let them stand out in the crowd in the attire you make for them even if you don't get paid as much now. I know how stressful that can be when you don't get paid for your services, but everything worth doing is worth doing well. It is better you don't accept to sow for a price that is not convenient for you than accepting it and just sewing the fabric anyhow because the client did not pay well, trust me the story will change at the end of the day and you will probably lose that customer too. 

Don't be lazy as well, because fashion designing isn't for lazy people there are times you have to adjust a particular part when you don't get it at first, you don't want to leave it and say your client will manage it like that, make your work close to perfection. Again work on your location too so as to attract the right frame of customers and with all these you don't have to do much talking; your work will speak for you.

Thank you for being on the show today. We are glad. 

Abosede: Thank you so much for having me I'm so honoured.

Tip: The internet is a vital tool for the growth of any creative, harness the power of the internet, make the best use of it.

Thank you for reading through this week's episode. You can link up with our guest on Instagram @abosede_official