Fashion Focus: iamISIGO Bubu Ogisi

Ogisi Oritsegbubemi, or Bubu Ogisi as her friends call her, is the creative mind behind the funky and youthful fashion label, ‘iamISIGO’ and its sub label, ‘the Charlatans by iamISIGO’. Inspired by her encounters with trends from different parts of the world, through her travelling, Bubu manages to create functional pieces that make the wearer feel comfortable, confident and cool.

She did her high school education in Nigeria and later moved to Ghana where she acquired a BSc in Computer Science. But her passion for fashion has evolved over the period into a career that has her name and signature growing steadily in Ghana, Nigeria and soon all over Africa. She explains, “I got inspired by the fact that one is judged out right by the way one looks or dresses, it just goes to show that fashion and style rule the world. I have been designing professionally for 2 and a half years now but on my own as an amateur; I have been designing all my life.”

The iamISIGO line is best described as simple, eccentric and timeless designs as has been evident in its four collections thus far. The first collection, ‘Cold summer’ was released in the summer of 2009 with the second collection, ‘proFASHIONAL’, which was inspired by high shoulders and vintage outfits following later. The third collection ‘Hot winter’ was released in October 2010 and the fourth, called ‘Le Poseur’, in February 2011.

“My latest collection is called Le Poseur and was inspired by my love for Paris. The collection has a lot of long gowns that are very fitted. Whenever I think of Paris I always see sexy ladies in sexy outfits that bring out their shape no matter their size.”

Bubu tends to work mainly with Jersey material because it is easy to work with and sits well on every body shape. It also appears that she has a bias for the colours black, red, cream and white although her favorite colour is grey. “I try to apply African fabric but I haven’t used African fabric for a while now, I’m taking a break while the Western world is discovering African print.”

The stylish and adventurous Bubu is not one to follow trends; she has her own style and loves the fact that old trends are being recycled. “Well, as a stylist and a designer I’ve come a long way with style, but on that journey I’ve failed to define my own style. I just pick whatever I can find in my wardrobe and put it on. In one word my styled would be defined as quirky.

Quirky or not, Bubu has a nice fashion sense and she shares some tips on how to look fab as young and modern African woman. “A pair of vintage pants is very essential, the ever necessary little black dress and an eccentric head gear for that bad hair day. I’ve got 3 designers that I absolutely adore; Yohji Yamamoto, Jil Sander and Raf Simmons. They are each very different and their designs fully represent what true fashion is about. I only hope that the future brings more success to me and my label, because planet earth needs me.”

iamISIGO items are sold on request in Ghana , Nigeria , London , Paris and America , and comes with special delivery services . The website is under construction and should be up and running before the end of the year.