With an ever thriving rich history of culture — Nigeria is finally getting the recognition it solely deserves. Just recently our very own Tems and Burna Boy walked the cascading steps of the 2023 MET Gala event prior to heir attendance at this years Grammys and Oscars. But it didn’t just start here, back in 2016 when Drake’s song “One Dance” was dubbed the “song of summer” by Billboard catapulting our creatives on international radar. Since then, the community has developed, with Tiwa Savage collaborating with Beyonce, Brandy, and others and Wizkid earning several nominations. Tems earining her spot with Wizkid’s single, “Essence”, from the latter’s fourth studio album, Made in Lagos. C-Kay’s song “Love Nwantiti” has earned over 15 billion views on YouTube, showing that even new musicians can find success.
But that’s just a glimpse of what this country has to offer. On the fashion scene, designers like Kenneth Ize – a LVMH Prize 2019 finalist has held a trio of Paris runway shows and just this year Andrea Iyamah‘s mulan orange bikini was worn by Birdie (played by Kate Hudson) in the film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. And there’s more – for the latest “Victoria’s Secret World Tour,” five Nigerian creatives have been slated to showcase their art centred on the appreciation and beauty of womanhood.
According to the brand, We’re proud to pioneer a global fashion event, film, and celebration that leads audiences through the behind-the-scenes artistic process and personal narratives of the VS20, a group of innovative creatives from around the world who represent four fashion curations from the vibrant cities of Bogotá, Lagos, London, and Tokyo. With the creative freedom to conceptualize, produce, and stage a collection that is all their own, the dynamic artistic forces from the fashion, film, design, music, and visual fields will converge to showcase their work that centers on the appreciation and beauty of womanhood.
READ MORE: Victoria’s Secret’s “World Tour” Everything You Should Know
Ahead, you’ll find everything you need to know about Nigeria’s Korty EO, Bubu Ogisi, Ashley Okoli et al.
Bubu Ogisi
Bubu Ogisi is the Nigerian creative director, stylist, and designer behind the label IAMISIGO. She is dedicated to promoting African ideas, ecologically friendly fabrics, and ancient artisanal techniques, and her close-knit teams of craftsmen have produced a label that defies many of the “rules” of African companies. IAMISIGO’s work focuses on utilizing fashion to communicate the tale of Africa’s past, present, and future.
Ashley Okoli
Ashley Okoli, a stylist and creative director, is the face of a small but influential indie scene in Lagos, dubbed “alté” which began as a way of life that encourages individuals to express themselves in non-traditional ways. She adores being in the spotlight. She is able to express herself and steal freedom in a world that mostly restricts it through dress. She has the ability to encourage people to be free and to serve as a vehicle for them to express their own freedom via her. Okoli’s style is edgy, comfortable, eccentric, and sexy, inspired by punk, Goth, drag, and her mother’s thrift shopping. She launched Sillet and Hexefae to promote body confidence and genderless fashion in Nigeria.
Korty EO
Eniola Olanrewaju, known as Korty, is a Nigerian YouTuber who has become arguably the fastest-growing YouTube channel within Nigeria. She studied Computer Science at the University of Ibadan and was scouted by Few Models. After graduating, she went to work for the pop-culture upstart Zikoko and eventually became head of content at the Mr Eazi-powered label service company, Empawa. Korty’s move to make what she was doing seem serious changed her life. She became the fastest-growing YouTube channel in Nigeria, with her subscriber count rising to 100,000 within 12 months. Korty’s channel is segmented into two sections: her vlog-styled takes of her experiences and opinions on life, and an interview series entitled ‘Flow, With Korty’ that has featured such stars as Don Jazzy, Niyi Okeowo, Ayra Starr, BlaqBonez and Ashley Okoli. Korty’s ability to capture big personalities in their most natural state is what makes it compelling viewing.
Eloghosa Osunde
Eloghosa Osunde is a Nigerian writer and multidisciplinary maker. She is a 2020 MacDowell Colony Fellow and the 2021 prose judge of Fugue Journal’s annual writing contest. Her writing has appeared in multiple publications, including Paris Review, Granta, Gulf Coast, Georgia Review, Guernica, Lithub, Catapult, Berlin Quarterly, Vogue, The New York Times and Paper Magazine. She is a 2020 MacDowell Colony Fellow and the 2021 prose judge of Fugue Journal’s annual writing contest. Her work tests the limits of reality by locating protagonists in intangible, alternate realms where the granular details of time and setting melt to a blur. She worked on Orange Culture’s SS20 collection and her visual art has been exhibited across four continents. Eloghosa is the writer, director, producer and sound curator of TATAFO, a music, fashion and art film loosely based on their debut novel. They are represented by the Wylie Agency and the author of VAGABONDS!, published in 2022 by Riverhead Books (US), Fourth Estate (UK) and Farafina Books (NG). VAGABONDS! has been translated to Greek by Icaros Babassakis and was published in paperback in two territories by March this year. Eloghosa was casting director and creative overseer of the audiobook, directed by Frances Loy and Grammy nominee Ali Muirden.
Wavy the Creator
Born in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, and raised in the United States, Jennifer Ejoke is a music artist, photographer, fashion designer, and filmmaker known by her stage name, Wavy the Creator. She is well known for her song “H.I.G.H.” and for serving as Olamide’s official photographer in Nigeria. Wavy’s career as a performance photographer got off to a great start in 2017 at the One Africa Musicfest event in Houston, Texas, where she met Nigerian artist Olamide. Soon after, she started taking photos of other Nigerian performers and debuted her fashion line, Azif. With the release of her debut single “H.I.G.H.” in June 2017, Wavy began her musical career. In January 2018, she released her sophomore single “Stay”, and later in the same year, she signed with Tinie Tempah’s Disturbing London. In 2019, she released Interlude 3 featuring Zamir, a third installment of a series of interludes she released since her debut single. In May 2019, Wavy released “Body Deep”, a record produced by Dutch producer Spanker, alongside visuals courtesy of Nigerian director
