If it’s Monday to Saturday, you can bet Oluwakemi Sanni is in her mini-workplace creating new designs. For the past seven years, Oluwakemi has been one of the most consistant, active and passionate designer in the fashion industry specialising with Traditional Couture.

Oluwakemi Sanni is a Nigerian female designer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She owns a mini-workplace at Jeppe Street in Joburg Central Business District. Oluwakemi moved to South Africa from Nigeria in 2011 with her husband in hopes of making a better life for themselves.

Background & Inspiration

The Nigerian designer was born and raised into a family of a designer as her single mother was a traditional couture designer. Oluwakemi cites her mother as her inspiration and the reason she even started designing. ” I would run errands for her, such as buying the fabric she needed for the next traditional wear”, she said. The designer started designing when she was in grade 5 through creating clothes for her dolls. She then grew to loving it and even went further to accumulating a Diploma in Fashion.

“I was born into designing, my mother did it and if  I had not been born into it I would have probably  been a pharmacist because in High School, science was very interesting to me.”

Fashion & Personal design style

According to Oluwakemi, fashion is life as it is about covering the body in unique styles and that it is a wide range. She further explains that her style of design is traditional wear as she uses traditional/African fabric to make different designs. Oluwakemi doesn’t only design traditional wear but also casual and formal clothing using different traditional/Afrcan fabrics. She has not had any fashion show but has been into exhibitions held by other organisations such as WIF (Women In Fashion) or FWB (Fashion Without Borders) that have helped her to showcase her designs.

Difficulties & Ambitions

The difficulties Oluwakemi faces are the platforms for showcasing her work and getting recognition. She notes that it is not easy getting her designs showcased to the public. Oluwakemi has ambitions of becoming one of the household names in the African fashion industry and having her designs showcased Internationally. She is mostly motivated by designers such as David Tlale and Mai Atafo, and watching international designs on Fashion TV.

“It is going to take a while but my passion for fashion will keep me going as it has for the past seven years”.