Award-winning author Chimamanda Adichie has shared why she chooses to wear mostly Nigerian fashion brands.
In a recent interview with Shade Samagbeyi, posted on YouTube on Friday, Chimamanda revealed that at the start of her career, she often suppressed her passion for fashion, hair, and makeup.
She explained that she concealed her interest in fashion out of pressure, as she wanted to be regarded seriously in her career as a writer.
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“For some people, liking fashion means you’re not a serious person. So I went through a period of pretending because I wanted to be taken seriously as a writer,” she said.
“Part of the reason I started talking about fashion is because many women who are into politics, who have ideas, also like fashion. Why should we pretend?”
Chimamanda noted that she later made an intentional choice to openly embrace her passion for fashion in order to inspire and empower other women facing similar challenges.
Explaining her preference for Nigerian designs, the 47-year-old author said it was a deliberate decision aimed at using her platform to promote and highlight local talent.
“I was also tired of pretending that I wasn’t interested in fashion, when in fact I was. I’m interested in hair and makeup, so I thought that if I talked about it publicly, other women like me would feel they didn’t have to pretend,” she said.
“Choosing to wear mostly Nigerian brands, which I started doing a number of years ago, was something I did intentionally. For me, it is a kind of fashion nationalism.
“I’m fortunate to have this platform, and I’ve gotten to a point where foreign designers would send me clothes. So I thought it was a great opportunity to start wearing Nigerian brands. It’s just a subtle way of showing up for my people.”
Watch her speak below…
