Yomi Casual owned by Omoniyi Makun, the younger brother to popular comedian AY, is an embodiment of creativity. He recently sat down with ENCOMIUM WEEKLY for an interview at his Surulere Showroom.
Let’s start with your 2014 collection. Tell us about it?
This collection is entitled, The Redefined Man. I’m trying to show what the proper African man should look like in 2014. Some people think you must dress in suit to go to the office, but I believe that this is what a boss is supposed to wear. And if you see some of the celebrities I used, they are bosses. If you see Alibaba’s outfit, it’s very cool and calm. That’s what a boss can wear to the office and that of Zack Orji as well. You must be a dandy to wear this.
If you are a musician and you have a hit, your fans celebrate you for that moment. If you leave them for long time without dropping anything fresh, they will dump you. That is what is happening now. I noticed that when I call some of my clients and say, Sir, happy new month, we’ve not seen you for some months and they reply, ‘What do you have for us because we’ve bought everything you have. I have some clients that make everything I put out in different colours. It got to a point that I was wondering what’s happening to Yomi Casual. I realised that I had to come up with something new. I was keeping my new designs for 2014 but I couldn’t wait anymore, I needed to bring it out before they say Yomi Casual is out of ideas.
What does some of these designs represent?
What I would say is that they all define what a proper man should look like in 2014. I made these designs in my quiet time. I tried to answer the question of ‘how should a man dress?’ and this is what I think an ideal man should look like.
These are men that I believe that would really rock Yomi Casual effectively. You’ve not seen all of them, some people are even going to be angry with me that they didn’t make the list. A lot of people modeled for this 2014 collection but they didn’t make the list because I was not satisfied with some of them. I won’t mention their names. I will keep them for next year though; maybe I will just unveil them for February collection for Valentine. For this particular collection, these are the men that really showcased what I wanted. In spite of the fact that they are very big, they respect my brand. Zack Orji for instance, anytime I tell him that sir, my collection is out, I want you to model. He will say, Yomi, no problem. You are my boy, I’m here for you. This is a man that I met just last year and he loves and respects my brand. He even told me something. He said the only thing that will make him drive from his house to model for me for free is because of my character. I love your brother, he is very humble and I can see the same traits in you.
Sometimes, I would just be wondering, is this me? When I look back and see what I have achieved within a short while, I just tell God, thank you. Something happened in London recently. I went for a show and I clothed my brother as usual, and when he came on stage to a crowd of over 5,000 people and he was like, ‘Can you guys guess what I’m wearing?’ and the whole hall screamed, ‘Yomi Casual’. I was backstage smiling with pride. I see the recognition of my work as an achievement.
I love to keep my relationship low. I won’t want a situation where I’ll say something they will use against me. My relationship is very private and I’m going to get married very soon, in 2014 by God’s grace.
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