Tomi, the founder and creative director of Tommiesoil, a minimalist contemporary womenswear brand, has come a long way in her career as a fashion designer. Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, the great creative who recently had the honor of clothing her, spoke with Legit.ng’s Kumashe Yaakugh about her fashion line, among other things. The fashion designer talked about how she got into the industry. Chimamanda Adichie and Tomi Soewu Instagram is the source of this information. Tomi is just another young lady in a sea of fashion designers with enormous aspirations and hopes, to the untrained eye. However, there is a lovely narrative of perseverance behind the pretty face and fascinating grin that will leave you encouraged and ready to keep pushing until your ambitions become a reality.
What motivated her to pursue a career as a fashion designer? Tomi, who described herself as a “fashion-conscious person with an excellent eye for quality,” noted that, as simple as her personal style was, she realized that many people appreciated it and wanted to know where she bought her clothes. “There was a time I simply had this kaftan style in my head and I was probably just weary of Jeans at the time,” she said of the moment she decided to convert her ability into a company. “I grabbed some materials at the market and gave a tailor to sew maybe three kaftans for me.”
To my astonishment, everyone was asking where I got the kaftans again, and even though I didn’t think kaftans were flattering, it occurred to me that I might make money out of this.” Tomi describes her career as a designer as a “humbling experience.” Mistakes that resulted in losses were made, as is the case with many developing businesses. “We made a lot of mistakes in the beginning and ended up giving most of the clothes away to relatives and friends or selling them at a loss. We experienced a significant setback, but we were able to overcome it.” Tomi didn’t give up, thanks to family support and what she refers to as God’s involvement in her business.”
“Then then, I’d get fatigued and wonder if it was all worth it to keep going. I was concerned that I would fail, but my family saw the wider picture that I did not. Every time I was about to give up, (God in his infinite wisdom) would send a customer from nowhere who would place a large order at once. This happened to me every time I felt like giving up. I simply persuaded myself that this was a sign that God was involved in the business, and I’ve never doubted myself since.” In Tommiesoil, Chimamanda Adichie Adichie has long been a fan of the “Buy Nigerian” movement, and to Tomi’s pleasure, her brand was one of the lucky ones.
