Estella Ogbonna is a woman with brains and intelligence and all you need to do is listen to her speak. She has earned the education many dream of acquiring but her pet dream of becoming a fashion designer seems to be consuming her and with the opportunity to live and work in the United States of America, Estella is fulfilling her long life dream of becoming a fashion guru. Recently Taiwo Obude caught up with her to conduct this interview.        

  OBUDE:     So can you introduce yourself to us?

ESTELLA: My name is Estella Ogbonna. I am the first in a family of 3. My younger siblings live in Nigeria and are doing pretty well.

I graduated from the University of Jos, Nigeria with a Diploma in Special Education, and a Bachelors in Psychology. In addition to a Diploma in Computer Applications from University of Port Harcourt.

And here in the USA, I have a Bachelors in Information Technology (Network Administration) and currently reading for my MPA in IT/Non Profit organizations.

Estella Ogbonna

  OBUDE:     What brings you into fashion? 

ESTELLA: Hmmm… first thing I remember about fashion is when I was about 6 years old, I used to love watching DO-IT-YOURSELF program on NTA Aba then in Aba City, Abia State! And I also remember a little book my mum bought me about crafts and making things.  The one thing still ingrained in my memory is this Cloth calendar we had on the wall, which expired with the new year, and when it was brought down, I decided to do something with it. And the only thing I could think of was making a skirt for myself! Imagine at that little age! Well, I did, I threaded my needle and got to work. It took me days, but I finally made me a Skirt with dates and months all around it. And I did not forget to accessorize it with a cute pink button from a bead I found lying around. The pink bead was stuck in front to mark the skirt front because I made it with a rubber band waist line! Need I say that it became my favorite skirt?

Well, you know how it is, our parents and education and all that. I continued schooling but still loved fashion!  I am blessed with wonderful parents. And at age 11, I already operated my own personal savings account from the money I made off them running errands like Ironing their clothes (I hated washing!) but loved to iron clothes! Those days, while in Junior High School, I could Iron a room full of clothes without blinking! Ha ha ha! And my parents paid good money for that!  Maybe, I don’t know, all those ironings and knowing to set the right temperature on the pressing iron so as not to burn the clothes could and may have helped me a lot with knowing a lot about fabric textures, and also about sewing lines, folding lines etc. I can’t really pinpoint the exact time in my life I decided that Fashion it is! No! It just has been there from my childhood! And my mum also was a fashion dresser! Boy! Mum worked in a bank and she could dress! And of course! She dressed me cute too! I can say she spoiled me with clothes as well. It was bad I could go months without repeating any particular outfit!

It was so bad that my first expenditure from my savings account was to buy a lovely pleated yellow chiffon dress! And it was expensive! But, I worked hard for my money!! Truth is, I didn’t really need to buy that dress, but it felt good to once go to the market (then in Kano State), enter a ready-made high class store and buy my own dress all by myself! Without mummy hovering over me and telling me what to buy and what shoes that would go with it etc! And my mum was impressed! And that marked the end of her insisting I pick particular dress(es) each time we went on our shopping sprees! I was that hooked on clothes!

In my mid teenage, after I had blossomed into curves (at the hips) ha ha ha …oyibo ready-made was not cutting it for me anymore! So, I switched to Custom making my own stuff. And I was lucky my aunt lived in Aba (home of fabrics of all textures and great tailors too!), so, I could actually pick out fabrics that looked like the foreign ‘ready-made’ clothes, sketch my designs and had the tailors make them to fit!

Well, the addiction continued so much so that by the time I got to 22, I had like 5 tailors! Each for like Suits, skirt, dress, pants, native wears etc! Just so they don’t disappoint me and most tailors in Aba specialized in particular outfits. I used to order them from out of State. And many a time I was in Aba on vacation, I actually used to sit with them while they cut my clothes and I just watched and learned, and some allowed me help them put pieces together (I still paid them, mind you!), but I learned a lot that way!

Most people that knew me in my University days in Nigeria would remember that I was a Fashion person. I rarely repeated an outfit on campus! I actually contested in Miss Vogue in 1990 (a fashion competition), but the cult guys threw tear gas and messed up the event when they saw that there candidate was not going to win! I had a head start on all of them!! Ha ha ha.

  OBUDE:     What are your inspirations?

ESTELLA: My inspiration. Just ONLY one inspiration is GOD! Because HE planned my life all the way round and round back to Fashion! Its like I could run, but I couldn’t get away! Now I am back to fashion full force!

And its amazing that I have never had to take any fashion lesson or sewing classes! I just picked up my scissors one day, got a fabric and bought a sewing machine and started sewing! I cut and sewed all the things I have now in display all by myself! I just got couple of tailors to work for me now. But I would rather do the finally detailing myself before I hand over to a client. I actually sleep and get sketches in my sleep!  Being why I have pen and papers all over my house! Kitchen, toilets, office, dining room, car, handbags etc, cos I never know where and when a masterpiece would be dropped into my mind! I just love this.

Estella Ogbonna

  OBUDE:      And how do you intend to market your products?

ESTELLA: As of late, I have been featured in a lot of Fashion Shows. The offers are increasing, but I have had to decline some in order to balance my crazy schedule and maintain exclusivity. We just implemented E-marketing strategies and we will be using direct mailing as well. We will eventually have some key figures in the community to endorse my clothing line. My Marketing and public relations team ,NenyéProductions (nenyeproductions.com) is doing awesome work with that. And of course, word of mouth has really helped a lot.

In the next couple of weeks, I intend to launch a Massive Fashion Exhibition in the Washington DC Metro Area! And we also have lots of other avenues lined up which would all kick-in in the next couple of weeks! Also, Internet of course! Right now, our website is under construction because I have a great Web Designer working on it right now as we speak.

More so, since I have changed my main Fashion Name from TRADISHIONALÉ COUTURE to ESTELLA COLLECTIONS. This was necessitated by the need to make my fashion global! Tradishionalé Couture would  be a line of my collections, but my Company is now known as ESTELLA. I did a poll of my friends, partners and associates and all were of the opinion that I got a unique name – Estella. I may as well use it to show what I am all about! Besides my parents did not make a mistake naming me STAR (Stellar, Estella), cos that is where I am heading!

  OBUDE:      What are your long term goals?

ESTELLA: Its simple! Put African and Asian Fabrics on the runway around the world! I want ESTELLA to be on the same line up as YSL, Gucci, Dior etc. Besides, we have lots of exquisite fabrics and the world is doing nothing about it! I strongly believe in preserving our cultures, but the world is now also a Global Community! Blame it on my IT experience, but if I can know what is happening in another part of the world I have never seen, thanks to technology, how about I also take my wonderful fabrics to that part! The BOHO fashion came out and rocked the world, in the early 70s, dashikis were in the world fashion, I want that era back, after all fashion is simply recycling of ideas over generations!

   OBUDE:     Is your fashion only for the black population?

ESTELLA: NO! And I don’t want it to be. Like I said earlier, I want my fashion to be for the whole world.

   OBUDE:     Fashion is unique, how do you intend to make people accept you?

ESTELLA: You know, you really can’t make people accept you. Especially when it comes to fashion. Because people would buy and wear just what they like, sometimes not even minding the cost. So, I will just put my designs out there, and know that people would accept them. Because my designs are shape-friendly. By that I mean, I design for everyone! Tall, Short, thin, big, black, white, etc.  Everyone would find their style in ESTELLA.

    OBUDE:    How is living in America helping your fashion products?

ESTELLA: I won’t say its making any difference at all. Rather, it makes getting the fabrics from African and Asia more difficult and expensive.

Only thing I can say is that living here makes it easier for me to sample and test certain designs and concepts on a wide range of clients before putting them out there for all to see and buy. If I lived in Africa, I would not have that privileged of getting first hand opinions.

     OBUDE:    Do you do other things apart from fashion?

ESTELLA: Yes, I am still an IT person. I love Computers and can’t just walk away from it, rather, I try to introduce lots of computers to my fashion ideas. And being hard working person that I am, I still have other concepts I am working on alongside my fashion business.

     OBUDE:    How do you combine them together?

ESTELLA: Trust me my brother, it is simply not easy! Sometimes I wish I had 36 hours in my day! I tell my friends that God knew I would be doing this now, being why I am not married at this time, because I fear to imagine doing all what I am doing now with a husband and kids! Phew! But things are getting into the right places, and I thank God  that, because now, I can say I am ready to marry and settle down! That deep vacuum of something missing in my life has been filled! You know, doing IT, working, and still feeling that there is something I still needed to do etc. Well, I found it! Its my passion and love for fashion. I had to step out and do it for real. And now there is that feeling of fulfillment! The sky is now just my limit!

     OBUDE:          Are you also bringing your fashion to Nigeria? 

ESTELLA: I started from Nigeria. Nigerian fashion gave me some skills…but there are lots of fashion talents and designers in Nigeria. I respect them! They are good! I unconsciously learned from Nigeria!

And yes, someday, I would bring it to Nigeria. Not as introducing anything new there, but as a collaboration with existing Fashion Houses to do great things with our talents. Its in the pipeline and could be sooner than anyone knows. I am just taking my time to check out the designers I want to work with.

      OBUDE:              In Nigeria we have a lot of fashion home, tailoring stores,  what makes you  think they will accept you?

ESTELLA: Good question Taiwo, but like I said, I am not going to jump in there like “American Designer Come to Town”! NO! I would rather have a collaboration with existent designers. There are those that have the talents, but need the exposure, I would like to work with those!

My pastor (Pastor Ghandi Olaoye of Jesus House DC) keeps saying during our Haggai Business Men Networks Meetings that the sky is large enough for all birds to fly! And that is simply the truth. My clients would be my clients and yours would be yours. My designs are different from yours, and some other person may prefer yours etc.

And I am planning to get in a lot of young fashion talents into the limelight with me. Under ESTELLA, but they will still retain their name under one of my collections.

     OBUDE:               How do you get your models? Or are they just friends helping you out?

ESTELLA: There are lots of ways to get models in US here. But recently my publicist (Nenye Productions) handle the Modeling part of my company. I have friends that also help out sometimes. But we are looking to work with all sorts and shapes of models to reflect my clientele. I am going to get my mum to model for me you know, after all, she started this whole thing in a way.  Ha ha ha ha. And no, don’t call me a ‘Mummy’s gal’! I just love my mum, and her sweetheart –My dad! They are the “bestest”  parents in the whole wide world!

    OBUDE:                You mention God a lot in your answers. Are you very religious?

ESTELLA: My Dear, what is man without God. Yes, God is my all in all, and I daily wake up and thank HIM. Even on days when things seem tight. HE has been there for me and I know HE will never forsake or leave me.  I am not religious, I am simply a Christ-Follower. Call me a born-again Christian and I am shouting it out on the mountain top for the demons to tremble! Ha ha ha ha.