Musing: Nike Davies For Nigeria’s 57th Independence, I decided to channel Nike Davies-Okundaye aka Nike Davies. She is a Nigerian artist & designer and a pioneer for Nigeria’s traditional weaving and dying techniques. Her LAJA than life (see what I did there) head wraps, colorful batik clothing and layers of jewelry make her stand out instantly. She’s has several galleries in Nigeria where she hosts workshops and highlights Nigerian Yoruba tradition through arts & textiles. I love the work she’s done and continues to do. Thus, she’s my muse for this year’s independence celebration. ************************* Pour l’indépendance du Nigeria, je dirige Nike Davies-Okundaye aka Nike Davies. Elle est dessinatrice, artiste et une pionnière nigériene des techniques de tissage et de teinture traditionnels. Elle se détache grace à ses grands chapeaux, ses vêtements aux batiks éclatante et ses couches de bijoux. Elle a établi plusieurs musées au Nigeria où elle organise des ateliers et souligne la tradition de Yoruba par des arts et des tissus. J’adore ce qu’elle a accompli et ses efforts continus. Donc, elle est ma muse pour cet indépendance. Happy 9ja Day, LAJA
Jabulani Bellas Duke’s African show was this past Tuesday and it was a blast, whirlwind and tornado of fun, excitement and high tension but my Jabulani Bellas and Beaus came out on top! Woop woop! Honestly, this was my first time feeling the heat of life or shall I say, the beautiful chaos life behind the scenes of a fashion show especially being a stylist and model. I tied the models’ geles (mine included) and funny enough I didn’t get the pictures of all them. I think I tied for over 20 Bellas (that’s what I’m calling us). Gosh,I thought I was dreaming but my hands reminded me that this was in fact a reality, haha. I’ve never tied for that many people under such short notice. I think I grew muscles and a six pack, haha. I had to be quick, effective and make sure they all looked stunning. Diariz God o, because they all did. My biggest fear which eventually came to pass was the geles falling apart before their due time. You see, I had to tie most of them before the fashion show which explains why most of the Bellas aren’t all dressed up in these photos. They were needed for very specific scenes and since I was the only one tieing, I didn’t want to leave it till the day of the show. Even with that, I can tell you I tied gele during and up until the end of the show. I had to learn how to use pins to hold them together to prevent my work from falling apart so that was a new and quite darn nerve wrecking experience. Even with the high tension and pressure, I actually really, really enjoyed it. Like really, really enjoyed it. Woop woop! I also got to select outfits Jabulani Beaus and some of the Bellas which was a lot of fun but one thing I realized about fashion shows is that it’s really not about you. I almost forgot that I was a model cause I was asking people “Do you have an outfit for this?”, “What are you wearing on your feet?”, “Have you tied your gele?” I had planned to get a billion pictures but since I was both styling and modelling, I had very little time to take proper pictures of my outfits for the fashion show because I was running everywhere (literally). #StylistLife. For some strange reason, my photos were not coming out right. It was rather frustrating. I definitely respect people that make up the glam squad or work BTS on any project (fashion stylists, hair stylists, makeup artists and many more), it not easy. The final presentation is a far cry from what happens underneath. I’ve come to the conclusion that BTS chaos for anything fashion is my type of chaos. It was a lovely experience and though my fingers died from numbness and pin pricks and my cuticles look eww, I will do it again and again and again. Till next year! Always, Miss LAJA
Sisterhood Of The Travelling Gele I present to you (some) of the promo pictures for Duke Africa’s annual Jabulani Show. Oh ma gashhh, I’m sooo in love! Happy New Month, loverrss! March is a special month for me because Miss LAJA, Miss LAJA (yes, I said it twice) and Daddy LAJA celebrate our birthdays and for many more reasons! It’s a countdown! Get excited! This year’s theme for the African Exposition presented by Duke Africa is “The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Headwrap”. For this project, I was the stylist, model and photo editor and I had so much fun during the shoot! I might even be modelling in the fashion show… *wink wink* What I’m most proud are the geles *sniffs and flicks tears*. I’m so happy with how they turned out. My strength was put to the test, haha. The tugging and jumping was real as you know for those of you familiar with the art of tying gele. What do you think of the photos? Hit or Miss? You already know I’m in love with them if not, I wouldn’t put them on here, haha! Countdown to Spring Break, I cannot wait. Hold on tight, we’re almost there! Team Directors: Stephanie Ogwo and Ozioma Uwazurike Photographers: Stephanie Ogwo and Kolapo Aluko Editors: Ashan-wa Aliogo and Stephanie Ogwo Styling: Ashan-wa Aliogo Models: Mariel Rosario, Kolapo Aluko, Martina Tiku, Joseph Bassey, Zamantha Granados, Ashan-wa Aliogo The Jabulani Show is 17th March 2015 in Reynold’s Theatre, Duke Univeristy from 8-10pm. Come through and have a swell time celebrating Africa and her culture! Always, Miss LAJA