BY DAMILOLA ADEKOYA
JAIYESIMI Adedeji is the brain behind EJA24VII, an outfit that majors in casuals such as T-shirts,
Fez caps, trousers and jeans.
The Sagamu, Ogun
State-native dropped out from the University of Lagos, where he was studying surveying
and geo-formatics to pursue his passion — art and fashion.
“I didn’t finish the course because of my artistic
desires,” he says. “I’m a creative artist. I also do logo creations, and a
little bit of architecture. When I
was in secondary school, I was the best student in technical drawing and as
such, wanted to study architecture, but I wasn’t opportuned to study the
course.”
Adedeji does anything
that has to do with arts, but he says he is very much into fashion now. He recalled
that he started with shirts and linen tops, but had issues with his tailors,
who disappointed him most of the time; and realising he was depending too much
on other people to get things done for him, he decided to go into what he had
more control over, which is street clothes.
“I can just source and order
plenty shirts and polo and re-decorate them the way I want. It’s more like
drawing, but it’s easier for me.”
Adedeji, who describes his designs as
unruly and rebellious, has just added his new brand, Viva Las Gidi, to his other brands of shirts, which include Holy
Gear, PLAN B, NWA (Naija Wit Art’titude); he says his unique style is his
originality in creating designs.
“Because of my kind of person, I like
to break away from the norm. Even if I see everybody going up because up is
right, I’ll try not to go that same way. And if I eventually go the same way,
I’ll try to go through another route. Anytime you see my designs, there is
always something different about it. I do not like doing things by the set
rules; I love to break rules, when I am designing. You will surely see an unusual combination of colours,
spellings or cutting out some parts of the jeans to mix with local fabrics; something
must just be different,” he enthuses.
APART from
designing, Adedeji is also into entertainment. He has worked with Music Africa, MTV Base and Road To Mama, Lagos Polo Club as well as
with artistes such as Ruggedman, Olamide, Wizkid, Mode Nine and others.
“I believe I was able to work with them
because of my talent. I hate boredom, I can’t stand the four walls of an
office”, Adedeji says.
Speaking on his major challenge, he states, “I procrastinate
at times, because I have a lot of things in my head. And that is why in terms of putting myself together, I need
a professional to manage me. I might be working on a design, and see another
design, I will put the one I was handling aside to focus on the new one.” But
in spite of this, I meet up with clients’ demands, by trying to do things immediately.”
Projecting into the future, the CEO of
EJA24VII, says, “everything actually depends on God. But on my own part, I want
to see my brands on almost everybody because I have a couple of clothing lines,
both for Christians and the secular. I am working on a project that would
encourage distribution, because one major challenge designers have, is
distribution. If people see your designs on televisions and magazines and like
them, but can’t get them, then one is indirectly aiding piracy. Before you know
it, they call on the printer next door to help them make that same design,
which is not good enough. So, I’m
working on top stores that will be aiding in the distributions of top
designer’s wears.”
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