Customers undervalued me because of my stature – Fashion designer, Ogunmuyiwa

Fashion designer and founder of Kemsol Clothing, Kemisola Ogunmuyiwa, speaks with OGHENOVO EGODO-MICHAEL about building her fashion business, difficult clients, and the sacrifices she has made to keep her brand growing What inspired the creation of Kemsol Clothing, and how did your journey into tailoring begin? What inspired me was something quite simple but powerful. I was working with someone back in the day and I had a colleague who was also a fashion designer. One day, she was working on a machine, doing something we call threading underneath the machine. She handled it so effortlessly and pulled out the thread with such precision that I was amazed. I remember thinking to myself, “This girl is so skilled and intelligent. I want to be able to do this too.” That moment sparked my interest in tailoring, and I decided to take it seriously. In 2017, I went ahead to learn tailoring professionally. That was how the journey started, from curiosity to commitment, and eventually, to building Kemsol Clothing. What were your earliest challenges and how did you overcome them? One of my earliest challenges was pricing, and it affected me a lot in the beginning. At that time, I was quite young, and I’m also petite in stature. People often judged me based on how I looked rather than the value of my work. I remember a particular incident when I delivered a dress I had sewn for a client. I charged about N15,000 for it. When her husband saw me, he said something like, “This small girl is the one charging this amount? Just give her N6,000” It was discouraging, but it also taught me an important lesson. From that moment, I decided to always stand my ground. Once I state my price, that is my final price, unless I personally decide to adjust it. Over time, my clients came to understand that about me. If I give you a quote, it reflects the value of my work, and I don’t allow people to pressure me into reducing it unfairly. That confidence helped me overcome that challenge. How would you describe your brand identity in a market filled with both traditional and modern fashion styles? We operate within both traditional and modern fashion spaces. The industry is constantly evolving, especially with social media influencing trends daily. A new design can emerge today and become widely popular tomorrow. To stay relevant, you have to keep upgrading your skills and knowledge regularly. For me, learning never stops. I take online classes and also use platforms like YouTube to improve my techniques and stay updated with trends. So, our identity is rooted in versatility. We adapt to b