My name is Chioma
Olamide Udom and I am the brain and talent behind MIDE COUTURE. I started
sketching when I was nine, my aunty would be watching NTA news and see Eugenia
Abu wearing a lovely Ankara design and say to me “look at that style closely, I
want u to draw it for me”. I would look closely and sketch the design
afterwards. My aunty would then give the sketch to her tailor the next day and
eventually she would have the style her favourite newscaster wore, thanks to
me.
I continued sketching
but I never had a flair for fashion. When it came to talents, i always felt
writing was my thing. I got hooked to sketching designs in my 2nd
year in university. Anytime the lecturer was boring, I would start drawing
designs in my notebook and friends would look at it and compliment “awww, it’s
beautiful’’ or “I want something like
that”. I would just smile. I started sketching for people but I dashed them the
designs. Sometime in 2010, I attended an AIESEC conference and got motivated by
a member who saw me sketching during one of the learning sessions. To all those
who do not know, AIESEC is an international organization that helps young
people develop their leadership skills and potentials. The member looked at it
and told me that “she liked my designs and believes that someday my clothing
line would be a household name in the fashion industry”, i was really inspired
by what she said, that day, I made up my mind to leave my comfort zone and to
stop playing with the talent GOD gave me. There is a reason why he blessed my
hands with this talent. I told my parents about the talent and my plans to turn
it into an enterprise. My parents gave me their blessings to pursue my new
found love. I started producing my designs in 2010 and charging a fee for it.
It turned me into an entrepreneur and my interest in the fashion business
started growing. It was now more than just the talent of creating styles.
My clothing line is
called MIDE COUTURE and I create chic urban African designs as well as western
styles. It depends on what the client wants. My fashion styles are casual,
chic, vintage, urban and trendy. I specialize in female clothing, in the future;
I plan to make my clothing line unisex because all my male friends tease me and
say “she is a female chauvinist”. My source of inspiration is GOD. My favourite
designers are Lisa folawiyo, LDS, SAG, BABE FOR LIFE PATCHED ANKARA, Mary Ebubedike of WEST
&COUTURE. Fashion allows individuals to express themselves and that is why
I love it.
