Nigerian pop star, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, a.k.a. Wizkid , has been featured by globally acclaimed fashion & lifestyle magazine, V...
Nigerian pop star, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, a.k.a. Wizkid, has been featured by globally acclaimed fashion & lifestyle magazine, Vogue magazine who described him as
Nigeria's best-dressed pop star. He was also described as the biggest artiste in Nigeria and had an interview with Vogue's Alex
Frank where he discussed his style and Nigerian designs.
First thing I notice is you’re wearing Bape—are you a big streetwear-head?
Yeah, I like me some Bape, you know. But I wear anything to be honest.
Adyn, Rick Owens, Givenchy, anything. I shop from everywhere. We’re
talking with BBC to make clothes for my tour.
What’s the shopping like in Lagos?
I have local tailors out there who make me traditional stuff. So I get
material from Lagos, and I have them make me pieces. I mix them up with
whatever I wear. I have a whole lot of tailors. The fabrics are from
different parts of Nigeria. We have the tie and dye from the western
part of Nigeria. We get stuff from the north. I mix it up.
Do you wear a lot of traditional Nigerian clothes?
When I’m back home, all I wear is African fabric. All I really rock is
the traditional stuff. That’s the in thing right now. That’s really
coming back. Back in the day, our parents used to wear it every day, and
they still do, but now it’s cool for wee young ones to wear it. It’s
amazing. We’re doing it differently. We’re having it a little bit more
fitted. We have styles on it, embroideries and stuff, by local people,
made by hand, designed on it.
How would you describe Lagos style?
Lagos style is fresh and different. Even with the tailors, they get very
innovative with their stuff, with the cuts. When my parents used to
make the traditional wares, it was a little bit baggy. But now the
tailors are able to infuse the European style, making it slim-fit. Lagos
style is different, man. Innovative. And tailors are everything in
Nigeria. One hundred percent. The clothes I make back home are
proper—properly fitted. Proper, proper. Tailors are A1 back home.
What’s your process when you get something made for you?
I design everything myself, and I get them to make it. I do a little
sketch; sometimes I just sit down with a tailor and describe what I
want. Sometimes we go back and forth, like, for days, trying to get it
right. Sometimes it’ll take a day to make it, sometimes three, four
days. I have a lot of tailors. If I want something made in 12 hours, it
will be made in 12 hours.
What kind of clothes did you love growing up?
Growing up in Lagos, I wasn’t fortunate enough to get the fresh stuff
when it was new. There was this place we used to go to find stuff that
had been shipped from America, like secondhand clothes. I used to rock a
lot of Reebok, just a lot of sporty stuff.
Now you can get the expensive shit.
We thank God!
I notice that you’re almost never seen without a pair of sunglasses. How many do you own?
Oh, wow. That’s hard for me. I buy sunglasses every time I travel, just
pick up a pair at the airport. Ray-Bans are my favorite. They’re ready
to go. And I lose them every time. My friends take them away from me,
but I love it.
Did I see on Instagram that you met Christian Louboutin?
Yeah! And I have a lot of his shoes. I rock everything from high-end
fashion to skateboard stuff. We were just at the store getting some
shoes, and he walked in. And I was like, That’s the guy! Like, Oh, you
owe me some checks, boss.
What do you like about his shoes?
The shoes are comfortable and fashionable. I can rock them for my shows or just chilling.
I notice you love a bright, colorful shoe.
Well, I’m actually doing white right now. But I like colorful shoes
because most of the time I wear black, so I want it to be where my shoes
are popping. I’m wearing Harrods shoes right now.
Everything is super-clean with you.
Fresh, fresh, fresh. That’s how I like to keep it. It’s hard for me to wear the same thing twice.
You’re also not afraid to wear really skinny jeans.
No, I’m not afraid to wear skinny jeans! Yeah, I don’t care, man. I rock skinny jeans!
