According to Steve Jobs, there is one, single thing that separates the people that do things from the people that just dream about them. It isn't their intelligence, their work ethic, or their financial means. It’s something much more simple: it is their willingness to go extra mile, to do more or to be outstanding. That typifies ESTHER Alo brand, a women’s wear and bridal clothing brands that is making the female folks look heavenly.

According to Esther Olubusayo Alo, the Co-founder and Creative Director of ESTHER Alo brand, making women look not only radiant but also glamorous is the vision of the brand.

In this interview, she spoke on the vision, mission, inspiration; as well as the challenges and also the prospects of the brand. Excerpts:

May we meet you, Ma?

My name is Esther Olubusayo Alo. I am the co-founder, Creative Director and Lead Fashion Designer for the ESTHER Alo brand. ESTHER Alo is a women’s wear and bridal clothing brand. We make custom-made outfits and bespoke dresses. Our desire is for every woman to have beautiful tailored-to-measurements designs in their own style. Our favourite saying is “Wear it because you deserve it.”

How did you get the inspiration to dabble into fashion world?

There is a school of thought that posits that children don’t always do what their parents say, rather they do what they see their parents do. I come from a family of fashion professionals, from my mom to extended aunts and friends. So I have always been around creative people and to further hone my skills, I invested in training and courses locally and outside the shores of the country, which has inspired my creativity. I grew up in a loving and close-knit family. My mom always had us in the latest fashion as children, which made my siblings and I well-known amongst our peers. So, from childhood to teenage to adolescent, I was always conscious of what I wear. I am always well dressed and when I wanted to choose a career, I have to go into what is already in the inside of me, which is looking beautifully dressed. So, what we do in ESTHER Alo is basically to make the women folks to look beautiful in their clothes. Don’t forget that the way you dress is the way you will be addressed.

In choosing fashion as your career, do you have a client focus or are you into all-embracing fashion design business?

The ESTHER Alo brand is for Women who enjoy custom-made designs, this means they choose their style and let their personality be seen in what they wear, we aim for those who love luxury products and are not afraid to look it, so far, we have clients both local and International. The beauty of fashion as a subject of arts is that it is a universally acclaimed unifier for every lover of fashion and art. I know that what I said may be sounding million, million but it is not so. Our designs are for both the high and the low. We take care of people in “Island and Main land.” Our prices are friendly, even though a lot of the time, beautiful things don’t always come cheap. However, we are very conscious of the state of our economy. So, no matter what you have in your wallet, we will make you look beautiful because we prioritize relationship over money.

What challenges do you encounter in your efforts to make your clients look beautiful in you fashion world?

To be very honest with you, we have very high standard. So, one major challenge is finding creative minds to match the vision of our brand. Getting staff that can do the job and do it well is a big issue. Another challenge is people appreciating the work we do; most don’t understand the importance of having tailored clothing and why they might be at a certain price. This mean that we have to enlighten people on the value they receive from us. The economy is also a very big issue because a lot of people are really struggling at the moment as a result of the ever-tightening global economy.

So, how do you handle your clients?

We understand the fact that it is because of our clients that we have business. So our first concern is the happiness of our clients. It is the things that make our clients happy that is our main priority. All Esther Alo clients are treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve, we ensure that they are comfortable in every way and that they get the best reception possible from us from the start of their consultation with us to the very end. Because of the type of treatment that we give to our clients, we are always having referrals, because our clients keep on referring their friends, relatives and associates to us, knowing full well that we have the capacity for great things and that we will not let them down.

If so, then what make the ESTHER Alo Brand unique?

Our fabrics are sourced locally and internationally. Creating timeless designs is what we do, so all our clients can stand out from the crowd and feel confident in their outfits. Over the years, our reviews have always shown that when ESTHER Alo women show up, they are confident and leave a lasting impression. In fact, ESTHER Alo designs don’t hang in the closets, rather they are always on the galleries for the world to see and admire. A lot of the celebrities on the Red Carpet wear ESTHER Alo brand. I would have mentioned some of them only that I don’t have their permission and again, they may not like people to know that what they wear to the Red Carpet or to very important events were made in Nigeria. You understand the game, everybody is “forming and packaging.”

Why would Nigerians not be proud to say they are wearing made-in Nigeria clothes?

This is because clothes made in Nigeria don’t turn out very fine like the ones made abroad. One of the reasons why clothes made in Nigeria don’t turn out amazing like those made abroad is finishing. Most of the time, we lack the financial power to bring the technologies down to Nigeria because they are very expensive. So if government can find ways of subsidizing them, there will be no need to be importing clothes from abroad. We have skilled people that can be doing that in Nigeria. Again, empowering women to seek out more skills is both beneficial and effective for the greater good of the country, we should have more government-funded schemes like loans and real access to them put in place. That will also help in reducing the huge unemployment in the country.

What will the outlook of ESTHER Alo Brand in the next five years?

In the next five years, we plan to be a global brand. We want to be very competitive, that is competing with other brands in the United States. We also hope to be empowering people, we want to be organizing fashion shows, holding clothing exhibitions and doing a lot of other big things. Though not yet well developed in the country, the fashion industry is very lucrative and with encouragement from government the potential for growth is very huge. In the western countries, there are a lot of multi-billion dollars fashion companies that have employed thousands of people. We need this type of things to start happening in Nigeria.

Update news