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Summary
Inioluwa Adeshina, a fashion designer and entrepreneur, shares her journey of building the House of Nidan while juggling a science degree, showcasing her passion, resilience, and vision for global success in the fashion industry.
This month, Inioluwa Adeshina, a fashion designer with her own fashion brand, takes us through her journey as a student entrepreneur in the fashion industry. She recounts how she balanced owning her fashion house with her full-time science degree. She talks about how she got into fashion design and tailoring, her relationship with money, her experience as a stylist at the GTCO Fashion Week 2024 and a lot more.
My working life
I am Adeshina Inioluwa. 26 years old. Although I studied Industrial chemistry at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, I am a Fashion Designer and the Founder and CEO of House of Nidan. I also dabble into styling, and recently worked with one of the top stylists in Nigeria ‘The Style Infidel’ at the 2024 GT Fashion weekend. The opportunity allowed me to meet and work with some amazing designers including Laquan Smith, Sukeina, Romeo Hunte and Tolu Coker.
I’ve been sewing since I was 12 years old—I grew up watching my mum sew clothes. As a child, I loved sketching and reading fashion magazines so I’d say that’s where the passion for fashion designing came from. In my first year of Uni, I would always make dresses for myself and people would comment on how much they loved my clothes and some even went as far as requesting I make the exact style for them. From then on, I began making cute Ankara designs and sold them to the ladies in uni. I took fashion design as a profession at 20 years old. Ever since then, I’ve loved every bit of it.
Before I started House of Nidan, I sold customized tees for personal use and school events. It was a side job for me. I also did hairstyling for a while in my first year in school and face modeling for a period of time. Before I decided to face female fashion fully.
When I reflect on what led me to begin fashion design, I have to say that I have always loved the idea of making ladies look beautiful. To me, it was just such a good way to make cool money, since I had interest in it and people around me loved it too.
One day I would like to venture into men’s clothing. It’s something I have always wanted to do, but I feel like it takes more time and dedication to combine male and female fashion design.
All in all, I make money from my job as a fashion designer and customizing T-Shirts. My family also sends me money.
My money life
I spend money on food, transportation, fuel, clothes, personal needs and other miscellaneous expenses.
As an entrepreneur, my income isn’t fixed. Monthly I earn about N450,000 to N600,000. It’s dependent on how much work is done that month or how complex the dresses I made were— for instance, dresses with beads or embellishments cost more. I make at least three dresses a week with the help of my assistants. While in Uni, I paced my work very well and made sure not to take more than I could handle. Now that I don’t have to juggle school and work, I’ve been able to channel my time and attention fully into fashion design.
When it comes to my spending habits, I am a saver. I make sure to save 30%of the profit I make on every dress. And I also save towards targeted goals like rent and investment in my business. I can splurge on food. I always tell myself I need strength to work.
How I managed to juggle being a fashion designer and a student
I created a strict schedule by making sure I balanced school work and design work. It didn’t come easy, though. In the beginning, my studies were affected, but I was determined not to allow my job to eat into my academics. There were days when I had to skip classes to meet up, but I eventually made up for it. I also set apart specific days for school and days for design work. On the days I didn’t have many classes, I worked on dresses. Most importantly, I disciplined myself not to take more than I could handle in order not to break down.
Life of a fashion designer
As a fashion designer, my typical day isn’t fixed. Some days, I find myself having to go to the market for fabric sourcing. On other days, I have fitting and consultation sessions. There are days I’m working on production, drafting patterns and finishing. But at the end of each day, whatever I may do, I make sure to have a lineup for the next day’s activity. To maintain a healthy work-life balance, I separate work and personal time. I make sure to create time, take care of myself and do other exciting things outside of work.
Price haggling is very common in the fashion industry, especially when a client underestimates your tailoring skills. I handle price haggling firstly by listening to the needs and concerns of my client. After which, I explain the costs I will incur in executing their clothes. If they don’t understand, I proffer solutions that would fit into their budget. In situations where they are inconsistent about not meeting my price point, I appreciate their interest in House of Nidan and clearly provide reasons why I can’t work with the price.
I think the hardest part of my job is handling production because balancing multiple projects can get very stressful. Also, it can be difficult to adapt to trends because fashion evolves. I handle it by taking it one step at a time, staying true to myself and celebrating small wins.
On some days, I feel like quitting, but then I remember I want more for myself, so I keep going. It helps that I have a passion for making every lady who wears my brand feel satisfied, confident, and beautiful. Now, that’s another thing that keeps me going.
I have learnt a lot from my career as a fashion designer. Fashion designing has taught me resilience and adaptability. The dynamic nature of the fashion industry has given me the ability to adapt to new trends by staying innovative and creative. Also, my meticulousness is on point because precision matters in this profession. Even outside of fashion design, I find myself paying attention to details. I also now have good time management and organisation skills— having to meet multiple deadlines and projects.
In the coming years, I see myself enhancing my skills and portfolio. I want to do that by continuing my education in the fashion business. Most importantly, I dream of establishing my brand as a renowned fashion brand, exploring the international fashion markets, contributing positively to the fashion industry nationwide and worldwide, and just being a global inspiration.
My advice to women who want to start a fashion design
My advice to anyone starting an apprenticeship in fashion design is that first, you have to be confident about your craft because we all learn from the game. Master the actual skill (pattern drafting, cutting, and sewing), stay updated on trends, learn from criticism, and take calculated risks and experiment—practice, practice, and practice!
Celebrities I would love to collaborate with
It would be amazing to design for Beyoncé and Tiwa Savage. I am inspired by Valdrin Sahiti, Gbemi Okunola of Alonuko, and TUBO Bereni of TUBO. I love Temi Otedola and would be so excited to see her model some of Nidan’s pieces.
Editor’s note: This story was first published on The21mag.
