Friday 6 February 2015

MEET THE SENSATIONAL 12 YEAR OLD DESIGNER

12 year old Toluwalope Vanessa Ariyibi is the sensational and creative designer to watch out for. And about the youngest to come out of Africa too.


The fast rising charming and enthusiastic young girl attends Lagoon Secondary School, Lekki, Nigeria and is in Year 9. 


Her first taste of the runway through showcasing her exclusive designs was at the Genesis Fashion show by Next Gen COD, a fashion promoter based in Nigeria. 


Talking to us, she stated that she got inspired by big names like the late Joan Rivers, Emma Watson and Kate Hudson. The cheerful and humorous Toluwalope is always excited to create her own exclusive designs as they come to her mind. She equally holds a lot of aces in dancing, playing the violin, poetry writing, and singing.


She developed her passion for fashion through pictures from various magazines. She explained "I always look through my mum's newest magazines to see the latest trends, upcoming shows, especially fashion and entertainment.Although my initial inspiration into the fashion world was my mum; as a child she taught me how to mix colours mostly using beads and necklaces, with clothes. From beads, I started looking at different styling sites on the internet, magazines, and fashion TV stations, to enlighten me about the trends and the rules. Also, I watched critics like Joan Rivers giving their opinion on certain outfits. Around that time, I joined an online site called Stardoll. It has helped me put my creativity to life. As of now, I am the Number 6 Best Stylist in the world on the site, and I'm trying my best to make it to the top"


On how she got the push to proceed, she said "One day at school, I saw my friend's portfolio and I thought 'why not start my own?' And from there, I've made it here with the help of God, my family and Genesis Fashion Show by NextGen. I never knew that I would be interviewed live on TV, or recognized in certain places. I am really grateful"


She however hopes to combine her designing talent with her other passion which include banking/consulting, acting, and interior decorating, while working in the house of God.


The 12 year sure has fantastic goals. Hear her: "My goals are to build not less than fifty homes and schools for the less privileged, to build roads and re-paint houses especially in rural areas, to be featured at the Oscars or Golden Globes/to win awards, to do cover (front page) modeling for famous magazines, to be awarded a scholarship to Harvard University, to have a legacy built on strong positive principles, to become an author, to be an inspiration to many people and to maintain my discipline in any situation of life and of course to be remembered longer than I live."


We wish her all the best.

Wearing her design
Model strutting her design on the runway
Another of her exclusive designs




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