Aisha Babayo Shehu discovered her fashion niche during a random closet rearrangement and is creating vibrant and colourful collections that cannot be ignored. She tells AMAKA why her Fulani heritage is central to her brand, and what it takes to create couture and ready-to-wear pieces.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Fulani? Well, for Aisha Shehu, the word Fulani conjures up images of the most beautiful people on earth. Their distinctive dress styles and patterns have inspired her fashion label, Babayo, named after her late father. But more than sharing history and cultural heritage through fashion, more than reinventing old Fulani styles through exquisite craftsmanship, Shehu’s collections also challenge the single story associated with the Fulani in Nigeria. Her Fulani tribe collection, unveiled at the 2021 Lagos Fashion Week, was praised for its elegant hand embroidery, and achieved massive success, sending Babayo on the path to becoming a household name.  

You were working in the oil and gas industry as a retailer, and now, you are a fashion designer, causing a revolution with your brand, Babayo. Talk to us about your transition journey from the oil sector into the fashion space?

I’ve always been artistically inclined, but I found myself in business school in France. While there, I went to visit a friend who was attending a fashion school in Italy, and as soon as I got to her school, I knew it was the place for me. I had an impromptu interview with the director and enrolled. So, I was navigating business school in Paris and fashion school in Rome.

When I was done, I returned home and was torn between working a 9-to- 5, or getting into fashion design. I got into the oil and gas sector as a retailer but later started the fashion business out of pocket in 2018. Two months after I began Babayo, I resigned from my job to fully concentrate on the brand. I wanted to express myself. And fashion was the avenue. I also wanted to prove to myself that I could build something that was mine.

BABAYO is a Fulani-inspired label, and part of your vision is ‘bringing the world into our heritage and culture.’ Why is the Fulani tribe core to the brand?

I’m Fulani, this is my culture. It’s much easier to work with something you relate to. A few years ago, I decided to organise my closet with my sister when I was at our family home. I then came across my Mudukare, a traditional Fulani crop top worn with a wrapper. I thought, ‘Why don’t we wear this as often as we should?’ Because most times people just wear it only on national days. I figured if we could modernise it a little, it would be wearable as a regular outfit. And that was how the last collection came to be. I gave it a range, so it’s not just a crop top but also shirts, dresses, bubu’s, and more. It’s easy to do this because I’m a modern-day Fulani woman sharing her heritage with the world through fashion. 

Changing narratives, finding your niche

How has the brand been received both locally and internationally?

When I did the collection, I ran it by a few people, and they were like, ‘is this a good time? Fulanis are not getting the best of the media right now.’ But I would respond, ‘that’s what I’m trying to change. Not all Fulani are terrorists.’ Apart from that, the reception was incredible. I mean, last year we took part in the digital Lagos Fashion Week, and this year we’re going to do the runway Inshallah. And we are now stocking with Industrie Africa, the leading African fashion retailer, plus we’re getting a lot of positive press.

Social media has also done wonders for us. We get a lot of orders from there, but we politely direct them to the website because it helps us with better tracking. We sell from our store here in Lagos, but besides Africa, we also ship to Germany, South Africa, Belgium, and Australia, among others. We’ve also registered with DHL and are about to finalise the process so that our clients, especially in Africa, would pay less for one-off orders.

Was it challenging to find a space for the brand in what is becoming a crowded fashion market in Nigeria?

It happened rather organically. I mean, it took this random closet arrangement for me to find my niche. And when I went back to my fashion school archives, I found that five years ago, in one of my classes, I had sketched a Fulani outfit, defined the brand using the Fulani narrative, and used my dad’s Fulani name, Babayo, as its title. I’d done all this work and didn’t even realise it. As a brand which authentically and realistically shares the Fulani story through accessible quality pieces, things have almost just fallen into place for us.

But our other selling point is using sustainable fabrics like Aso oke, a handwoven Yoruba fabric made here in Nigeria, which we used in the last capsule collection. We use this fabric because promoting environmental responsibility is essential to our clients and us.

10 Women-Owned African Fashion Brands Making an Indelible Mark on the Global Stage

The beauty of diverse cultures in fashion

Let’s talk about that; how is the process of going from one culture to another? From a Fulani collection to designing a heavily influenced Yoruba collection? Did you worry about the reception?

Fulani people are nomads who move from place to place. And so is the brand’s story. I’m a Northern girl who has lived in the South all my life. I incorporate Yoruba food, clothing and culture in my daily life. Babayo also does this with its collection, taking inspiration from the Yoruba culture. If I move to the East, I will also take inspiration from the Igbo culture because that’s the beauty of migration. We should get to a point where we are merging cultures and finding a way to link all the narratives together.

In merging these diverse cultures, you also work with various local artisans. Why is this important to you?

My embroidery and tailoring team comprises locals, but I also have staff from Guinea, Benin and Togo. They are highly skilled and great at creatively translating ideas and manipulating fabric. But because most of them are used to custom-fitted designs, we now train them to incorporate intricate handwork and old-age techniques into our contemporary ready-to-wear collections. Together, we are keeping the traditional craftsmanship alive and partnering as custodians of culture.

EXCLUSIVE: Twitter Appoints Bukky Ojeifo as Global Head of Culture and Community 

What are some of the challenges of running a fashion brand in Nigeria?

Besides logistical and sourcing challenges, there are frequent power blackouts, so we almost always use generators, meaning production cost is constantly increasing. For example, in January, we were buying diesel at 300 Naira per litre, and now we’re buying at 800 per litre. And even though we are trying to maintain the price points, we’re pushed to increase our prices.

How do you define the brand’s success? And what are your plans to scale?

Besides being at a place where our numbers exceed expectations, I see Babayo exhibiting at the V&A Museum at their future Africa Fashion and operating on an international scale so that there’s a little bit of our story in every part of the world. But personally, my success will come from my family’s utmost confidence in what I’m doing to make my mom incredibly proud of me. Some of our future plans include exploring bridal outfits and creating an entire lifestyle brand which includes menswear and sportswear.

BABAYO will be holding a pop up at Africa Fashion Week, London, 7-8 October.