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NE: It’s good to finally get to speak with you Tosin.
Tosin: I’ve been really sick with laryngitis, couldn’t
speak. I got your message and I couldn’t call back because
I’ve been so sick.
NE: I’m sorry, I hope you’re feeling better now.
Tosin: (With a hacking cough) Yeah, much better.
NE: So tell us a little about yourself
Tosin: I’m 24 years old, studied in the UK for most
of my life. I left Nigeria when I was 11 years old and went
to boarding school. I studied Chemical Engineering at Imperial
College and worked as a consultant for Exxon Mobil when
I graduated. I hated the job and left after 11 months in
July 2004. It just wasn’t me.
NE: Is that when you decided you want to be a designer?
Tosin: Yes. I dug into my passions and it had to be
either dancing or fashion. Dancing, however, is something
you start doing when you’re a child so I picked fashion
designing. I’d made jewelry since I was 18 and sold to friends.
I experimented with a lot of things.
  
NE: What do you find you love most about designing?
Tosin: I definitely like the selling aspect, that’s
always nice (laughing). I also really love the technical
aspect, maybe because of my engineering background. I can’t
actually draw but I see how things should be in my mind,
what fabrics, colors, lines should go where.
NE: And what do you find is the hardest thing about what
you do?
Tosin: I didn’t have any formal training so that makes
it hard. Most of the designers out there either went to
some kind of fashion school or their parents were designers
so they’re just always been that kind of environment for
most of their lives. I invented my own way and sometimes
it worked out, but sometimes it didn’t. My boyfriend who
used to be my business partner once told me that I was trying
to build the Empire State Building with a bucket of clay
and I see so much truth in that.
NE: Interesting. If you had a chance to work with anyone
in the fashion industry right now, who would they be? And
why?
Tosin: Just one?
NE: No, go ahead. As many as you want.
Tosin: First would be Dries Von Luton, a Belgian Designer.
I love the way he combines fabrics and colors. Then Ralph
Lauren, he has this way of dressing a woman casually and
comfortably yet she still looks so spunky. Oscar De La Renta
just because he’s so classy and elegant.
NE: “The Zingara woman is highly cultured which is reflected
in her lifestyle and in the way she presents herself. She
knows how to look good and radiates individualism. She is
strikingly sophisticated, subtly provocative and seamlessly
sensual. She is free!”
Can you tell us where and what this stems from? (Culled
from Zingara.co.uk).
Tosin: It came mostly from me being bored with what
I saw in the High Street shops. I wasn’t satisfied with
what I was seeing and couldn’t find exactly what I wanted
anywhere. I knew what I wanted to look like but it seemed
like no one else did so I decided to make it for myself.
Zingara gives you a style not just for your size but something
just for you. It is completely unique because of how the
clothes are made and from what they are made.
NE: Where do you get your inspiration?
Tosin: Most people say they find their inspiration from
something outside of themselves but mine all comes from
within. I feed off myself. My technical inspiration comes
from structure and comfort. There is a difference you can
feel when you wear clothes made just for you as opposed
to wearing pre-made clothing. People might not notice it
but it fits so much better because it was made just for
your body. Majority of the designers don’t know how to make
clothes for African women with our wide hips and small waists.
I have an obsession with vintage Aso-oke as my grand mother
had such a rich taste in it. I guess that filtered down
to me. People like to embrace the new and throw away the
old but I try to revitalize the old stuff.
NE: How old is the oldest piece of fabric you own?
Tosin: I have one that’s about 200 years old and mostly
I work with stuff that’s over 60 years old. I make some
outfits and people ask me where I got the fabric from, it’s
so beautiful and I tell them I got it from some remote village
in Ondo and they’re stunned.
 
NE: Zingara, that’s a beautiful name. What does it mean,
where does it come from. Is there a story behind that?
Tosin: Zingara means Gypsy. Ever since I was a kid,
I’ve been obsessed with the romance of the gypsies. When
I was starting out, my ex-fiancé who is Italian and
I looked very hard for a name. We initially thought about
gypsy but that was too clichéd so we went through
so many names in different languages but eventually come
back to Italian and Zingara it is.
NE: Beautiful. So do you plan to ever just leave it all
behind and live La Vie Boheme?
Tosin: Oh I am already. Just looking at me should tell
you that. (Laughing).
NE: Are there any plans to do a show in the US anytime
in the near future?
Tosin: I was actually supposed to do shows in Chicago
and Florida but I had another show somewhere else at that
time so I really didn’t want to take on too much at the
time.
I was also supposed to move to California to study at a
fashion at an institute over there and my ex-fiancé
lived there at the time but that fell through so I stayed
here.
NE: What are your goals for yourself and your line in the
near future?
Tosin: My goal is to see where it goes you know, live
the destiny of the gypsy and leave it all to God.
NE: So I come to you looking to get hooked up with an outfit.
How much would that cost?
Tosin: Well that depends on what you want. There is
the Bespoke service where I work from a concept to develop
an amazing look for the occasion and that could cost anywhere
from 100-300 pounds. There’s also the Silhouette Service
which is basically a consultation process between you and
I. A fashionable ‘look’ is developed based on the predetermined
Zingara range taking into consideration your taste, body
type/shape and the purpose of the garment. The price tag
on that service is 300 pounds and above.
NE: Not bad at all. What would you tell your friends about
NigerianEntertainment.com?
Tosin: Definitely go to it!
NE: Alright then! Do you have anything you want to leave
us with? Something interesting, ground-breaking, thought-invoking
and insanely profound.
Tosin: No, not really. Normally I’d try to think of
something but I’m a little too ill today.
NE: Well we hope you feel better soon. It’s been a pleasure
talking to you. Ciao.
Tosin: Thank you, bye.
  
Visit Zingara Fashions at www.zingara.co.uk
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