From Tailoring to TV: David Olaniyi on Dress The Nation

So talk us through what happened after winning the show and tell us about the collection you designed.

Okay.

Yeah, sure.

So after winning, I got to work there for a year in the design team.

And I picked the men's design team because obviously I'm a men's wearer.

garment constructor or tailor.

So I thought it'd be easier for me to, well, just easier, but you know, I want to see how the industry works from the men's department.

I'll be fully honest.

It wasn't for me.

Okay.

The corporate world, corporate fashion is not for, for me it wasn't for me i'm i don't know how to i don't know what i would say i am in that sense but like i'm not structured my brain doesn't i have adhd as well so my brain is not structured in the corporate fashion world i understand it and there's a place for it in the fashion world and i really like and i like i'm not i'm not gonna try and like bad mouth that side of everything but it's just not my remember i said i'm like i want to stay in my lane

yeah

That wasn't my lane, but I was good to learn about it because I did learn from them, but I learned how to use the computer programs they used to design.

I learned about the programs they used to design, learned how they structure it, and I learned how they, I guess, designed their collection.

The Menzo design team is amazing there.

Like, they are really good.

They want to... they'd love to explore and they love like, you know, they want to, they want to bring things into the, into the corporate fashion world.

But the corporate fashion world is kind of capped off, you know, for me personally, there's a, there's a, there's a limit.

They can't go with too many colors because then the, the mass won't buy those things, you know?

So they have to

kind of like narrow it down so that they can get their numbers in and stuff like that.

So it's more of a numbers game, the corporate fashion thing.

And I'm more of the, heading the clouds, having fun, you know, making things, fabric and getting down and dirty with my hands and making things.

Whereas a lot of the corporate fashion is screen time, you know, like

that.

So talk us through what happened after winning the show and tell us about the collection you designed.

Okay.

Yeah, sure.

So after winning, I got to work there for a year in the design team.

And I picked the men's design team because obviously I'm a men's wearer.

garment constructor or tailor.

So I thought it'd be easier for me to, well, just easier, but you know, I want to see how the industry works from the men's department.

I'll be fully honest.

It wasn't for me.

Okay.

The corporate world, corporate fashion is not for, for me it wasn't for me i'm i don't know how to i don't know what i would say i am in that sense but like i'm not structured my brain doesn't i have adhd as well so my brain is not structured in the corporate fashion world i understand it and there's a place for it in the fashion world and i really like and i like i'm not i'm not gonna try and like bad mouth that side of everything but it's just not my remember i said i'm like i want to stay in my lane

yeah

That wasn't my lane, but I was good to learn about it because I did learn from them, but I learned how to use the computer programs they used to design.

I learned about the programs they used to design, learned how they structure it, and I learned how they, I guess, designed their collection.

The Menzo design team is amazing there.

Like, they are really good.

They want to... they'd love to explore and they love like, you know, they want to, they want to bring things into the, into the corporate fashion world.

But the corporate fashion world is kind of capped off, you know, for me personally, there's a, there's a, there's a limit.

They can't go with too many colors because then the, the mass won't buy those things, you know?

So they have to

kind of like narrow it down so that they can get their numbers in and stuff like that.

So it's more of a numbers game, the corporate fashion thing.

And I'm more of the, heading the clouds, having fun, you know, making things, fabric and getting down and dirty with my hands and making things.

Whereas a lot of the corporate fashion is screen time, you know, like

that.