Michael Okunloro | Elevate Your Style

 People always want to know how my journey into the world of fashion began. While I have been influenced by so many people at  different points in my career, it was my mother who made  the greatest impact in shaping my ever blooming career. How dare I go on a  twenty-one-day journey writing about men’s fashion without paying homage to  her. 
 

Looking back now, my mother had always been an epitome of style and grace. Born into  the Shikuloye royal family of Ijebuland, my mother was an amazing Ijebu princess. And those who know the Ijebus well can attest to their love for exotic parties and high sense of style. So when you speak of nobility, respect, style, character, poise, class and love, my mother effortlessly exuded these qualities. Expectedly, she nurtured us with these values. My mum was beautiful in and out. Her heart was as pure as the water from the spring. 
 

Professionally, my mum couldn’t practice as a nurse because she was so empathetic when she  saw people in pain. Subsequently, mumsy made the switch to the aviation industry. During her time as an aviation practitioner, one of her experiences became my guiding light and source of inspiration. One time, a client visited my mother’s office on three separate occasions and my mother had the  same clothes on on these visits. Of course, this was purely coincidental but it made my mum vow never to be caught in the same look ever again, she will always find a creative way to restyle her outfit to avoid repeating a look. 

I never cease to tell my friends, if my mum belonged to the social media generation, she would have been a big influencer. Etched in my memory are images  of her ransacking her wardrobe, and  creatively styling a particular outfit for different occasions. This was how I caught the habit of styling one  outfit for several types of event. 
 
As kids, although my siblings and I had limited clothings, we weren’t exempted from this rule. My mum ensured we never repeated a look to church. All of this had influenced me to pick my style from an early age. Before I became a fully fledged teenager, I had mastered the art — no palm slippers to church, no sandals to school, and your black shoe must never lose its shine. She reinforced this culture by reminding us of our royal heritage.  

 
I remember when I just started my career as an event host, my mum was ever present at my rehearsals. She was the life of the party so she knew what it took to plan and execute a perfect event. Her advise for me was to go for colored suits so I could stand out from the groom and guests. Did it work for me? Yes!!! The first thing people noticed was my style even before my skills. They simply believed for me to look that good, I must be a “show killer.” Guess what? I never failed to deliver. 

This was how my journey into prominence began. Sadly, I lost my mum on the 30th day of March 2022, to  a kidney disease after a failed transplant. It was a tough one to take. 

In March 2021, just before she went to be with the Lord, she reached out to me stating she wanted me to plan and styled her for a birthday photoshoot. Her request  sounded odd as she was turning 58. While every birthday is important, I pleaded she waited until the BIG 60 so we could go all out. Fortunately, she refused. The only option was to grant her request. 

Thanks to Jide Odukoya (my cousin who is a wonderful photographer) and his wife, despite his busy schedule, he was magnanimous enough to make out time for my mother’s photoshoot. To put things in proper context, this was during the busy Easter period where he was fully booked, and  had genuine reasons to cancel.

Today, I am super grateful we had the shoot as the images remind me of who she was. Those were her last images before she passed away. Those were my mother’s last request from me. 
 
 
On this note I will like to say thank you all for reading with me. It’s been 21 days of bliss, and I honestly will not have been able to do this without your support and kind words. Please hit up the button to follow my blog and to hear from me.