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I bring out the ‘Queen’ in every girl –CEO of Rikaoto By Me

Maryam Elisha is the CEO of Rikaoto By Me fashion brand which is famous for styling beauty queens. In this interview with Ifeoma Ononye, she speaks about her brand prepping Washington DC fashion week and how her brand has remained relevant over the years

 

 

You fashion brand has styled almost all the beauty pageant contests organised here in Nigeria. From Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria, MBGN to Miss Nigeria, to Miss Earth, Miss Tourism Nigeria and Most Elegant Girl In Nigeria, would you say you are fulfilling the dream that inspired you to go into catering for beauty queen’s wardrobe?

 

I am fulfilling that dream and I am glad. Whenever there is an opportunity to style Beauty Queens, I get more excited and nostalgic sometimes. It takes me back to the days when I was a model and was ready to go for the beauty contests I had signed up for back in those days.

The decisions I made back then led me to were I am today. Many already know this story but I will tell it again. I started my career as a model. I won Miss Valentine in 2007 and later on after my win, I established a foundation called ‘Save Tomorrow Today’. So after setting up the foundation, it was difficult funding the foundation. I started looking for sponsors here and there.

 

So I started thinking of what to do that would help me raise funds to support the foundation, so I thought of fashion designing because I love fashion.

 

The fashion I wanted to do was the type that would bridge the gap in the beauty pageant industry.

 

Back then, there were few designers that made dresses for beauty pageant contestants. Young girls could not afford these designers because they were exclusive. You had to have a big sponsor to afford those dresses. This was what inspired me to design for beauty pageant contestants.

 

Your brand Rikaoto By Me has styled many Beauty Queens. Can you share some of the big names that have walked the catwalk with your design?

 

They are so many but I will try. We have designed a lot of evening dresses for many beauty pageant contestants and a few beauty queens have won wearing our design.

 

Starting from the point when Silvia Nduka won the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, MBGN, we made her costume and she won the best traditional outfit that year. Also Collete Nwadike, the first black girl to win Exquisite Face of the Universe 2015 was wearing Rikaoto By Me outfit. And that is an international pageant.

 

So we have been able to clothe a lot of contestants and we are also very lucky to have contestants emerge winners wearing our designs. It’s a lucky trademark for us. We have worked with Miss Earth pageant for two years in a row now. The 2018 winner of Miss Earth, Maristella Okpala is still our ambassador till date.

 

Speaking of Maristella, you recently rewarded the former Miss Earth with the sum of N5million for a job well done for the Rikaoto brand. Why that move?

 

Maristella has been a brand ambassador for Rikaoto By Me for five years now. She has done a lot of free jobs for the brand. It was the right time to give her a big reward for her loyalty and hard work. We usually pay her on the go based on different jobs she has done.

There are times she will fly in from abroad just for our shoot and not ask anything in return.

 

I felt that it was time to reward her because she has been doing so much towards the growth of the brand and there is no better time than during her birthday this year.

 

What do you look out for before making someone an ambassador of your brand?

 

First of Fall we look out for someone who is passionate about our brand. Someone who is willing to work with us to move our brand to the next level.

 

We also look out for someone who has what it takes in terms of looks and personality, great carriage to bring out the beauty of our dress through photoshoot.

 

Your pageant background keeps fueling your passion for styling beauty queens. You make wedding dresses too. Is that still part of what you design.

 

The fire in me that burns from coming from a pageant background is what is pushing me to to excel in all I do. I still make wedding dresses. I still style celebrities for red carpet events and make general dresses for different occasions but I cannot hive up my specialty which is designing for beauty pageant. I went through all the process of being a contestant.

 

So I know the kind of dress that is required. I know what my mistakes were in the past. So I know the best way to prepare the girls better. I have also been a judge in different beauty pageants so I know what the judges are looking for. So when I am designing their dresses, I want to make them to look elegant; I want to make them stand out.

 

I want when they walk on the stage people will say ‘yes this is a statement dress’ or a statement look. Many times, a girl may look really fine but the packaging may make them look really down but when you have the right dress, the right make up and the right fitting.

 

The judges will have no choice but to say this girl has to win this. I make sure the dresses will wow the audience and the judges will be impressed and she is standing out amongst other people. I make sure that I bring out the queen in every girl that wears my design.

You said the brand is bigger and better now. Share some of the success story.

 

Now we have a massive showroom to receive our clients. We have improved in terms of our services and quality and delivery. I feel there is need to expand more. We are currently in discussion with some outlet stores in the US to be able to supply them our product. We are also doing Washington DC fashion week in September by Gods grace. We are already working on a collection for it.

 

Tell us about the pageants you won…

 

I started modeling when I was about 16 and then later I auditioned for Miss Valentine Nigeria beauty pageant in 2007 and won. I also contested in many other beauty pageants  where I was first runner up. I was also first runner up Miss Abuja 2006.

How does all these feel like for a brand that is about clock to a decade?

 

I feel very lucky, grateful and honored because there are so many other designers out there. Its just a great opportunity for me to be the one in the line.

 

Having started from a pageant background as a model, I know most of the things that the girls are expecting and I know what the judges are expecting as well. When I started this brand, I just wanted to make dresses that will fit into what beauty pageants want.

 

I just told myself that I have to do something for this sector because we don’t have designers focusing on pageant girls or focusing on beauty queens that are representing us out there.

 

Designers just get to random stuffs for clients but we have to look out for that beauty queen detail, we look out for what other international contestants are wearing; what they are expecting from the contestants.

 

Sometimes we get guide lines from these organizers, from Miss World or Miss Universe.

 

They usually give guidelines on what they are expecting for their dresses to be like. Miss Earth few years back, gave us details of colours for us to work with. Sometimes, it is that specific with what they want and they expect you to be creative with what they are giving you. It’s a great platform for me. I am having fun. I enjoy it.

 

Are you the one that does all the sketches?

 

I do most of the sketches but sometimes I have other artists come up with their own designs and I choose the best. If we have a contestant, the first thing we do is to do a sketch of what we want the person to wear; we sketch even the hairstyle that will suit the dress. I tell different people to do a sketch for me. They come up with something I choose the best tow. I look at what to change or add.

Your dresses always look luxurious, many believe it’s made abroad. Is this true?

 

We make our dresses from scratch to finish here in Nigeria, including all the detailing, all the crystals. We use a lot of unique fabrics and most of the time we use a lot of detailing to distract attention from people knowing the exact fabric.

 

Most of our dresses are very detailed that may be what gives it those exotic looks that make people think they are not made here in Nigeria. Many people think most of these detailing can only be done in China or in America, No, they can be done here in Nigeria. All we need to do is get the right stones and fringes. We do them manually.

 

How did you get the name, Rikaoto?

That is my middle name. I from Kebbi State so that is like a tribal name. Rikaoto means something that is fruitful. Rikaoto design is a work of art. They are wearable work of art.

Aside beauty queens wearing you brand, where are you expecting Rikaoto By Me to be accepted?

 

We are looking forward to see the brand move forward from where it is right now. We will like to have other international celebrities to wear our brand; by so doing we are selling our country to the world. We will like the international community know that these kinds of fashion brands can be gotten from Africa and Nigeria.

 

Though we have international people orderi n g dresse s from us, we are just saying that we look forward to more.

 

Have you had celebrities walk the red carpet in your brand?

 

Yes, we had a few at the AMVCA. Some of the celebrities are great to work with. They go out of their way to sit with you from the sketches till the dress comes alive and they pay.

 

 

You are hardly seen at red carpet events and you hardly wear jeans and t-shirts. Why is that?

 

 

I wear jeans and t-shirts when am at home or for a casual day at the office. But I don’t do photoshoot with jeans. I am not really a make up person, except I have a big event or meeting with a client.

 

On the part of red carpet events, I am too shy for red carpet. I am the quiet type. I like to work in my factory and go back home. I don’t like trouble. I like my private life and I don’t like being in the eye of the public. I don’t like noise. I don’t like attention to myself ex- cept its for the brand.

 

Some p e o p l e say I am pretty and that I should model my designs too but I cannot do the designing a n d model as well. I do well as a designer. I am alw a y s u n – der stress trying to meet up with target. Being a designer is very demanding. It will be very difficult to model as well because I get so many orders.

What are the challenges you face mostly?

 

I will say electricity. If there is constant electricity, the job will be a lot easier. All our factory and stone machines need light. Also the staff, most of them are not stable. They want to go and start their own thing. You notice you keep training people and they don’t stay.

 

How many of these evening dresses do you have in your wardrobe? Funny enough I don’t have a lot because I rarely wear such big dresses. when I do have, I wear them once and give it out. I am no longer a beauty queen. Now I am a fashion designer. My job is to make sure people look good.

 

I really don’t have the time to wear such gowns except for shoots or events. I have a lot of shoes and bags in my wardrobe. I can wear anything and just go scot free.

You said you are a fashionista. What is your definition of a fashionista?

 

I will not say I dress more than anybody else but I know that I love to be comfortable when I am well dressed. I just wear clothes generally and I love to look good. I love to appear presentable.

To me that is being classy. That everything you are putting on is expensive does not make you fashionable or classy. It can be cheap but you look good.

 

Your social media handle shows you love luxury boxes and luxury items?

Yes I love luxury boxes; I love expensive jewelries like real gold and diamonds.

 

I don’t usually wear accessories but when I do want to wear jewelries, I make sure they are the real thing. I admire those wear jewelry all the time. I admire cheap jewelry on people but I cannot wear it. I feel its stress putting them on. I believe that if I must wear, it has to be the real ones to worth the stress. Maybe because I am Hausa. In my culture, we love to wear gold accessories or jewelry. I was brought up that way.

 

These days what I wear is accessories with diamonds. The good thing about me is that I can do without these fashion items. I am not crazy about most things or too attached to them.

If you are not a designer, what other careers would you have thrived in?

 

May be a lawyer. I think I would have been a good lawyer because I love doing things

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