When over 50k people follow you on social media just to see your every #OOTD pic, it eventually comes as no surprise when fashion brands are looking to team up with you to create some fashionable pieces around your style. This is currently the case for Derin Odugbesan, who has just joined other top influencers and released a collaborative collection with fast-rising womenswear brand Ayaba. 

Announcing the collection, she shared an emotional write-up explaining that it was created with love, laughter, happiness and anxiety:

I second-guessed myself for over a year and a half before finally deciding to just do this. I wanted to make sure it was as inclusive of different body types and styles as much as possible and not reflective of just my own. And that was harder than I realised at first! But we got there in the end, fingers crossed! ⁣⁣My hope is that every woman finds one thing they love from this collection. ⁣⁣This is me sharing a bit of myself with you, actually, who am I kidding Fashion and Style is a lot of me. Something for you, through my lens. Derinfromisaleeko x Ayaba was created with so much love, laughter, happiness, anxiety and every other feeling in between.

This is a huge step not only for Derin, who joins the higher level of influencer success by launching her own line but also for Ayaba Woman, as the collaboration will expose the brand to a more diverse fan base.

Read our interview with DerinfromIsaleeko to discover more about the new collection.

BNS: What inspired this collaboration and why did you decide to break into this aspect of the fashion industry?
Derin: This collaboration is long overdue, I have always wanted to do it for over a year now but kept pushing it to the back burner, and a lot of anxiety and nervousness just really hindered it from coming to light. Decided to work and collaborate with AYABA because we have been creating magic for me personally over the years and she already understands my style so it just made sense, and I am so glad I decided on her, it’s been so amazing. Designing is definitely a huge part of me, especially designing for myself and I decided to share that now with everyone, and the love has been deafening in such an amazing way. excited for what the future holds.

BNS: Who is the new collection for?
Derin: This collection is for every woman that wants to look and feel nice and sexy without doing too much, I would like to think the pieces are minimal but gets the message across like ‘I do know how to look good’, I also wanted it to be very inclusive of all body shapes and sizes, letting everyone know that no matter their style they would find something they love and can relate to in the collection.

BNS: What are your favourites from this debut collection?
Derin: Haha I honestly they are all my FAVORITES, one minute I’m loving this particular piece and the next minute I’m torn between another, so I love all of them, although if I was to pick I would pick the more versatile pieces, that could be restyled to look totally different atom their initial look. So the separates. BUT I LOVE THEM ALL EQUALLY, THEY ARE MY BABIES. LOL.

BNS: Can we expect a stand-alone fashion brand in the future?
Derin: I definitely want to explore more of designing, but right now juggling a lot of things and design takes so much attention that I don’t think my head is there right now. But that being said, watch out! You never know.

See the full collection

Credits
Designs: @derinfromisaleeko x @ayabawoman
Hair: @hikkyshair
Makeup: @fisolami_
Photographer: @@kosolonwudinjor
Earrings: @raya.jewellery from @41_luxelagos