One of our favourite Women’s History Month highlights was “Inspired by HER“. a new series by the eponymous Nigerian fashion brand, Desirée Iyama, synonymous with bold femininity and timeless artistry.

Tobi Hamilton wearing Desirée Iyama’s Dahlia Midi Dress in Cobalt

This series explores the lives of some prominent women flourishing in their respective fields and basking in the euphoria of their femininity:

from Tomi George, the creative director of Ava and George — a children’s fashion brand; to Jumoke Michael-Ojo a multi-enterprise founder, a business strategist, and a certified life coach; Tobi Hamilton, the founder and managing director of THE HOUSE  — a leading social house; Feyi Bello is the Founder/CEO of Locke & Pewter Consulting — a business development agency; and Tolani Tayo-Osikoya, popularly known as Diary Of A Kitchen Lover, a Nigerian Chef, food blogger, recipe developer, tutor, and entrepreneur.

These fascinating women share their experiences as modern women and mothers maintaining their unique femininity in March 2024. Explore their episodes below:

Chef T as March Muse

Tolani Tayo-Osikoya, popularly known as “Diary of a Kitchen Lover” is a Nigerian food blogger/recipe developer, food tutor, and entrepreneur. She shares amazing food pictures and curates detailed recipes from regular home cooking ingredients to the delight of her over 1 million Instagram followers.

Filled with positivity, faith and charisma, Tolani is recognised as one of the “Top 50 Most Impactful Voices of Women in Africa”. Thank you Tolani for letting us into your space.

— Desirée Iyama

See Tolani in Desirée Iyama’s Meraki Midi Dress (Colour: Rose)

With an over 2,000,000-large community across all platforms, Diary of a Kitchen Lover has consistently inspired both genders in many ways from simplified recipes to kitchen hygiene, kitchen organisation, cookware, equipment and general lifestyle. She is also a brand ambassador for Nigeria’s #1 dishwashing liquid, Morning Fresh.

A desire to explore the art of food led her to pursue an international certification in the prestigious Italian Chef Academy in Rome, Italy. Watch her full interview clip below:

Each month this year, Desirée Iyama we will be highlighting one visionary African woman from various fields, as a source of inspiration for our styles, colours, prints and more.

If you know a woman in her element, making a phenomenal impact within her industry and/or community, Nominate her for this series by tagging her Instagram handle on the @desireeiyamaofficial’s post above

CREDITS

Outfits: @desireeiyamaofficial
Videography: @eniksnuel
Makeup: @b_glamsignatures

International Women’s Day

In honour of International Women’s Day, Desirée Iyama introduced and honoured four (4) inspiring women on the ‘Inspired by HER’ series: Tomi George, Jumoke Michael-Ojo, Tobi Hamilton, and Feyi Bello.

Inspire Inclusion

As women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things, and we’ll all be better off for it.

— Ruth Bader Ginsburg

1. Tomi George

Tomi George is the creative director of Ava and George (A&G), a children’s fashion brand. She’s also the owner of Ava & George Toys, a company that makes educational toys and accessories for children.

As a serial entrepreneur with a background in medicine, She has consistently demonstrated a keen business acumen and a commitment to excellence. Her leadership has propelled A&G to the forefront of the children’s fashion industry where the brand stands as a testament to her dedication to quality and customer satisfaction.

In addition to her entrepreneurial endeavours, She is also the compassionate force behind “Black Girl Can”, an empowerment initiative dedicated to uplifting young Nigerian girls in underprivileged communities with educational puzzles and toys.

Watch her full interview below:

2. Jumoke Michael-Ojo

Jumoke Michael-Ojo is a multi-enterprise founder, a business strategist, and a certified life coach. Her business interests cut across the events, creative, and professional sectors.

As the founder of Mandies Cocktails, a leading cocktail catering company in Nigeria, she has strategically positioned the company as a household name within the event sector and beyond. The Company under her leadership, is a three-time award winner of the prestigious event industry award APPOEMN.

Her purpose of igniting women to engage in goal-oriented and transformational conversations led her to launch the Goal UP network, a women’s group coaching community where women meet to discuss and reflect over curated events, seminars, workshops, and retreats at the Goal Up Brunch.

As a creative entrepreneur, business strategist, and founder of So House Agency, she partners with individuals and businesses to strategically position for growth and sustained success. Jumoke is a wife, twin mum, and a lover of style and fashion.

Watch her full interview below:

3. Tobi Hamilton 

Tobi Hamilton is a creative entrepreneur and business professional with 15 years of experience across various sectors. She is the founder and managing director of THE HOUSE, a leading social house concept founded in 2018. She recently founded THE TERRACE, a quaint and cosy rooftop introduced to the public in February 2023, adding more accolades to her restauranteur and hospitality journey.

Tobi also owns a Marketing Agency called Hamilton & Hamilton where she works with existing & new brands on branding, strategy, content, and marketing, and ensuring existing brands and startups have a platform to think bigger, penetrate new and existing markets seamlessly using storytelling and compelling strategies to execute their objectives.

She is an Executive Director at Balosh Integrated Services, a leasing car park management and access control company in Lagos.

Tobi Hamilton Wearing Desirée Iyama’s Dahlia Midi Dress in Cobalt shot by @lifestylewithuche

Tobi is a recent Harvard Business School alumni who also holds an MSc. (distinction) in Strategic Marketing and Competitive Intelligence as well as a Professional Marketing Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) UK.

Before moving to Africa, Tobi worked with international brands like Best Buy, G-Star Raw, and The Abercrombie group amongst others. Her new podcast, TotallyonBrand, delves into the world of entrepreneurship, career, branding, marketing and real-life challenges.

Watch her full interview below:

4. Feyi Bello 

Feyi Bello is the Founder/CEO of Locke & Pewter Consulting, a business development agency aimed at helping brands communicate clearly with their target audience. She is a writer and the Editor-in-chief of Perfete, an online community of brides, brides-to-be, moms, moms-to-be, celebrating life in all its stages.

Feyi’s goal is to create safe spaces for women to have open and honest conversations about the issues that we face especially in motherhood and is working tirelessly to build these communities.

Watch her full interview below:

Mother’s Day

Desirée Iyama’s 4 IWD Muses discuss motherhood on this Mother’s Day episode of Inspired by HER. Watch the Teaser below:

See the full clip below:

Watch Chef T’s Mother’s Day message below:

All the lovely outfits rocked on this series are from @desireeiyamaofficial