How the 90’s Shaped My Today Fashion Sense

Why my wardrobe looks like I time-travelled from Lagos to London and back again

image by Dola

I was standing in my studio last week, pinning a baggy denim jacket onto my mannequin (I’ve named her Bose) when my assistant Tobi – my very good friend who thinks “vintage” means anything from 2015 – looked up and said, “babe, why are you making clothes that look like they came out of my mum’s old photo album?”

I just laughed. But the truth is, he wasn’t wrong. That jacket had exactly the same tapered shoulders and contrast stitching as the one my auntie wore to her NYSC passing-out parade back in 1996. And the high-waisted cargo pants I’d sketched next to it? Straight out of my dad’s old work uniform from when he drove taxis in Surulere.

Fashion keeps going round and round, and somehow we always end up back in the 90’s. Now don’t get me wrong – do I hate the trends of old? “No!” I think it’s had a major impact on today’s fashion in ways I never imagined and it has help in improving my fashion choice , ok you might be wondering where it all started _it started from my mom.

Mama’s Photo Box – My First Fashion Education I was born in 1998, so I missed the decade by a hair. But my mother’s wooden photo box was like a time machine I visited every weekend as a child. Hidden under piles of aso oke fabrics she’s been saving “for a special occasion” since before I was born, those photos were my first introduction and inspiration to style.

There was Mama in 1992, rocking a brightly colored tracksuit with matching bucket hat, posing in front of the National Theatre. There was my uncle in 1997, with jeans so wide you could fit two of me inside them, paired with a silk shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest. And there were the designers – Nigerian pioneers like Folorunsho Alakija, who mixed traditional adire fabrics with the bold shoulder pads everyone was wearing in Paris.

I remember asking my mum why everyone looked like they were “dressed for a party even when they were just going to the market.” She laughed and said, “In the 90’s, we didn’t do boring. Life was hard enough – we dressed to celebrate being alive.” oh and that got me thinking about some global international designer and there designs.

image by Dola

The Designers Who Changed Everything

Globally, designers like Tommy Hilfiger and Versace shaped the decade – but their influence hit differently here in Nigeria. When Hilfiger’s logo-heavy sweatshirts arrived in Lagos markets, local tailors copied them with Ankara panels and proverbs embroidered in Yoruba. That’s where I learned fashion isn’t just about what you wear – it’s about making it your own.

Versace’s bold prints and gold details inspired Nigerian designers like Deola Sagoe, who’d take 90’s slip dresses and cover them in intricate beadwork. I still have a photo of one of her 1998 gowns made entirely of kente cloth – when I made my own version last year for a show in Abuja, people went wild!

And let’s not forget our local heroes – Chris Aire started his career in the 90’s making jewelry that perfectly matched the era’s bold style. I still use his designs as inspiration for my accessories.

Why the 90’s Keep Coming Back

A few months ago, I saw a young lady at Lagos Fashion Week wearing exactly the same style of baban riga my uncle wore to my parents’ 1995 wedding – paired with chunky sneakers and a bucket hat. That’s when it hit me: fashion comes back because each generation finds new ways to make old trends relevant.

In the 90’s, Nigerians were figuring out how to balance our heritage with global influences – wearing gele headwraps with baggy jeans, or adire tops with tailored blazers. Sound familiar? That’s exactly what we’re doing today – we just have social media to share it with the world!

My wardrobe is a love letter to the 90’s: seven customized denim jackets, high-waisted pants Tobi says make me look like “a cool aunty,” and my favorite piece – a slip dress made from hand-woven aso oke fabric with platform sandals just like Mama used to wear, does that make me cool -oh yes it’s does.