Zashadu bags are considered “exquisite.” Zainab Ashadu founder of Zashadu bags is, to put it mildly, determined to build her brand of made in Nigeria luxury purses. In an interview with Ndanilifestyle, the designer who has launched a new line tagged ‘An extraordinary life’ shared about her creative journey, her process, the challenges of local production and more. Excerpts
What led you to become a bag designer?
At the age of 8, I developed an interest in a particular handbag; and it stuck in my mind which was odd because I wasn’t particularly a girly girl. Getting older, I had a lot of interests – I was an actress for a while, and then I went into architecture, languages, styling, modeling. But as I explored these interests, I got to the end of each of them wondered – what next? And then one day I ran into a friend who asked what I was doing and when I told her, she was surprised because she had always thought I was studying fashion in school because of the way I dressed. So after that conversation I began to think towards exploring the passion I have had for bags for a long time. I always liked vintage bags and I had amassed a large collection of 200 bags by the time I was 21. The idea of a bag lasting 30-40 years was cemented in my head and as I kept on collecting, and kept thinking there’s this one bag that I cant find. Then I realized it was my own bag that was missing from my collection that I need to create. And then I decided to go back to school. I went back to the London college of Fashion and took up a short course in the evening classes and I learned how to construct bags. And then I did an apprenticeship with another handbag designer and that taught me a lot about the business side, and a lot of other things I needed to learn that are invaluable to me and that was it. The more I explored the more interest I had in it unlike my earlier pursuits, it never ended and here I am today.
Who is the Zashadu woman?
She is a leader in her field, more style led than fashion led, drawn towards structured looking things and very simple aesthetic. She’s between 27 and 55.
What cultural influences, if any, do you draw from?
Being from Edo State, there are cultural influences I draw from like for a specific collection, my grandmother who used to be a weaver inspired me, so I mixed weaving techniques into traditional leather techniques and that was a very nice collection. And also, the myth of the python has also inspired me. In my village, the python is revered and respected as an animal, not hunted after. There is a story of how the python saved them from a war and all. So I draw inspiration from things like that.
What is your vision for the brand?
Well for now, I am more interested in developing the training aspect of the whole operation. For example it takes 3 years to train as a Zashadu artisan, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. It is very labour intensive and it is miracle I have artisans who are working with me and wish to be trained because we are not exactly known for taking care of our artisans the best, or upholding them in any kind of way and though there isn’t anything protecting them from bad employers, we will not take advantage of that. And there is a growing need for more artisans and also for people to be employed so I want to expand that so I can take more people on and pass on knowledge from the masters currently to new artisans and going some way to creating solutions to problems we have in our society. It is a real source of pride for me to continue to create employment and change the perception of ‘made in Nigeria’ .
Would you say your brand is unique because its made in Nigeria?
It is human beings making things, and it is not magic. People are pleasantly surprised to know that it is made in Nigeria. It makes me feel proud.‘The Made in Nigeria’ slogan is very pretty, because it hides lots of things. Yes, you should buy Nigerian but there are many things that prevent there being certain quality or standard of that goods that makes people not want to buy Nigerian. If we can start up a conversation and we could get people to start looking inwards but I think it is much deeper than that. But you live in Nigeria and through all the bad experiences we have had it is good we are also connected by something positive too. It actually makes a difference and is good for people’s wallets too.
How do you think Social Media has helped your brand?
I find social media a very important tool for freedom. I am attracted to things that are classic. Social media helps a designer think differently, find my voice and express my brand in a way that I want to. Of course you have to be smart and the ability to communicate directly with our clients, is wonderful to be able to show different aspects of the brand and advertise in a minute, catching attention. You also have to be conscious of the social environment on social media before you post. I love and enjoy the fluidity of social media.