O’Saunders Returns with a Bang 

Mary Nnah

After a few years break from the fashion sector, talented designer, Olabisi Saunders, owner and creative director of O’Saunders, a fashion brand, is making a comeback in a grand style. 

At the private viewing of her new collection, “Metamorphose”, recently in Ikoyi, Lagos, Saunders, who makes the designs from scratch by herself, starting from the creative processes to the finishing, said, “I was born into it. My mom is a fashion designer. So, it is something I was born into. Then I went to a fashion school in Ghana to study, so my Bachelor of Arts is in Fashion Designing.”

Professionally, Saunders has been a fashion designer since 2015, however, she took a break from 2019 to 2023 for medical reasons and also to find herself but now she is fully back. She made a comeback recently with “Metamorphose”, her very first collection after a long break.

Speaking on the motif behind her new collection, she said, “This particular collection, called, “Metamorphose”, it’s like coming out. I was inspired by the butterfly. You know a butterfly comes from the larva stage up to a full-blown butterfly. That is pretty much how my life has been since 2019 till now. I wanted to stay back and find myself, health-wise, personally and everything.    I think I have and so I am out now flapping my wings as a full-grown butterfly.

While on recess for that period, Saunders was not idle even though she undoubtedly missed the industry.

“Obviously I did miss the industry and doing shows but all of these being at the back end of everything, I have been producing even while I was away. So, if you go to my store now, you will find clothes that I have produced even though I wasn’t fully into it.

On what inspires her designs, she said, “Nature, life, paintings and other things.

I paint on my pieces and most of my works are hand painted, so obviously I like any cotton-based fabric. I also love structure that is why most of the time you find me working with structure.

Saunders, who does clothing for both male and female as well as accessories, spoke of her target audience, she said, “A confident man or woman, who can take risks in dressing up. When you look at my collections you can tell that it is a risk-taking collection. They are not things that somebody who is on the fence can wear. So, if you follow what the society has to say about you, then I don’t think you can dress up in some of my designs.”

For her, “It is okay to sometimes take a back seat and think about yourself and business, because sometimes people just put themselves out there when they are not ready. But for me, I think you have to be ready because this business comes with a lot of ups and downs – financially, mentally and socially, you have to be there.

“ I am one person that does not like going out but with this come back, I have to start going out because you need to network as a designer. Another thing I am passing is that, no matter what you go through in life, the most important thing is how you come out of it. 

“I want to say a big thank you to my clientele for holding it down for O’Saunders. I know a lot of people have been asking when I will come back. Well, O’Saunders is here and with a bang.”