OGHALÉ ALEX LAUNCHES: “ISOKO”
WHO IS ISOKO?
Oghalé Alex, recognise the name?
The Nigerian-American Creative Director & Photographer is most famously known for his minimalist photography, particularly his work with East-London brand Cold Laundry. Where his otherworldly editorials essentially put the brand on the map.
Two years on, Oghalé is back with his own venture “ISOKO” where he hopes to bring the concept of calm and connection into the fashion world, whilst trying to be as sustainable as possible.
We spoke to the founder to hear more about the brand, what challenges they’ve faced so far and how they plan to launch their debut collection “SYNCHRONY”
Hope you enjoy this one…
What’s your background? How did the brand all come about?
I am heavily inspired by the idea of calm. Calm to me, is almost like a way of life. It’s in the jazz music I listen to. It’s in the aimless walks through the park. It's in the way I handle my relationships and challenges, it’s in my outlook towards the future and all of its possibilities. It is ultimately my outlook on life that everything will be fine in the end.
I believe this idea of calm stems from my trust in God. The way I imagined my life is nothing like how it is panning out but I am comfortable with it because I feel as though God is guiding me towards a destination and the best thing I can do is go with the flow of water in my life without fighting it. The Bible asks the question, "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”. I genuinely believe stress is not worth it. It’s much easier to trust. ISOKO is my attempt to bring this sense of calm to everyone.
“ISOKO was founded in 2021 by Oghalé Alex through a desire to bring the concept of calm and connection to the world of fashion.”
Explain the brand name:
ISOKO is the name of the small tribe I come from in Nigeria. It’s also a Japanese word for Beach/Shore where a lot of the inspiration comes from. We’re hoping to bring a blend of both cultures into the values, designs, and aesthetics of the brand. It’s my personal hope that through this brand, I can better the lives of the Isoko community living in Nigeria and abroad.
In this current landscape of emerging brands, how do you differentiate from your competitors?
What I believe sets us apart is our values and stance against fast fashion. We’re trying to slow down the mechanics of fashion to provide timeless, tasteful, and well-thought-out designs meant to last for multiple seasons. Beyond that, we also believe in this idea of calm and the reducing of stress and anxiety. We are creating several programs, wellness sessions, and events all aimed at bringing us together and improving our collective mental health.
Oghalé, since your work is so widely recognised from those Cold Laundry shoots, how will you separate the two?
Virgil Abloh is someone who inspires me a lot. What he accomplished in such a short amount of time really changed how I saw fashion and designers. He made this world seem so accessible. I’m not by any means comparing myself to him but I find solace in his story and the way he worked with Kanye and eventually broke off and continued to execute his own vision with Nike and Louis Vuitton. People will always notice my influence in CL because I spent almost two years there but I also feel that now I will be able to execute my own ideas to their full potential and that will show in the direction, goals, and overall impact of ISOKO.
Your selling model itself is quite unique, only opening the store for 7 days to take pre-orders and then only making the desired amount required. What’s your reasoning for this?
We want to send shock waves through the fashion industry by proving it is possible to enjoy great designs without damaging our planet. Rather than spending 30k on stock and keeping it in a warehouse only to do sale after sale, we’ve decided we want to only produce what is sold to eliminate overproducing and behave responsibly.
With the rise of two-day shipping, a culture of overconsumption has been reinforced. You need a shirt, you buy it and get sent out. You need a pair of trousers the following week, you repeat the cycle. All of these cycles can be reduced through ordering in one installment by buying in groups of clothing that we are calling “connections” during the 7 days and reducing our carbon footprint which is what we aim to do.
We also will be taking it further by donating a percentage of every “shopping by connection” purchase to carbonfund.org to aid in our combined initiatives of reducing the world’s carbon footprint.
Due to this process, have you found any challenges so far with your production partners?
Yes, of course. Traditionally factories have MOQs (Minimum Order Quantities) which represent the minimum amount of product you have to produce for the factory to commission a project. With our unique model, we have found it hard to hit those numbers. But due to the trust we have developed with our partners, we have been able to produce very small amounts of clothing for samples, marketing, and campaigns while we save producing bigger orders for our drop on Feb 25th.
How long do you estimate your customer will have to wait between pre-order and receiving the products?
On Feb 25th, we will present our first collection for pre-order where customers can only shop for a 7 day period ending March 4th. We will then close our store and orders will go into production with our partners, only making the quantities required to help us on our mission to remove overconsumption altogether. Each collection is released just once and is never to be sold again.
Once orders have been prepared, we notify customers with a shipping confirmation. Customers can expect parcels to be delivered in 4-6 weeks. But they should be on the lookout as they will receive packages with goodies from us during this 4-6 week period with our continued thanks for their patience.
In an ideal world, which stores would you like to be stocked in? Would this fit with your selling model?
At the moment, we are happy to proceed with the model we have. However, as we grow, there are several different approaches we are considering to scale the brand but continually do so responsibly. We will still have our drops which we aim to be in high-end department stores and boutiques but we will work with these shops to make sure clothing is produced in a way that is in line with our values of reducing fashion’s carbon footprint.
What’s been the biggest challenge for you so far?
I think having time to accomplish everything has been the biggest challenge. There seems to be an endless list of tasks that need to be accomplished and each 24 hours just flies by. However, it's a challenge I’m enjoying because it feels like I'm trying to accomplish something in life that is bigger than just for myself.
What do you hope to achieve from this first collection?
I hope this first collection announces us to the world. We have such a unique perspective and hopefully, we can show the world through our collection how responsible fashion can actually be a cool thing that goes beyond the buzzwords.
What is a weird fact about the brand that not many people know?
I feel a mixture of emotions including nervousness, excitement, and gratitude. I don’t know how my idea will be received or how it will spread but I, more than anything, feel optimistic that this brand will become something that not only changes my life but the lives of so many people in the world.
With this being your debut, can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind it?
The SYNCHRONY Collection, which is our first collection, is inspired by the blending of artistic performance and fashion, silhouetted with the freedom to express. Synchrony is designed to be worn together and every piece is named after an artist in one of several different fields.
What are your favourite pieces from the new collection?
My absolute favourite pieces are the Wiley Wool Cardigan. It was designed affectionately with comfort at its core and feels like a warm hug from a loved one. I love that it can be worn multiple ways with its adjustable collar. It’s a super flexible piece that I find myself reaching for most days.
What other products can we expect to see from you all soon?
I want us to make a statement in fashion with more stylish and essential pieces throughout other seasons of the year. I’m particularly looking forward to our Summer Collection and playing with new fabrics and materials as well as telling new stories. However, there are so many ideas and the potential seems limitless. We hope to step into homeware, architecture, wearable tech, and other interesting fields, all relating back to “calm”.
What are 3 key pieces of information which consumers should take away from this interview?
I would love for people to know that ISOKO is a place of calm and it is built on the foundations of experiencing this calm in our environments and communities. We are here to change the world by not only bringing this idea of calm to everyone, but also taking a strong stance against fast fashion with our new concept called “calm fashion” aimed at slowing down the mechanics of fashion to provide timeless, tasteful, and well thought out designs you can wear for multiple seasons. We will cease overproduction in fashion and behave responsibly to reduce our carbon footprint for 2022 and beyond.
Where do you see the brand in 5 years?
Hopefully, in that time, ISOKO has a global presence with a reach that exceeds our imaginations. Not only do we want to achieve the economic goals of being a multimillion-dollar business, but we want to make real change in Africa with strides being made in the grassroots of our communities. Notwithstanding, we want ISOKO to be the end of fast fashion. We hope ISOKO can bring the world a calm approach to fashion that allows us to enjoy high-quality essentials and interesting designs but also behave more responsibly towards our planet.
ISOKO launches its debut collection ‘SYNCHRONY’ on 25.02.22 for 1 week only, take a look at the full collection below. Link to shop here.