She has styled everyone from corporate executives to artists and cultural icons. Her philosophy is simple: clothing is conversation. We met her at her studio in Lagos and talked for two hours about everything from wardrobe audits to the politics of the ankara blazer.
How did you start?
Theresa: Tell me how you arrived at styling as a practice — not just a profession.
Stylist: I was studying law. I hated it. But I noticed I was always the one people came to before important events — not for legal advice, for outfit advice. At some point I stopped ignoring the signal. I enrolled in a fashion styling programme and never looked back.
On the Idea of "Power Dressing"
Theresa: The phrase "power dressing" gets used a lot. What does it actually mean to you?
Stylist: It means wearing something that makes you feel like you could walk into any room and own it — not because of the label, but because of what it says about you. Power dressing is alignment. When your outside matches your inside intention, that is power.
African Women and the Fashion Gaze
Theresa: Do you think African women are seen fully in global fashion conversations?
Stylist: No. We are seen as muses, not authorities. That is changing — slowly — but it needs to change faster. African women have been setting trends for decades. We just haven't been credited for it.