Mowalola Interview: Designing WET Tees w/ Ye, Making Music, Custom Clothes for Playboi Carti & Drake

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In this interview, Arshan sat down with the multi-hyphenate designer, artist, and creative extraordinaire Mowalola in an eccentric Brooklyn loft to discuss everything from her ubiquitous fashion label to worldbuilding within music to her unique working relationship with Kanye. Arshan and Mowalola delve into her story, growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, to two creative parents where – through birth – Mowalola was cut from a different clothe and exposed to creative outlets from an early age and pursued them throughout her schooling years where she ultimately moved to the UK to attend the prestigious CSM (Central Saint Martins) Art School in London for undergrad and a year of Masters of Arts. Although she credits her time at CSM for the foundation in the fashion industry it provided her, she dropped out while pursuing her M.A. because she felt restricted and wanted more creative freedom to express themes she was passionate about, and those themes of sexual expression and confidence run rampant through the DNA of everything Mowalola makes as she masters every medium from fashion to music.

While creating an impressive brand of her own, Mowalola was able to learn from legendary designer Grace Wales Bonner, who redefined what fashion could look like and set her on track for creating clothing and shows that felt representative of her own experience vs. the historically white-washed presentation of fashion that the industry was so unfortunately used to. While cutting her teeth, building Mowalola into the powerhouse that it is now, Kanye caught on early and wanted to work with Mowa for his Yeezy line. Although she initially turned down the offer, their relationship didn’t end there. They finally started working around North West’s birthday celebration of all things, which really sparked their working relationship and, ultimately, them working together on Yeezy x GAP & the inescapable WET tanks that are on any and everyone to this day. Her star has risen since, working with artists like Skepta and Bktherula and ultimately catching the eye of Playboi Carti and Opium, who regularly rep her work, and also notably Drake.

Mowalola is gearing up to release music. Find out more in this interview.

Host @ktoarshan
Producers @ktoarshan @jack.kissane
Filming @wav3_visuals @kahhre
Editing @ktoarshan @Mikkyfilmz
Special help @jack.kissane @antoniojohri

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Making the craziest fashion show soundtracks

2:18 - Growing up between Lagos & the UK

4:22 - Arshan & Mowalola are both from Surrey??

4:49 - Attending prestigious CSM Art School in London

5:22 - Dropping out: feeling creatively drained in school

6:18 - Mowalola’s advice for creatives

7:37 - Falling in love with Alexander McQueen, XULY.Bët, & Wales Bonner

8:06 - Grace Wales Bonner: black representation in fashion

8:50 - Viral moments with WET tanks, walkman hat, & shows

9:03 - Worldbuilding within fashion shows

9:23 - Working with Kanye & Skepta early on

9:35 - Kanye cold-calling Mowalola & it being more tea than business

10:12 - Telling Kanye she wasn’t ready to work with him

10:56 - North West’s outfits birthed Mowalola & Ye’s working relationship

12:01 - Mowa & Ye’s WET tanks being EVERYWHERE

12:43 - Ye saying Dior’s Kim Jones is washed

14:13 - WET tank becoming “VLONE for females”

14:59 - Empowering through her clothes & sexual expression

15:25 - A&R’ing records for Ye on VULTURES

16:41 - Dealing with rejection & creating Mowalola from it

18:21 - Yeezy x GAP job happened because of British Fashion Council rejection

19:20 - Bktherula modeling for Mowalola’s Dark Web show

19:39 - Mowalola’s creative process intersecting music & fashion

20:19 - Being a huge Rema fan

20:48 - Worldbuilding with music in her collections

21:08 - Forthcoming collection & accompanying album ‘Dirty Pop’

21:42 - Being tapped in with Nettspend?!

22:13 - Brennan Jones having good energy

22:50 - Making “dirty pop” on her next project

23:42 - Working with JT from City Girls for Beats x Mowalola

24:24 - Carti & Opium being fans of & wearing Mowalola

25:00 - Being done with 1of1’s after custom Timberlands

25:47 - Drake wearing her custom Halle Berry jacket: 1st custom

26:46 - Being an independent designer: learning to say no

27:41 - Mowalola’s modern guide to marketing

29:15 - Being supportive of TikTok brands & young designers

30:02 - Feeling restricted in traditional fashion: doing it her own way

31:14 - Being canceled for putting Saudi Arabian flag on a skirt

33:03 - Pushing boundaries with fashion & Mowalola’s polarizing reception

33:43 - Mowalola’s advice: “Be weird!”

34:48 - Mowalola inviting Arshan to Nigeria

Tags (please ignore):
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