The Vintage Colette Woman Series Photoshoot

The Vintage Colette photo shoot was inspired as a form of tribute to celebrate female entrepreneurs as every day women. We wanted to bridge the gap and allow our customers to relate well with our brand. We decided to start with entrepreneurial women from a vast range of businesses who understood what it meant to run a business within Nigeria. It took four months to prepare for this photo shoot from day one to the day of the photo shoot. Even though I had initially been advised against the idea as this was contrary to what any Nigerian designer had ventured into, I chose to go ahead because I was a woman, a designer and an entrepreneur. I knew that I could be as contrary as I wanted to be because otherwise, I would be in a constant state of collapse whenever I innovated anything.

I wanted to celebrate these women who are realistic, strong, focused and determined to excel. They motivate me and consistently keep myself and other women true to their core. Each fabric, style and color was designed for the persona and style of the female entrepreneur wearing Vintage Colette. The looks are different, but the souls are the same, as are the things and people that constantly inspire me in life. That is the true persona of the Vintage Colette woman. 

This photo shoot is a celebration of personal style that ignores the demand from the outside, a carefully followed and well researched journey, one that I hope would serve me for many more years ahead. 

- Binta Shuaibu