Who is Nikki Khiran?
I am a fashion designer and the CEO of Nikki Khiran Couture. I am
from Kogi State. I have been a designer for almost 25 years. However; I
have been in Nigeria for 11 years.
As a designer, what inspires your designs?
I am inspired by fabrics; what I see around me: colours, jewelries
and beautiful things. I love being in exotic places, that really
inspires me and gets me going as well. So, there is a variety of things
that inspire my output and what I turn out eventually.
How was growing up like for you?
Well, growing up was quite interesting. I had my grade school and
Junior High in the United States of America and then, I came back to
Nigeria as a teenager and completed secondary school which was very
challenging. This is because my parents just took us from where we were
and brought us to Nigeria. It was a bit of a cultural shock but we
eventually got over that. I completed high school and then went to
England for my university. I am a graduate of London College of Fashion,
where I studied Fashion Design Technology.
What makes you unique from other designers?
I can’t really say what makes me unique from other designers. We are a
product of our environment, where we grew up and our experiences, all
these are what defines our style and what we produce. So of course,
having lived in different parts of the world, I think I get a lot of
inspiration and input from all the different things I have seen in my
life and that is what informs what it is that I bring out. Hence, I
can’t say what makes me unique but each designer is unique and different
in their own way.
What puts you off about fashion in Nigeria, especially among women?
Nigeria women on the whole are generally fashionable, but people
follow trends blindly. For instance, if leggings are in fashion,
everybody wants to wear leggings, not minding their size, weight and
figure. Women dress inappropriately and a lot of them don’t dress to
age, appropriately. You have 60-year old women wearing mini dresses; it
is totally inappropriate. Women should dress to age, appropriately.
There is dignity in growing up and there is dignity in growing up
gracefully but a lot of women don’t do that. When it comes to fashion in
Nigeria, often time, people can be very gaudy. I love beads, gem stones
and embellishments but within reason. Sometimes, women put too much
accessories on their clothes and it just looks gaudy.
Some women have a big stomach and bum yet they wear tight-fitting
clothes. Again, women don’t ask stylists what is appropriate for them
(the women) to wear; they just look in the fashion magazine and tell
themselves, ‘Oh, I will just go and get one of these.’ And sometimes, as
a professional, when you give people advice, they don’t listen. So
these are all the things that I find rather irritating.
What thrills you about fashion?
I just like being around beautiful things. When I am in my world,
fabrics and home decor, it excites me because I always get inspiration
and come up with something different. So, there is no particular thing I
can say that thrills me about fashion but I don’t think I would have
done anything else. But I think the only thing that could probably
thrill me is how a customer reacts to what I do. You design for
customers; they call you afterwards and say it was really beautiful and
everybody said it was gorgeous. As a designer, I like seeing people
happy with my product and that is really what excites me.
What is one fashion item you cannot do without as a woman?
There are so many facets; there is the cloth and accessories so I
love everything equally. It is a little of everything that makes a
complete outfit but I love nice smelling skin care products. Maybe that
is what I will say my weakness is because I am not into jewelry per se. I
like accessories but I like custom jewelry and precious stones.
What makes you happy about being a woman?
Being feminine, you can express yourself more when it comes to
fashion. As a woman, you can be in a dress today, a top and jeans, a
skirt and blouse, a wrap dress, silk, chiffon or lace outfits tomorrow.
We get to express ourselves a lot more and that is what I really enjoy
about fashion and about being a woman.
Define your style statement?
I am a bohemian girl. I am a 60s’ child but a throw back of the 70s’
because I was growing up in the 70s and I love floaty flowing outfits. I
love clothes that are feminine and have movement. I love nice fabrics
like chiffon, silk and so on. I am a bohemian chic.
What is your beauty secret?
I honestly don’t know if I have a beauty secret. I think that beauty
comes from the inside; it is not just an outward thing. I try and keep
myself happy and healthy and I don’t diet. I think we just have good
genes in my family. I don’t believe in too much make-up because it is
like a mask. I like people to be able to allow their face to breathe.
How do you relax?
I love watching movies at weekends when I am not working. I order my
take-outs because I love my food, sweets and ice cream. And I like
reading magazines. So once I have my books, magazines and movies, I am
cool. I don’t really like going out that much. It is the little things
in life that make me happy, not the big things.
What is your philosophy of life?
I think people should be true to themselves; people should be who
they are. I discovered that in our environment, a lot of people in my
opinion are very pretentious. I like people who are real and true to
themselves.
When you feel low or down, what do you do to make yourself happy?
I go to the spa, read motivational books, watch a good movie,
something to make me laugh; travel or hang around people that I
appreciate. And sometimes, I read my Bible.
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