Mariam Ola-Hassan, is the founder and creative director at Mar’Orlah.
MAR’ORLAH is a budding fashion brand in Lagos, Nigeria focused on Bespoke luxury bridal wear, luxury evening dresses, and reception dresses. The brand was born out of Mariam Ola-Hassan’s love for intricate details and Hi-end dresses.
The story of Mariam testifies to the can-do spirit of an average Nigerian. The UNIBEN B.Sc. graduate of Human Anatomy saw a vacuum in her crave for luxury but modest dresses as a Muslim lady. She then saw the potential in doing fashion designing business and grabbed the opportunity therein with both hands. Within 6 years of setting up her fashion brand, she has continued to gradually grow Marorlah and the Marorlah Fashion Academy to great repute. She is highly sought after both at home and abroad. Few months ago, she featured in a couple of runway shows of International standard.
In a chat with Citypeople, the highly creative fashion designer, Mariam, spoke at length about her journey into the fashion designing business and how she has grown her brand within 6 years. Below are excerpts:
Can you tell us more about yourself and your educational background?
My name is Ola-Hassan Mariam, I am a 29year old fashion enthusiast from Kwara state, Nigeria. I am the founder and creative director at Marorlah and the principal officer at Marorlah fashion Academy. I am a graduate of Human Anatomy from the prestigious University of Benin.
How did your journey into fashion designing begin?
My transition into fashion was actually motivated by my love for wearing luxury dresses but as a Muslim lady I had challenges getting modest dresses that looked extraordinary especially when I had to attend certain events. To solve this problem, I always sketch my designs, source fabric and give it to my tailor but I still ended up not getting the kind of outfit I desired. So, in 2016, I decided to learn garment making so that I can make my own dresses. I would make my dress for every event I attended and would get lots of compliments and request from family, friends and strangers to make dresses for them, and I was like why not make a living out of this?, I went through more professional training and transitioned fully into the beautiful world of fashion in 2017 and that’s how Mar’orlah came into existence.
How was the reception in the open market?
Trust me it was challenging, Because I was trying to break into two fashion Niches at the same time, having a training centre and the Atelier business. I will not even try to sugar coat it, some days I always ask myself “who sent me?”, but I think we are doing well as we don’t just have an outlet in Lagos to having a presence in Benin city and one thing that has kept the brand going is because we have successfully created a niche for ourselves as a luxury female brand, even though we keep expanding the scope and making sure we tap into the untapped opportunities of other niches.
How do you source your materials?
There is no one way to sourcing fabrics, sometimes we get from online fabric vendors, in some cases we need to visit the different fabric markets all over Nigeria. There are situations where we need to contract vendors to make fabric to suit the designs we are trying to create, and this is always when we need to work with Aso-oke and Adire.
How do you get inspiration while working on different collections?
I am always inspired by art, trends, fabric, colour, nature, street life, movies and so many more, but I can confidently say that I am heavily inspired by fabric, colour and texture. Like I recently released a collection named velvety and as the name implies the collection was inspired by the lushy feel of velvet fabric. I also have a collection inspired by colour (white).
How affordable are your Mar’Orlah’s designs?
Ha!!, you know Affordability is relative but I can categorically say most lovers of affordable hi-end dresses can wear ours.
Have you featured on runway shows?
Yes. We’ve featured on two runways this year. The Liverpool fashion week and Africa Fashion and Art Award (AFAA)
How was the outing?
It was a wonderful experience, a huge platform to show my designs from our collections to the world.
What would you tag your major achievement so far?
Showcasing my designs at the last Liverpool fashion week in the United Kingdom, this event got me an invite to participate at a pop-up show in Birmingham organized by a UK based fashion stockist. And launching our Ankara RTW line with a recent collection called Transcend.
Who are your idols in the fashion business?
Rahman Jago, Amanda Wakeley and Sassi Holford.
Can you mention three celebrities you would love to style and why?
Bimbo Ademoye, Toke Makinwa and Rita Dominic. Why? Because it will be a lovely experience for the brand.
As a Nigerian-based designer what are the challenges faced?
OMO!!! There are a lot of challenges but I will talk about a few. First, the Naira devaluation has skyrocketed the cost of production. Every single item we use for sewing has doubled in price and it’s not even funny again. Let’s not even talk about electricity, imagine running a generator for most part of the year. Lastly, access to different fabrics and accessories, but thank God for the internet as we can now order from anywhere around the world but believe me when I say it doesn’t come cheap.
How do you think the government can better the affairs of Nigerian fashion Designers?
The Government just needs to create the enabling environment for fashion designers to thrive.
What are your future plans for Mar’Orlah?
My future plan is to fully enter the international market, having our designs stocked by different fashion retailers in the world.
Do you have a favorite Mar’Orlah design?
This is dicey, the truth is every one of our designs was once my favourite because it keeps getting better. I will be dropping some pictures.
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