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The face of a Nigerian designer, Richard Babalola whose jeans is the world’s best

Designer Richard Babalola worked long and hard to get his Babson Zotto jeans range on the racks of high- end stores in Flanders, Belgium. Some 20years ago, the designer swapped his home country of Nigeria for Belgium.

The artist and designer has been working hard to get his Zotto denim label on the racks of local and international boutique. Babson Zotto is a household name when we talk of designer jeans in Belgium because of his uniqueness in jeans making. He has participated in several national show. He’s currently based in Antwerp with his wife and two children.

In an exclusive interview with ENCOMIUM Weekly, the brain behind Babson Zotto told us how he made it to the top as well as his other artistic expressions.

You are a disc jockey, visual artist, and you design dresses where did you get this rare gift?

I grew to find myself this way. It’s all about God’s given talent!

IMG_7675679012614 Would it be right to say you are a master of these three trades?

Yes, I can say so because, over the years, I have been very busy with these three things you mentioned and the results are there for people to see. Photo materials are there, video materials are there and then a lot of press releases about who I am and what I do. I have been on the Sporah Show, London on Sky Television, several Belgian TV interviews and newspapers. One of my latest articles was in the Flanders Today newspaper Brussels-Belgium. My dancing skills have been proven since a very long time. I was the1986 Oyo State champion of the John Player national disco dance competition.

Which of the three did you start first?

I started as a kid-artist, drawing on anything I laid my hands on. I sometimes drew on the ground, on paper. At times, I spoilt the chairs in the living room with drawings, which made my parents get mad at me.

Which of the other two follows?

Fashion designing followed.  I grew up in a house between two tailor shops. I got inspired by what I saw daily from these two gentle men-tailors (‘Samco’ on the left and ‘Sammy’ on the right). As I grew older, the urge to design clothes continued to haunt me and that in turn made me to like fashion. From there, I started to create my own designs.

After fashion, the DJing followed. I was actually inspired by my elder brother, same parents. His name is ‘Babalola Ajibola Sunday’ called DJ Babson Zotto, one of the best Nigerian DJ’s of the 80’s in Ibadan, Oyo state. And I followed his footsteps.

What are the challenges of doing these three jobs?

I don’t really have any challenge in doing all these, because as I said, it’s all about talent. Don’t forget what you do regularly automatically becomes part of you, so it wipes away the challenges of my be finding it difficult to get new ideas. In fact, the only challenge here is the time to do all these. I live in Europe, Belgium to be specific, and there I also own a transport company for express deliveries, so I need time to manage that one as well.

IMG_7720096832154What kind of clothes do you design?

I started in Nigeria by making tie dye and batik using local fabrics. I sold within the country and I exported some to Europe and America. It is when I came to Europe that I started designing jeans and from there I established my own jeans brand called Babson Zotto in Belgium in 2008. My designs are mostly classics with accessories like leather and Swarovski finishing.

What kind of images do you draw?

Mostly, I draw abstract and realistic paintings for which I use acrylic, oil paints and pastels, combined with mixed media. My artworks are often recognized by a particular relief technique I use.

The past few years, I have also specialized in air-brush, which I use to make a near photograph portrait.

Where can some of the artworks you have done be gotten?

My artworks are for sale in a gallery in the city centre of Brussels, Belgium, the TAG (The Accessible Gallery). You can also take a look at my website www.babsonzottoart.eu.

What inspires your creativity?

When I was young, my brother inspired me a lot while watching him doing his art assignments.

Later, when I started on my own I was mostly inspired by the things happening around me. In fact, my brain is never at rest. I use everything I see around me and then my imagination turns it into all kinds of creations. Sometimes my dreams also give me inspiration.

What is the best way to make money from all these you do, especially when you operate abroad?

It is important to connect with the right people at the right time. The best way to make money is to have enough kick-off capital. That enables you to have a good marketing strategy by a reliable PR company.  Also highly important is e-marketing, meaning online shop, Facebook, etc. Publicity is also key to the fashion and art business, such as fashion shows and art exhibitions.

Have you ever considered coming to Nigeria to contribute your own quota to the entertainment and fashion industry?

In fact, I am coming to Nigeria early August for the burial of my mother, and I am using this opportunity to connect with some people to discuss possibilities of extending my fashion and art business to Nigeria.

This means that I will need people to invest in my projects. My intention is to establish in Nigeria and create job opportunities in order to improve people’s standard of living. As Nigeria is one of the economically fastest growing countries, there are a lot of opportunities for me and indirectly for investors to maximise profit.

Is fashion designing a lucrative business in Belgium?

As we all know, fashion is a popular trend, which is about the creation of clothings, accessories and footwears. With this definition it shows that our lives are not complete without fashion since we need it daily. In Belgium, a small and rather conservative country when it comes to fashion. I have to limit myself to the classic designs, and therefore not so lucrative in terms of doing my thing.

His painting
His painting

As my ideas are very creative and often different from classic, I believe Nigerian market would  be the perfect place where my creative prowess can be appreciated.

Can you tell us more about you, your family and everything we need to know about you?

I was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. I studied Fine Art at The Polytechnic Ibadan from 1987 to 1989. After my OND, I established my first fashion business in Ibadan called New Dimension, which was very successful but short lived because in 1991, I left the shores of Nigeria to Belgium to exploit my art and fashion opportunities.

I got married to a Belgian lady and we have two beautiful children, a boy, 20 and a girl,16. My son is studying Economic Science at the University of Leuven-Belgium, taking after his mother. My wife also studied Economics at the University of Antwerp, and is working for Procter and Gamble Belgium. My daughter is going to the art-school in Antwerp, Belgium, taking after her dad.

-NIKE POPOOLA

Encomium

Written by Encomium

A media, tech and events company.

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