MODA Designer Profile: Khadijat Durojaiye
With MODA fashion show season lingering on the horizon, I had the pleasure of hearing from designer Khadijat Durojaiye for the second year in a row about her collection. Khadijat is a third-year Physics major in the college. A returning designer, she’s developed many hobbies while attending Zoom University, from growing plants and mushrooms to making rugs—here, she talks inspiration, designing during the COVID-era, and her spontaneous approach to fashion.
KHADIJAT’S MOODBOARD
Can you describe your collection in three words?
Appreciation of nature!
What are some sources of inspiration for your collection? Do you have a design philosophy?
I’ve developed a lot of “COVID hobbies” over the past year, one of which is tarot (very in line with current internet trends lol)! I don’t really remember how I got into it, but doing readings for myself and my friends has been a lot of fun! I wanted to base my designs off of a couple of my favorite cards: The Empress and The High Priestess. I really liked the imagery on the Rider-Waite deck and I thought it’d be a cool idea to turn the cards into actual looks!
Simone Rocha and Cecile Bahnsen are a couple of my favorite designers and I've drawn some inspiration from some of their work. I don’t really have a design philosophy, but I’m pretty big on spontaneity and think that there’s no such thing as doing “too much.”
You’re a returning designer. What led you back?
My friends! Last year when we were in the DBC I was able to get close with David Chen, David Schalop and Kiki Apple! If it weren’t for them I probably wouldn’t have ended up designing this year! Kiki and I are actually going to be roommates next year, which I’m super excited about! Aside from that, I’d really like to improve on my work from last year, since I’ve learned a lot about the design process and learning to make patterns since then!
What are your favorite aspects of the design process? What are the most challenging parts?
SIMONE ROCHA
My least favorite part is making patterns and taking measurements. It’s very time consuming and I’m kind of a perfectionist when it comes to making patterns, so that part of the process always takes me a long time. My favorite part is sewing the actual clothing! I find sewing and listening to music really therapeutic! I also love spontaneously deciding to add things when I’m “finished.” I'm always thinking of ways to make designs look more interesting!
While designing, did you keep in mind the fact that the show would be in the internet sphere? Did that have an impact on your designs?
It actually didn’t change my designs much, but I’d normally be outside more, travelling around the city and drawing inspiration from things I see on the train. So, I guess being inside for the majority of the day has kept me from doing that, but I still think this year’s show being a virtual thing will actually be really cool—and I’m looking forward to seeing how everything’ll turn out!
What are you looking forward to most about the show, given the new circumstances? Do you expect to face any challenges, or are you facing any already?
I’m pretty big on spontaneously deciding to change my designs, but COVID’s made it hard to find the inspiration to do that so I’ve been a bit slow to get started with my looks. I've also decided to design fewer looks than I normally would because of COVID. Not having a normal model call was a bit of a struggle, but I’m really happy with the models I chose and am looking forward to working with them more over the next couple weeks!
SIMONE ROCHA
What do you want the audience to take away from your collection?
There isn’t much that I want anyone to take away from my collection or any sort of message I’d like to get across other than maybe being inspired to be creative and make some of their own work!
Anything else you’d like to add?
I think this year’s show will still be a lot of fun despite the current circumstances. I’m looking forward to being able to show people my work!
All images courtesy of Khadijat. Header graphic by Vivian Li.
