Kanayo Ebi: The Crown And Anchor Of Style

Sitting pretty as the crown and anchor of class, the Nigerian-American stylist Kanayo Ebi, opens up the tricky business aspect of the styling industry, and the challenges thereof.

She is very smart and intelligent with her choice of words and her work has seen high-end celebrities such as Leona Lewis, Kate Winslet, Dawn Richards, the Simmons Sisters, Adrienne Bailon, Tiwa Savage and many others adorn her signature styling.

With her PR Francisca Adjei, the Promising British-Ghanaian perched on the opposite corner of the sofa: simply means everything is to go in the right direction.

Settling down with the celebrated stylist while talking us through the importance of class in the modern society Miss Kanayo Ebi said: “Styling is important to the modern society because, it is pretty much a way of self-expression, so every individual is different and every individual has something unique to them, and to show that, is to show your individual sense of fashion and class.

“And the way that people interpret themselves in fashion and class is how you interpret it. Fashion is pretty much anything and everything, and the way that people present themselves give us the idea of the individualism that’s around us. It is just good to stand yourself apart in class.”

As with each and every industry, there are bound to be different sort of impediments here and there in that she said: “There are challenges, basically pretty much challenges people in the regular working industries face, which is like the economy effects which is when jobs, publications and certain artistes are not getting funding to do certain projects. It has a domino effects and it ends up affecting stylists as well.

And also diversity and reach, by tapping into the various fashion industries around the world. Sometimes it’s challenging to be or stay afloat in the styling industry because, there are so much going on, and it moves so quickly.

She further stated that “It does get saturated quickly and there is a bit of segregation crossing over to different spheres of the industry.”

As to who she has got left on his list of celebrities to class she said: “I still haven’t classd many people because there are still many people. I would like to work with Gwen Stefani, Kelis, Cindi Lauper and Rihanna, usually because I like her sense of class and freedom, so to speak. This is because I like to work with people who like to have fun and be adventurous with fashion.”

Miss Kanayo is ready to work with other African celebrities across the continent saying: “I have classd Patoranking, so maybe Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, and all those coming up from across Africa.”

She was able to squash the rumor mill about her switch from being a stylist to jeweler, in her confirmations she said: “I am not switching, I am just broadening my horizon, so to speak. Because my first love is fashion in general, so anyway that I can contribute and just keep growing in fashion. I am open to it.

“I believe you cannot stay stagnant and I believe you have to keep moving or else things get redundant or het bored. And you cannot stifle your creativity. So for me, I love what I do and I love styling.”

By being generous enough and giving out industrial advice to the future generation of stylist to come she said: “My top tip is really about being patient, persevering, being patient and productive and believing in what you have to offer that will differentiate you from the rest who are not stylists.

“Keep growing and not being stifled and learning, keep striving and pushing, never stay stagnant. The industry is competitive and there are so many people trying to copy or do what you are doing, or trying to do what you are trying to do. And because we are in a social media world where everything is easily accessible, as well and sometimes people would rather not pay for quality but quantity.

“So you have to make sure that you do your work and do it thoroughly. And be consistent so you can keep your loyal clients so they (clients) can deem you reliable.”

And finally, as to how expensive is she to work with, she said: “I don’t think I am that expensive, I think it depends on the individual to determine what is expensive to them, but I think I am pretty fair depending on the their budget.

“But I believe in giving yourself a standard as well, so people do not take you and your work for granted and cheap in that regard. Then again it still depends on what is expensive to the individual.”

Listening to Starbuck’s music as the backdrop while interviewing the ‘crown and anchor’ of class was the order of the lunch.