The intersection of hair and culture inspired Meji Meji’s latest top, Essence

Meji Meiji designer Tolu OyeGrowing up, her relationship together with her hair was, in her words, “turbulent.” Ultimately, nonetheless, this was reconciled with acceptance and appreciation of her culture. Born in Lagos, Nigeria and raised in Ohio, Oye has heard mixed opinions about beauty standards for so long as she will be able to remember. Ultimately, in a city where diversity was rare, it was as much as her to make a decision what she desired to imagine.

“At some point I went through a relaxation phase. I didn’t want anything that was symbolic of me as an African. I think 2016 was a major change for me. I went to Nigeria again and in a sense I was reborn in terms of my love for my culture,” she tells ESSENCE. “Now, if I can spread the gospel of different elements of my culture in any way, even through hair, I want to use it as a form of storytelling.”

Her clothing brand Meji Meji, launched in 2020, is actually an example of this. One of her bestsellers, the Na Me Cause Am t-shirt, incorporates a black femme fatale with an afro within the primary role. And now? Her recent one Sisi Ologe top is an element of this tradition that not only embraces her relationship with hair, but in addition uplifts and preserves her culture.

The top embodies the photographs you would possibly see when flipping through a Seventies newspaper wig campaign ad: from the voluminous blowout and kinky coils to the intricately braided hairstyles that reflect the expansiveness of African beauty. Collaborating with artists on her work is amazingly essential to her since it allows her to be the voice of Africa. This time she selected an artist specifically Joseph Edgar. It took six months to perfect the print itself – it was an actual labor of love.

Meanwhile, the campaign imagery is reminiscent of Nollywood movies – combining nostalgia with contemporary Shuku updos. All this was achieved because of her long-time friends and collaborators, The law of jokes AND Opeyemi Oyebanji. Their hairdressing skills brought the designer’s campaign to life with intricate updos that highlighted the complexity of the highest

But the world of hair has all the time appealed to Oye’s soul long before she became the founder of the brand. At age 5, she called the basketry salon where her mother worked “her after-school program.” There, she helped her mother finish the ends of braids on her clients’ hair, and watching Nollywood movies ignited her love for fashion and beauty.

“I recently asked my mom if I was addicted to toys growing up, and she said, ‘Not at all, but you were.’ You sat in front of the TV and watched the transformations over and over again. Then I noticed your interest in hairstyles and fashion. She wasn’t surprised when I started taking on my own clients from school,” Oye says.

She was influenced by how hairstyle and fashion can improve someone’s self-confidence. She knew that design was her calling, but it surely was also crucial for her clothes to be connected to her roots – her history as an African woman – and to include her personal love of preserving African braiding techniques.

“I am grateful to my parents for nurturing my talent, which led to me moving to New York at the age of 15,” where she attended Art & Design School. “It took years to become a muse” – because of her signature look, which included braids with bangs, freestyle braids, twisted mohawks and more. “I was giving hairdressers headaches because they were saying, ‘That girl and her crazy hairstyles are back.'” That was until she found her tribe with Helena Koudou AND Lawal’s joke– who were equally excited to create hair magic together with her.

In 2018, Oye got here up with a hairstyle titled Suspicion + Periwinkle. It featured a tall cone pinned up with three rows of curled braids in front as bangs. This style was in all places, from the CFDA red carpet to Jameson’s packaging to the Burna Boy music video. “Seeing people’s reactions to this style around the world made me realize it’s not just about the hair,” she says. And like those iconic moments, Oye understands how essential it’s to have that representation in the whole lot he does. As he explains, “it’s about maintaining traditional techniques while adding a modern twist. This is my legacy.”