The SO Series: Sharon Ojong Goes One On One With Ayo Van Elmar

Creative Director of fashion brand, Ayo Van Elmar has come a long way in the African fashion industry since her debut at the LFDW 2013 where I first met her. Ayo hasn’t just built her clothing brand and expanded on collaborations with celebrities, today she is the founder of Lagos’ foremost fashion cafe – Ayo Van Elmar Fashion Cafe located at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

In a candid one-on-one, Ayo talks about the perks and challenges of working in the Nigerian fashion scene as a designer, the benefits for both designer and celebrity brand collaborations, and is it necessary for designers to do runways to succeed?