By Rita Okoye
Excellence goes way beyond books and academic success.
It is also in skills and talent. This excellence we are talking about has been portrayed by an exceptionally talented fashion designer, Lovely Nyoreme Obodozie.
Lovely, as a symbol of passion and hunger to advance the fashion industry, launched her fashion label called Kozi, located in Lagos, Nigeria.
This label is dedicated to redefining luxury as inclusive and accessible by ensuring meticulous attention to enhancing their outfit, applying more vibrant and colourful fabrics to their design, and creating phenomenal fashion statements that give room for individuality and expression. Their vision is to ensure that fashion lovers continue to be their unique selves through garments that express themselves.
In staying true to its vision, Kozi has achieved several high points in its journey, including recognition within the industry for its classy designs and collaborations with leading fashion trendsetters, designers, and textile houses. They have also been at the service of several international clientele that attest to their clothes providing a feeling of liberation and joy.
In addition to their accomplishments, the brand has also crafted various collections, one of which we will be discussing in this article — the Kozi 2023 collection. This collection consists of three wears, two of which are pretty gowns and a two-piece.
Getting to know the outfits.
The first dress made with this quality fabric is a mini high-collared gown, starting with a high-collared neckline intro, down to the full piece, and then the bell sleeve.
The neckline of the dress is what is popularly called a turtle neckline. However, this particular neckline has a twist to it. While other turtle necks snuggle around the neck area, the designed high neckline on this piece has some space added to it, making it somewhat mirror the popular boat neck pullovers. While the sleeves are long with buttons at the wrist to maintain a level of firmness in the dress, this part of the gown is primarily made out of cotton fabric.
Going down to the full body of the piece, the design pours out into a straight dress, otherwise known as a pencil dress. This part of the dress is characterised by its short length and defining dart stitches that accentuate the shape of the attire, making it stand out. Following right after this feature is the exquisite bell sleeve.
This area of the piece is what we call a rare gem because of how it changed the look of the fit and made it shine. Like many other bell sleeves, this starts off being fitted from the shoulder line to the arm area, where it pans out into an asymmetrical flare, which gives the sleeve a distinctive slanted effect. To bring out the uniqueness of this sleeve, the designer added one more eccentric feature to it — a bias strip. This strip is sewn around the edges of the sleeve, succeeding in complementing the white fabric and bringing out its colour.
The dress is a very creative piece that deserves recognition, but a few adjustments can make it the perfect piece. Rather than giving the neckline a high collar, the designer may want to opt for other neckline options like a round neckline, squared sweetheart neckline, or even a V-neckline. Additionally, another inspection could be done on the invisible black zipper at the back, as it seems crooked.
How to style it?
Seeing as the dress is a short one, those who are usually uncomfortable exposing much skin can go for skin tone pop-stockings and then add accessories such as a leather belt and pouch purse amidst some makeup and others to make your look knock that breath out of a bystander.
This second piece is a classy midi dress because of the features it possesses. Firstly, the aesthetics of the dress can be called because it was crafted out of a rare Damsak fabric, which comprised a dark shade background and flower patterns spread out across it.
To achieve the outfit, the designer combined different stitching styles and designs, which we find peculiar, and we will tell you why.
To begin, the dress shares a great deal of resemblance to an Asian traditional piece called Cheongsam. The traditional Chinese dress and this second attire share traits like the side fastening on the left area and the alignment of buttons. Unlike the Chinese design, this stylish garment has its quirky distinctions.
The wrap dress started with a round collar neckline that could be mistaken for an enclosed boat neckline because of the way it is positioned in the image. From the neckline, the outfit draws down to the neatly sewn shoulder line, as it is an armless garment. However, from the left shoulder line, that is where the real magic takes place. Rather than pouring out in the usual way dresses do, Designer Lovely introduced an asymmetrical cut from the left shoulder area to the right mid-calf of the attire, successfully turning it into a wrapped piece. To secure the opening, some Shank buttons were introduced into the equation to give it a perfect finish.
A bit downwards from this cutting is the next feature — the slit. As an extending effect of the asymmetrical cut, a middle slit was automatically created. This attribute then goes on to run down from the mid-thigh to mid-calf. As a finishing touch, an invisible back zipper was introduced for firmness, alongside a shawl made from the same fabric used in creating the dress.
This outfit is simply fabulous, but as a suggestion, the designer could consider doing away with the lower part of the dress, starting from the knee. Though the asymmetrical cutting achieved the wrap look on the upper bodice, toward the end, it made the attire look lopsided. If this is balanced out, the piece would look even more dashing.
How to style it?
Seeing as the outfit is a simple dress, looking good in it shouldn’t take much. All you have to do is ensure you have the right accessories and hairstyle to match the outfit.
The last of the collection is a two-piece, different from the first two gowns. The beautiful set was made out of a sandy brown Rayon fabric, and it includes a blouse and pants that almost look like a jumpsuit when worn together.
The blouse of the piece embodies various interesting designs and attributes, beginning from the neck area. Similar to the first dress in the collection, this piece has a boat neck jumper that completely envelops the neck and gives a sophisticated effect to the attire. Going down to the body of the blouse is an extending cowl neckline feature, which gives the clothes a double neckline effect. The cowl attribute, known for its drape appearance, is designed with carefully pleated stitches made on both shoulder lines to give a chic appearance.
Next in line to this facet is the loose pleated bell’s long sleeve that pours in ripples down to the wrist area. This effect on the sleeve enhances the comfort and general appearance of the blouse. In conclusion of the upper piece, an invincible zipper was placed at the back to secure the fit tightly to the body.
On the lower half of this set is a fitted Harem pants. This fit is a loose-fitting trouser that is usually distinguished by the gathers it has around the waist area and the ankle. But this particular pant only had its gathers along the waistline and pans down in a straight line to the ankle, where it is delicately folded to look like a cuff, adding to the peculiarities of the attire. This part of the piece is finished off with a side zipper that helps the pants sit comfortably on the body.
As a result of how well this set was created, the only thing the designer may want to look into is creating a substitute piece that comes with wide-leg pants to fit into some individual’s preferences.
How to style it?
There are several ways you could style this outfit. Styling, as seen in the image, is a smart move. However, if that is not to your taste, you can also decide to mix and match this piece with another, ensuring that you stick with colours that complement.
A standing ovation goes out to Lovely Nyoreme Obodozie for putting together this admirable collection. The drafting, stitching, patterns, and fabrics used made every single attire electric in its own unique way. Kudos on a job well done, Lovely Nyoreme Obodozie, and, of course, to the brand, Kozi.