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By Christy Anyanwu
Mary Martin London has become an inspirational role model for upcoming young designers in London, United Kingdom.
Living in a foster home from age 13 to 18 eventually brought out the best in her through her fashion design prowess.
She is now a favourite among celebrities around the world who seek her magnificent bespoke designs for their red carpet fashion.
Mary’s head-turning designs, full of colour, texture and vibrancy, have sold out catwalk shows in the UK, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa and Scotland, to name a few destinations.
Her talents have made her much in demand in the music and film industries, whether styling popstar videos or designing and making costumes for Bollywood movies.
In this interview with Sunday Sun in London, Mary, who recently got honoured in Atlanta, Georgia, by the Atlanta City Council, which dedicated Saturday, December 9, 2023, as Mary Martin Appreciation Day, spoke talked about her sojourn in the fashion world, especially her voyage to becoming a frontline designer in London.
Tell us more about yourself?
My name is Mary Martin London. I started fashion designing about eight years ago. I’m self-taught. I dream and get inspiration in multiple places.
Before fashion what were you doing?
I was managing my daughter. My daughter was a singer and I was managing my daughter. I travelled around the world with her. Her name is Felicia Martin. She’s a songwriter now.
How was it like working with your daughter?
It was very good because I was protecting my daughter from people like R. Kelly (the guy who sang ‘I Believe I Can Fly’) and other guys. You know what happened to him, travelling with those young girls and all.
What kind of fashion do you do?
I always tell myself I want to make something nobody has seen before, which is my own, original and authentic. I make a dress with the strings. The fabric must appeal to me and have a cool touch.
How do you get inspiration to do all these things?
I always tell people I get inspiration from God. I was brought up in a children’s home. When I was young, I remember my parents teaching me about God. My parents are ministers and basically, I believe we are created by God. In the beginning God created heaven and earth; all things were made by him, without Him was not anything made. So, if he created us in his image, we are creators like him. We create, and God is my creator and inspiration.
Aside from Africa Fashion Week London, what other shows do you do?
Last year, I did my own show tagged “Experience with Mary Martin London.” I also went to Africa Fashion Week Brazil with Queen Ronke Ademiluyi Ogunwusi. I’m working with God and he’s always guiding me.
You always say you are the queen of the catwalk and nobody is taking your place, why that statement?
The reason I say that is that I was brought up in a children’s home. My parents left me there when I was young. In the children’s home, I didn’t know about anybody, aside from God. I looked up and I said God, would you be my father? And I have stayed with him ever since. So, when I’m on the catwalk, that’s the only place that makes me feel wanted in life. I make sure I maintain it. That’s the feeling I want to have all the time. So, I work very hard. When I’m coming out at the end of my show on the catwalk with the models, I cherish those few minutes on the runway.
How was life living in a home as a child?
It wasn’t very good. You know about racism, that’s what I had to put up with. It was not very nice at all. I come from a family of 13, now they left me alone. I had a very disturbing childhood, but fashion helped me to stabilize myself and took my mind off some things that happened to me while I was young.
Was it your parents that took you to the Home?
No, the government, at the age of 13. I was in care until the age 18. I was in and out of different homes. I was in Wales, just anywhere they may take me. It was an experience that you were coming from nothing to something. You were coming from nothing, where nobody wants you, and now you are on the catwalk where everybody loves you. That’s amazing. That’s a testimony that God gave me throughout my life. I didn’t finish school, but rather learnt to sew and make clothes by watching my mother making dresses for her six sisters.
So, you didn’t have any formal training as a designer?
In 2016, I returned to education and gained a Higher National Diploma from the London College of Contemporary Arts and graduated from the University of East London with a degree in Fashion Textiles just three years later. At the same time, I launched my eponymous label. My passion for textiles, form, silhouette and innovation shines through all my clothes and collections. Fashion is an expression, it is part of your soul. You can’t fake it; you can only improve your art by opening up to other cultures and living experiences
What is your nationality?
My mother is Jewish, my father is Jamaican, my father’s father is Jamaican and his mother is a Ghanaian. So, I’m kind of mixed. Jamaican, Jewish and Ghanaian, all strong, good blood. I had my DNA done and I had 75 per cent Ghanaian, and I’m also a Ghanaian queen. God has really blessed me. Black culture is at the heart of my creativity and I have been recognised by the king and the people of Maif Anfoe/Volta Region, Ghana, as Queen Mother, for charitable works. I was the first woman of colour to showcase her work at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the heart of Westminster, London.
Why do you have so much passion for Nigerians?
I have a lot of Nigerians around me. They are very intelligent and they have always looked out for me since I was young. I had a lot of Nigerians in the flat where I used to live and they cooked for me all the time. I just love them. I love Africans, I love Blacks. I have embraced Black culture. My favorite food is egusi soup. Everybody would tell you that. I eat it with pounded yam. I use my fork and knife. I am African. I found my roots before anybody and I love being black. I love knowing what I know about being African-rooted. If you don’t embrace your black self, who else is going to embrace you? I love being black and I love my black life. I need someone to help me come to Nigeria. I love your country.
What lessons have you learnt about life?
One lesson I have learnt about life is, sometimes, you might start with a bad start, but you can always pick yourself up. When I was young, they always called me Mary with the Seven Devils. But I always say to people now that I’m Mary with the Seven Angels.
How did you come about being honoured in Atlanta recently?
When they said they really appreciated me, I thought they got the wrong woman, and when they said ‘we appreciate you,’ my eyes rolled up: awwh, they really appreciate me here. And when they said they were giving me my own day, I said ‘Thank you Jesus’ inside. I couldn’t believe it. I have never seen any black person that got their own day. I thought, maybe Martin Luther King. It’s amazing. That is working with God because it’s only God that can put me where he has put me.
