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By Damiete Braide
In Nollywood, costume is no longer just about dressing actors. For creative costume designer Funmilayo Adekanye, clothing is a powerful storytelling tool that reveals emotion, background and inner struggle. Her work on Suspicion, a supernatural crime thriller, shows how wardrobe can shape the way audiences understand characters.
Suspicion (2024) is directed by Tosin Igho and stars Stan Nze, Uzor Arukwe and Omowunmi Dada. The film premiered on Prime Video on November 28, 2024, and has continued to draw attention for its gripping plot and visual depth.
Adekanye explains that her background strongly influences how she designs costumes. Rather than seeing wardrobe as decoration, she studies each character’s motivation, social background and desires. She then translates those elements into visual form.
“Costume is emotional architecture,” she says. “I shape colours, textures and silhouettes to show what a character is feeling inside. The clothes become an extension of the character’s mind.”
To ensure her designs strengthen the story, she begins with a careful study of the script. She maps out each character’s emotional and social journey and matches costume changes to that development. She also works closely with the director, cinematographer and production designer so that wardrobe blends naturally with the film’s overall look.
“When costume aligns with the film’s tone and environment, it lifts the story instead of distracting from it,” she notes.
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According to Adekanye, costume introduces a character before they even speak. Through clothing, viewers can quickly read a character’s status, confidence, fear, rebellion or vulnerability. Her designs are always intentional. Structured outfits may suggest a guarded personality, while brighter colours may signal growth or empowerment. Worn-out or fading fabrics can point to inner conflict or emotional decline.
Her creative process starts with breaking down the script and analysing the character’s frame of mind. She studies social context, environment and emotional movement. From there, she develops visual plans such as colour charts, fabric choices and style transitions. Research is especially detailed for period projects. Fittings help ensure that costume and performance work together naturally, while strict continuity systems maintain consistency throughout filming.
Her work spans different genres, including ‘Suspicion’, a supernatural crime thriller. In such intense stories, she often uses limited colour ranges, stiff designs or repeated styles to show inner tension and mental pressure.
Adekanye says her background has shaped both her creativity and leadership on set. It helps her communicate better with her team and manage pressure during production. Creatively, it allows her to see clothing as a form of identity. She studies how people use fashion for protection, self-expression or ambition.
“Costume design is not just about beauty,” she explains. “It is about character study and emotional truth.”
She believes costume plays a key role in film storytelling by establishing the world of the story at once — whether in terms of period, class, place or ideology. It also tracks character growth. Viewers may not always notice the changes consciously, but they feel them emotionally.
Her journey into costume design did not begin as a clear plan. She originally wanted to be an actor. But while working on film sets, she discovered how powerful wardrobe could be in shaping performance, confidence and presence. What started as curiosity soon became a full commitment.
Looking back, Adekanye describes her career path as demanding but steady. Each project brought greater responsibility and refined her creative discipline. From gaining national recognition to working on films screened internationally, she says her growth has been deliberate and rooted in craft.
Asked if she has any regrets, her answer is simple: none.
“Every challenge strengthened me and clarified my creative identity,” she says. “The growth has been intentional and cumulative.”
Through films like Suspicion, Funmilayo Adekanye continues to show that costume design is not just about clothes, but about telling deeper human stories through fabric, colour and form.
