'When I started out, I had a clear mission: I wanted to show that diversity can be beneficial, that we should embrace and celebrate, rather than shy away from it,' she says.Ī quick scroll through the brand’s website and you’ll see diversity and originality is at its core.
Growing increasingly frustrated, Anekhe launched Oma The Label – named after her late father – in 2018 to address this problem. 'There were very few brands representing people of colour and the overall diversity was slim when pulling looks for clients,' she says. But when she arrived, she was instantly disappointed. Growing up in Scandinavia, Anekhe dreamed of going to a multicultural city like New York to fulfil her goal of becoming a stylist. Its USP? Simple but high-quality bodysuits inspired by her Scandi background (Anekhe was born to Nigerian parents but grew up in Norway) and playful but timeless jewellery that taps into her African heritage. A brave move, especially as, at the time, the brand only had one pair of hoops to its name.ĭespite one cancelled collection and a partnered stockist going bust at the height of the pandemic, Anekhe reinvented Oma The Label in May 2020 to international success. 'We decided to rush production on our jewellery line, pushing forward the autumn launch,' Anekhe tells ELLE UK. But while the rest of us were panicking, she was inspired to take a gamble pivoting from a ready-to-wear focus to accessories instead. In particular, UK clothing sales dropped by a staggering 25% as nationwide lockdowns saw people swap tailored suiting and party dresses for trusty loungewear.įor designer Neumi Anekhe, who was due to launch a new collection for her two-year-old brand at the start of last year, this could have been catastrophic.
As Covid-19 cases rose throughout 2020, the world's economy plummeted.
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