Deola Sagoe is a Nigerian fashion house, founded by Deola Ade-Ojo, the leading light of African haute couture. Deola Sagoe is made up of two brands; “Deola” the mother brand which specialises in haute couture, bespoke garments and bridal wear and “Clan” which designs and retails premium ready-to-wear clothing.

The company is headquartered at the luxurious Deola Sagoe flagship store in Victoria Island, Lagos. The building was completed in 2008 and houses the brands’ offices, atelier and showrooms. At the heart of DSL is the atelier where the numerous craftspeople expertly busy themselves with pattern making, tailoring, embroidery and embellishment. The span of the fashion value chain, from design to retail, is all nucleated within the building.

Deola

Deola, the multi-award winning mother brand of the House offers a unique approach to African haute couture. Using African fabrics, hand woven materials, and incorporating almost-lost traditional African techniques with the modern, the brand specializes in the design and creation of bespoke clothing and bridal wear recognised globally for its unrivalled quality of clothing and continuous innovation in its field.

Deola has been at the cutting edge of high fashion since 1989, uniquely showcasing contemporary fashions utilizing authentic African fabrics of antiquity; bringing together the contemporary and the traditional in a unique and fresh way. Three decades on, Deola has become globally recognised as one of the most influential African fashion brands, responsible for presenting a view of the contemporary African woman completely in sync with her cultural and traditional influences.

Deola continues to beguile audiences with her originality and vision. Her global appeal is derived from her fashion identity – a tapestry of cultural heritage, local, nearly lost techniques, revitalized and modernized, making them accessible to today’s woman. Bespoke Deola pieces are essentially sculpted around the body of the wearer, thus the designer’s cut and form genius become transformative on the wearer. Fashion-conscious women worldwide, spanning from Africa’s first ladies to renowned personalities including Naomi Cambell, Thandie Newton and Lydia Hearst have adorned Deola collections.

The Deola Brand is driven by an intense desire to provide innovative fashion business solutions for our clients. Deola’s fashion and relationship management teams provide a wide variety of high quality products and services for individuals and corporate clients, based on our thorough knowledge and understanding of Nigeria’s economy, West African markets and the global fashion trend. We believe in the power of collaboration in order to provide products at the highest imaginable quality to our clients. Therefore, we have built strong regional and international alliances to show our exceptional commitment to product integrity and customer satisfaction.

On several occasions the Deola brand has been recognised for its superior quality and innovation standards. In 2007, Deola was recognized at the 10th International Star Awards in Paris and merited the Platinum Quality Award. In a similar vein, Deola was awarded the International Quality Award (in the diamond category) of Excellence and Business prestige at the Quality Summit in New York, 2008.  In 2010, the Deola brand was recognized as a ‘Super Brand’ and a recipient of the Super Brand’s Certificate of Excellence in Fashion Design and Label category.

Clan

Established in 2011, Clan is a dynamic brand, that designs and retails premium Ready-to-Wear fashion to women. Its showcase at the Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week in 2014 elevated the brand to global status.

Quality, sophistication and versatility are what Clan offers to the modern woman. The brand is recognised for its occasion-wear, which ranges from staple pieces that every woman should have in her wardrobe to trendy work-wear and luxurious eveningwear.

Although both labels do appeal to women across demographic groups depending on dress requirements, the labels do have fairly differentiated customer bases. The price points for the labels further differentiate their audience, Deola generally being reserved for special occasions whereas Clan is often smart work wear.