Emerging into high fashion with Dami Hope

From the screens of Love Island to the world of fashion, Dami Hope the 26 Nigerian-Irish microbiologist is cultivating new spaces for himself as a serious contender in the world of high fashion. Adamant to remain outside of the box and inside the creative corners of fashion, Dami is currently curating and brainstorming his high fashion brand. 

GUAP: Why high fashion? What draws you to partake as a future creator in this market? 

Dami: High fashion for me is expressive, it’s bold, it’s like the different realm of fashion that’s not the general stuff that you’d see. You’re able to be unique, come out with different pieces, and again just be bold and expressive. 

GUAP: What’s your stance on fast fashion collaborations? 

Dami: My stance? I mean everyone’s gotta make a living and fast fashion is affordable. I’m never going to shun anyone for wearing fast fashion but with me per se, with collaborations, it’s just not what I am into. I’m into unique pieces, looking outside the box and stretching my arms out into different areas of fashion. Whereas fast fashion is just the generic stuff that everybody will just be getting here and there. Whereas you want to step out of the box – I’m a step put the box kinda guy. 

GUAP: You tweeted that your brand will be a mix of high fashion & creative spaces, can you describe further what this will look like?

Dami: This will look like what Dami would wear daily. Dami’s versatile, sometimes Dami on a chill day is street fashion and sometimes Dami’s high fashion. So I want to do a whole thing – like everyone has a different sense of fashion and they have different things that they appeal to. So I want to be able to do it for everyone, for all the Dami’s out there. Because Dami likes everything, I don’t just like wearing one thing, I like to switch it up. That’s what being out of the box is!

GUAP: What space or spaces are you currently trying to cultivate for yourself in fashion? 

Dami: I’m trying to get into spaces with designers, like proper people that I can talk to that are like-minded. There are a lot of designers in this world and a lot of them are very talented – I know I am talented as well, I just haven’t shown anyone yet, but I know I am. So obviously it’s bigging myself up into the room and the modelling thing as well, and speaking and hearing where the creativity comes from other people as well. Because it’s all imagination, sometimes I’ll dream, and I’ll dream up an outfit and wake up and start sketching the outfit. It’s all about speaking to like-minded people and thus far I’ve met and spoken with designers – and some others we’re bros and pals now. But also I don’t want to just get stuck in fashion, I love fashion, but I will do other things as well. 

GUAP: What do you want the world to take away once you’ve cultivated this space? Are there any lessons you want to teach us? 

Dami: I want the world to be bold. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. A lot of people will look at high fashion and be like “oh my God that’s so sick! But it will never look good on me” so they will never step out of the box to try it. But if you try it it will look good on you. You just have to be comfortable in it. And as soon as you’re comfortable in your fashion, whatever your fashion sense is to you and you think it looks sick – you might look like a clown, but if you think it looks sick, then you’re fine. You’re winning. 

Photography by Jedidah , Tiffannie Mersades & Tamiym Cader

Discover more from GUAP’s Arts & Culture section here