Tega Akinola is turning your broken iPhone cables into up-cycled shoes
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
Courtesy of @tegaakinola
NAME TEGA AKINOLA
AGE 21
LOCATION The Midlands
STAR SIGN Gemini
BEST ADVICE EVER RECEIVED? I heard this in a film: ‘The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.’ I don’t think it’s the saddest thing in life, but I understand the premise. Like, if you’ve got talent, you should put it to good use.
The past year of our lives can be defined by one, simple phrase: “I’m SO bored.” I know we’ve all felt it, but can any of us say that we’ve really done anything with all that boredom? Well, Tega Akinola can. The pandemic gave Akinola time to work on up-cycling shoes and handbags, a spontaneous project that has now amassed some 35,000 followers on Instagram. “It pushed me to start sharing my creations and make more regularly,” she recalls of the year that no one predicted.
Inspired by literally anything around her (broken iPhone cables that she found when tidying her room have become a trademark of the designer’s), Akinola has become an up-cycling icon. Born into a creative family – her father in graphic design while her mother designs clothes – she narrates the pathway from her studies in sports psychology, to the design process behind her new business inside her university halls. “I don’t think I would have changed my decision, actually,” she says in retrospect of her degree. “I think if I had studied fashion, I may not have enjoyed it as much as I do now. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to learn; I really want to learn how to make bags from scratch.”
Akinola’s designs are as innovative and exciting as they are sustainable and environmentally conscious, and the success of her brand is testament to her natural design ability as well as her burning desire to keep learning.
Courtesy of @tegaakinola
SW: Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
TA: This might sound super generic, but I get my inspiration from genuinely everything. I could just see something on the street, and I would be like, ‘Oh, that's like an idea or something.’ But with certain projects, some of them have come from specific inspiration, for instance, the fleece bags came from Nicole McLaughlin with her fleece up-cycling while the wires came from the cables I saw on my floor. I think it really depends on having an open mind, being curious and observant of the world around you.
SW: You’ve posted pictures on Instagram where you’re deconstructing bags. Is that how you learn?
TA: That's my newer method. My old method was just gluing stuff on top but now I’m deconstructing them and seeing how it's put together. My mum also has made bags before, so she's helped me with that knowledge and process.
SW: Are your mum’s designs more streetwear focused or did that interest come from elsewhere?
TA: I don’t even think my mum knows what streetwear is! She is very traditional when it comes to sewing. You know those sewing patterns you used to be able to get in the back of magazines? That’s where her sewing knowledge comes from.
SW: Where do you see your designs going next?
TA: I want to focus on quality. I’m working on doing my own patterns with the bags while still using up-cycled materials. And with the cables, I have this idea to make wearable art, like sculptures. But that’s going to take a long time and a lot of trial and error. But that’s my goal for the future.
SW: How would you describe your personal style?
TA: Masculine and feminine. Oversized, comfy and casual. Super vintage.
SW: What was the last shower thought you had?
TA: I actually play music in the shower - I’m a shower performer.
SW: Which celebrity would you love to see in your designs?
TA: I really love ADUT AKECH and how she represents dark skinned women. I would love to see her modelling my stuff.
SW: I’m hopeful for…
TA: The pandemic to be over. I don’t think things are going to go back to normal, but a sense of normality would be nice. I’m hoping I graduate with a good grade (a first!), and I hope for success and happiness in the future.
SW: What’s your favourite app at the moment?
TA: Twitter. It’s a good place to get instant news and to keep up with what’s going on in the world. I don’t really watch the news on TV so Twitter is good for that information. Also, it’s really funny! People on there are so funny.
SW: What’s your favourite pastime?
TA: I like to go skating when I have time or when it’s dry - which is once in a blue moon. People don’t realise how hard skating is.
SW: What has lockdown taught you?
TA: I used to think that I liked to be alone and be in my own company, but lockdown has taught me the value of socialising with people and spending time with friends and family. So I’ve been trying to not take it for granted when I am able to see them.
SW: Most recent Netflix binge?
TA: Recently I’ve watched Terrace House. It’s a Japanese reality TV show where six strangers live together in a house for a period of time. It’s just like a slice of their life.
SW: Worst fashion trend you’ve taken part in?
TA: When I started getting into streetwear, I was all about the big brands. In retrospect I think that a brand can just stick its logo on something, but that’s not what makes it a good piece of clothing. Item-wise, the worst trend was definitely cargo trousers. What was that all about?
SW: Where did your love for trainers and streetwear start?
TA: From my brother - he’s a couple years older than me and everything he’d do I would be interested in too. So when he started getting into streetwear I thought, ‘Oh, that’s interesting,’ and sort of formed my interest around that. Trainers were the first things I bought when I had my own money, so it all kind of started from there.
SW: If money was no object, which fashion item would you buy?
TA: I think it would be some Off-White heels. Their designs are so interesting!
SW: If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
TA: Right now I want to go to Germany because I studied German in school and I’ve recently picked it back up again, so I want to brush up on that and go to places like Berlin and Cologne. I even turned my phone to German to make sure I stick to learning the language! That’s how motivated I am to learn it.
SW: What are you manifesting for 2021?
TA: I really want to have a collaboration with a brand. I’m not going to say which brand because I feel like if I say it, it won’t come true…