By BENJAMIN NJOKU
Anne Sulaiman is a US based Nigerian stylist  who has over 28 years  of experience in the area of  coordinating the wardrobes  of high profile Americans as well as black ladies in diaspora.

Annie who is currently in the country   shares some secrets about fashion and her plans to bring her wealth of experience to bear in the country.

Background
I’m from Edo State, I have many years of experience in fashion and style co-ordination. It is one of the things I like to do. I have been in this business for over 28 years now.

Anne Sulaiman

I traveled to the United States after my secondary eduaction  to further my studies. To me, dressing women from head to toe and coordinating them very well to look stunning  is more like breathing because it comes so natural.

How I got  into the fashion business

After graduating from the college, in the United States I went to work in a big fashion outlet known as ‘Macys’ and from ‘Macys’ I moved on to ‘Saks’ which is a higher price point and higher ticket.’Saks’ has higher clients  and that was why I decided to go there to acquire the knowledge and experience. What I do is to dress  my clients and get them ready for their parties and red carpet affairs.

What I studied in the university?

I studied journalism but when I got into ‘Saks’. I transformed into a fashion coordinator. I traveled to the United States when I was 19 years old.

I also sell clothes to the big names in Houston, where I’m based. I have experience in coordinating their ward robes. A couple of times, I have had clients who wanted me to come down to their houses and see what they have in their wardrobes and see how I could prescribe a proper dressing code for them.

Any intention of establishing in Nigeria?

It is going to be challenging because here in Nigeria, we wear native and English clothes. Nonetheless,  I can still coordinate the jewelries, shoes and the hand-bags to what is in vogue across the world. For ladies who would want to have an English outlook, I think I have what it takes to coordinate them to perfection.

I do not only specialise in making a woman look good. But I am also into coordinating the men as well. For instance, there is a way a public office holder should speak, sit and even gesticulate while in  public. Because they are public figures and anything they do or say in public go a long way to speak volumes  of who they are.

My clients in the United States

A lot of my clients are Americans but I also I’d have some Nigerian clients. Among my clients are the wives of international superstars, Hollywood actors and actresses. I coordinate the fashion style of  the wives of the oil magnets in Texas as well.

Will the same thing work out here?

Well, I think so. I must acknowledge here that some of our first ladies are already  dressing to kill. But I still feel I can add some touches to their looks.

Any contrast between the way Nigerians dress and  Americans

Nigerian women  dress very well on their own but sometimes because of the nature of my work, when I look at a woman, I’m privileged to see one or two things I can change about her dressing. I’m always like a perfectionist, I don’t look for flaws but I  see flaws in the way our women dress simply because I’m trained to do so.

Sometimes, I recommend ear-rings worth $60,000 to $70,000 to my clients to go with their shoes, hand-bags and outfits. I sell clothes to my clients depending  on their Physique. I try as much as possible to make my client dress  according to their shapes so that she does not either look fat or slim in her outfit.

My goal is to make  my client  look cute and irresistible. That is  my expertise. Dressing First Ladies and other dignitaries is one of the things I like to handle because of the fact that they are always the centre of attraction. When the appear on television and social gatherings, I want them to look their best, from head to toe. They have to look current and trendy compared to what obtains in America and other parts of the world.

How a Nigerian client can meet me

If my service is required  in Nigeria, I intend to come down to the country to meet with the person and  perhaps, get whatever he or she  wants depending on the occasion at hand. But if the client prefers coming to Houston, they are welcome. My ultimate goal is to make my client look cute . I must mention that I do not specialise only on dressing women but the men as well. I also coordinate the style of the opposite sex.

Again, I also specialise in   dressing  the brides and the grooms. Let me see what you have in your wardrobes  and how I can advice you on what to put on at different occasions. When I see a woman, I’m looking at her hand-bag and her wrist-watch.

My gain

My gain is to see my client look elegant and ravishing on television or cute while adorning the red-carpet.

Why I look ageless

Looking this way at 50 is first God’s gift. Again, I think, it’s because of the nature of my work and the way I carry myself. I enjoy what I’m  doing for a living. My clients are  my personal friends and I’m like a psychologist to them.

Do I see anything wrong with the way our celebrities dresses?

Our celebrities are wonderful, especially our movie stars. The actresses  dress very well. But I have a problem when I watch the bedroom scenes in most of our movies. I just feel that our bedroom scene needs  to be upgraded because they  are not properly prepared to meet  certain standard.

Because of the nature of my job, I see some flaws when I watch some of our  movies . I  see some of our actresses on screen with their hairs not properly done to achieve believability in the message they  tend to convey to the audience. One wants to look at the movies and behold perfection. When I watch our movies, I only want to believe everything that I see and not the other way round.