Lisa Folawiyo, Creative Director-Jewel By Lisa. (DESIGNER - INSIGHT)

Lisa Folawiyo Creative Director of fashion label Jewel By Lisa (JBL) was introduced into the Nigerian Fashion Industry in 2005 with her signature jewelled Ankara wax print designs.

She's a Law graduate from the University of Nigeria, with basically no formal training in fashion/designing. Her passion/love for clothes and lest i forget her natural humour for style, led in her carving a niche for herself in the competitive Nigerian Fashion Industry, her signature pieces being Ankara wax print creatively embellished by noble craftsmen to produce designs that can be seen as fashionable at the same time, simple, sophisticated and trendy.

JBL has excelled not only in Nigeria but all over Africa and other parts of the world. It’s no doubt that every single piece made is carefully thought through as it takes an average of 120 hours for each embellished piece from start to finish.

 Currently , the label has grown excessively to the point that it now creates its own unique customized fabrics ranging from Velvet, Satin, Crepe Silk, Chiffon, Shantung and Linen and lest we forget the well embellished jewelled accessories such as Belts, Necklaces and Clutches as well as mild finishings. JBL has now expanded to producing a diffusion line known as J Label. According to Lisa “J Label is a strong combination of urban cool, Afro-pop, and cutting edge beautifully crafted clothes. It is affordable luxury at its best”. For this new J Label collection Lisa has made use of fabrics such as Silk-Chiffon, Jersey, Cotton coupled with the label’s love for prints used as detailing. The label’s major goal is to cater to the Nigerian market, creating one-of-a kind luxury pieces while establishing itself as an international label.

Lisa’s designs have been featured on both national and international platforms. In 2008, JBL showcased its first international fashion show at the Thisday Africa Rising Festival in London and has since then showcased several other collections internationally on the same platform; The 2009 Johannesburg Fashion Week in South Africa, The Promise of Africa Collective at the Spring/Summer 2010 New York Fashion Week, The Paris Autumn/Winter 2010 Fashion Week in an exhibition tagged-Arise L’Afrique à Porter and The Lagos Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2011 and the new york fashion week 2012 amongst five other African designers. JBL have been featured in renowned publications around the world including Style.com, Women’s Wear Daily, Gotham, Glamour Magazine (South Africa), Essence, Arise, Ebony, Marie Claire (South Africa) and The New York Post.

A list of celebrities including Beyonce, Kelis, Eve, Solange Knowles, Tasha Smith and Sheryl Lee Ralph, wear JBL. Also top fashion models including Freha Beja Erichsen, Liya Kebede, Alek Wek, and Oluchi have also been seen wearing JBL’s pieces.

                                           SOME DESIGNS INSPIRED BY JBL..

 (XOXO!! With Luv D@fy....)