By Elizabeth Kerin
Staff Writer
Pants: Tailored by a Nigerian designer
Shoes: Sperry’s
Name: Ife Shoyombo
Classification: Sophomore
Major: Biology
EK: Is there anything surprising to you about how your peers dress at UD?
IS: You guys separate your personal life from your fashion.
EK: How would you describe your style?
IS: I’m Nigerian. If you can’t tell by what I wear, then I have not “fashioned.”
EK: Let’s imagine you’re invited to a red carpet event — What are you going to wear?
IS: A Zulu warrior skirt! All-right, I might not have the guts to right now, but I hope by the time I graduate, I should have gotten to completely embrace that sense of comfort with who I am.
EK: How does your cultural background influence your approach to fashion?
IS: My backgrounds. I basically struggle with alienating myself from how I was told to dress — my New Jersey friends’ cultures. Sometimes I do find myself wearing “Jersey swag” when I run out of my Nigerian clothes … I should do laundry more often.
EK: What’s your favorite trend for men’s wear this year?
IS: Africa. [Laughing]
EK: Do you have a signature statement piece?
IS: My pants.
EK: What are a few of your favorite stores to buy clothes?
IS: My dad buys them for me. But I’ve shopped in Express and Nordstrom for a huge phase of my life.
EK: Do you have any fashion advice for readers?
IS: Wear whatever you want. If people like it, cool, if they don’t, find a new group of people, who appreciates you for you.
