HER FASHION JOURNEY: LIGHT CHIBUEZE
By Faithful Asuquo
There are many upcoming ladies in the fashion industry but today we take a look into the fashion journey of one of our own; Light Chibueze. She is a slim, dark-skinned 19-year old that has taken an interest in fashion and is currently studying Petroleum Engineering at Covenant University.
How does someone studying petroleum engineering end up being interested in the fashion industry you may ask, and I have your answer. Light started considering the fashion industry in her SS3 after she asked God for directions on what he wanted for her life. She wasn’t too serious about the idea until her 100 level alpha semester vacation when she had the push to go and learn how to sew. She didn’t get as much knowledge from where she was learning as she had hoped so she decided to stop taking those classes and learn through YouTube videos. She talked to her mum about it, and she helped Light get started with a sewing machine and sewing kit.
As she got started, she centred her style on royalty and elegance with a hint of the extra, the reason being that royal people come out looking different yet decent. Light believes that she is a Queen, and one of the first things to do to actually be taken and treated like a queen that she is: she needs to dress like one. This perception relates to the popular quote “dress how you want to be addressed”, and seeing as every woman is a queen, we should dress like one.
Light has always had the royal look from back in her secondary school days. Such a style that has been cultivated over the years has become a testament to her persona and she doesn’t think she’ll change her style anytime soon. Her main reason for this decision is based on the royal concept she applies to her fits and which to her is wonderful for any occasion.
From creating a design to choosing the material to the cutting and sewing till the final finishing, Lady Light finds it all interesting and intriguing. She also likes the fact that she can express herself through her outfits and make people happy when she makes clothes for them. She has quite a few role models in the fashion industry who also double as people she gets her inspiration and they are Meghan Markle, Christian Dior, Ralph Lauren, Tope Efena, Sonia Jefrey, and Maria Chery. Her favourite brand is Christian Dior and her favourite designer is Maria Chiuri, the Creative Director of Dior.
In every space someone finds themself in, they will face some difficulties which could count as their weakness or strength; the same applies to Light. One of her most occurring problems is creativity when designing but when faced with it she looks to the Holy Spirit and her dad and this lifts her spirit. Hence, she sees the Holy Spirit and her dad as her strengths.
She has come a long way from just waiting to get into University to owning a fashion brand called Light S.J Regal; a brand that represents royalty, and she has had her fair share of ups and downs. In an interview with her, she revealed that her greatest accomplishments would be how much publicity she has gotten through Covenant University’s platform of Chaplaincy, as well as the people she has had to meet and get noticed by under the space of three (3) years.
Light remains grateful to the Holy Spirit, her family and friends for their help all the way, but, all she has achieved didn’t just find her; she worked for it and when the opportunity came, she was ready. In her interview, she shared some skills that she deems necessary to succeed in the fashion industry. The first is patience, leading us to a popular statement among designers that “patience is the watchword of a good dressmaker”. The second skill needed is the ability to pay attention to detail.
Everyone plans for the future and so has Light. She’ll stick to her ongoing Engineering career while taking her fashion business to the side. With God’s guidance, she will establish her fashion brand Light S.J Regal here in Nigeria and expand it through Africa and to the rest of the world. We wish her good luck and success in all her endeavours.